Ineffective Hand Brake

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BosnianLanos
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Ineffective Hand Brake

Post by BosnianLanos »

Well, my hand brake (emergency brake, parking brake, makes-the-car-smell-funny lever, or whatever you please) is totally ineffective. The car still rolls when stopped (pushed in neutral), and when applied while the car is in motion (just a test) it failed to even slow it down. The cable is intact and the nut on the lever is tightened, but the brake does not work. Could this be because of worn rear brake shoes, or something different.

Any ideas?
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Re: Ineffective Hand Brake

Post by DArkstalker »

BosnianLanos wrote:Well, my hand brake (emergency brake, parking brake, makes-the-car-smell-funny lever, or whatever you please) is totally ineffective. The car still rolls when stopped (pushed in neutral), and when applied while the car is in motion (just a test) it failed to even slow it down. The cable is intact and the nut on the lever is tightened, but the brake does not work. Could this be because of worn rear brake shoes, or something different.

Any ideas?
Do the back wheels roll or are they dragging. Mine used to drag until I got new tires.
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BosnianLanos
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Post by BosnianLanos »

They roll. Dragging would make me happy as that would signal the brake working.

When I pull the leverl, it really has no effect on the back whatsoever.
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Post by DArkstalker »

BosnianLanos wrote:They roll. Dragging would make me happy as that would signal the brake working.

When I pull the leverl, it really has no effect on the back whatsoever.
Hmm i'm not sure my friends cavalier is the same way it doesn't work at all. I'm not really sure how the hand brake works.
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Post by Audacity Racing »

is it tensioned up right? maybe brake wear has caused it to be just out of tension and is causing it to be slacked...


i dunno, may be time for new drums/shoes
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Post by MMamdouh »

when was the last time you changed your rear brakes pads?? i know you got some 1 million miles on your car so worn rear pads are quite a possibility.

as per the manual, the hand brake should click 5 to 7 times when a force of 20 Kms is applied to it... at this point the hand brake should be able to secure the car on a down hill.

what you got is really weak rear brakes... it could be affecting the foot brake as well but you won't notice it as the front ones are doing all the work.

first make sure the nut on the handle is secures and fastned then go to the rear brake durums and check the pads... if they are still got lots of esbestos then you just need to readjust them but if they are worn you will need to replace them.

their is a how to article about the rear brake pads replacment in case you needed to do so.

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BosnianLanos
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Post by BosnianLanos »

I've changed them before, I think something like 40-60K miles ago as you don't have to change them as frequently as the front pads. It is a simple procedure, I know, but usually when they are low they have a grinding noise. I guess that next time I have some free time I will check the back brakes.
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Post by Audacity Racing »

the drum may be ground out smaller than oe spec too... get a set of calipers or micrometer and see how thick it is
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Post by mooP »

have the same problem on my 99 nubira, think i just solved it on the driver side...
bought new rotors(irrelevant), anyways, when i took them off i decided to keep dismantling, took off the hub and the brake shoe, the lever/piston arrangement was ceased solid, took some beating and prying to free it up, put some nevercease and packed with grease before i put it back on, seems to move well now

i'm going to do the passenger side later today, will take a couple pics if i can find a camera, i'll also post back on whether or not it was the problem(which it most likely is)
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