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Parking park Brake problems no hold slip etc

This may have already been stated, but, just in case...The parking brake issue is a known concern, and there is a TSB, (Technical Service Bulletin), addressing it. The Pins that hold the parking brake shoes are weak. This allows the shoes to "drag" within their races which in turn wears the friction material. The only "fix" is to replace the pins and the shoes, adjust and you're set. No questions under warranty. Might still get it done if just out of warranty. This problem and fix applies to Silverado as well.
 
After reading this thread I decided to check my parking brake and found it didn't hold either. I have a '02 Z-71 Av with about 24000 miles on it.

I took it into the dealer and asked them to adjust it, only to have them tell me that there was rust in the drum and would need to be resurfaced. They were trying to tell me that this happens when the e-brakes are not used enough, so it wouldn't be covered under warranty.

After explaining to them that I apply the e-brakes every day, and that they must have been so out of adjustment that they were not applying, they decided to cover it.

The work order states that the brakes were 'glazed', not sure if this is their way to charge GM, or another term for 'rusted'.

Now my brakes work just fine, I will probably question them about the e-brake TSB to see if they have even heard of it.

I would recommend to get your e-brakes adjusted if they are not holding properly, and to remember to apply them every so often.

Max.
 
My 2002 has been in 3 times for the parking break problem. 1st time they said they adjusted it. 2nd time they said the parking break pads were worn out. 3rd time they said that the adjusting lever was stuck. Chevy paid all 3 times. Have a problem report opened with the Chevy help desk.
 
Had my Av. at the dealer last week even gave them the TSB number, said they could not find on thair syatem P/Brake was checked said to be working but still go's all way to floor.
I gave them the TSB Number and they could't find it come on i wounder if they realy tried, the Av. was taken in for the P/brake and to Diagnose the onstar system sat at the dealer all day and onstar says it has to be done again what is this, something not done???

:E: :E: :E:
 
:9:
Add another report to the list...
My `02 Avalanche's parking brake pedal has always gone all the way to the floor and has zero braking effect. Time for a dealer visit...but based upon the coments in this thread, I'm not exactly overwhelmed with confidence.
-/jm
 
MaxDrag said:
After reading this thread I decided to check my parking brake and found it didn't hold either. I have a '02 Z-71 Av with about 24000 miles on it.

I took it into the dealer and asked them to adjust it, only to have them tell me that there was rust in the drum and would need to be resurfaced. They were trying to tell me that this happens when the e-brakes are not used enough, so it wouldn't be covered under warranty.

After explaining to them that I apply the e-brakes every day, and that they must have been so out of adjustment that they were not applying, they decided to cover it.

The work order states that the brakes were 'glazed', not sure if this is their way to charge GM, or another term for 'rusted'.

Now my brakes work just fine, I will probably question them about the e-brake TSB to see if they have even heard of it.

I would recommend to get your e-brakes adjusted if they are not holding properly, and to remember to apply them every so often.

Max.

You may just ask them if they did the work as outlined in the TSB and if they haven't, have them do the work as outlined on the TSB otherwise you may be out of warranty and have the problem come up again. (you may want to print out a copy and hand it to them so they don't have to look for it)
 
nfhjr said:
Had my Av. at the dealer last week even gave them the TSB number, said they could not find on thair syatem P/Brake was checked said to be working but still go's all way to floor.
I gave them the TSB Number and they could't find it come on i wounder if they realy tried, the Av. was taken in for the P/brake and to Diagnose the onstar system sat at the dealer all day and onstar says it has to be done again what is this, something not done???

:E: :E: :E:

What you can do with the dealer is to print out the TSB and take that to them since they cannot seem to locate it. Tell them you did it so they don't have to spend the time looking for it. Then have them do the work,.... and fix your onstar.
 
rotflmao said:
:9:
Add another report to the list...
My `02 Avalanche's parking brake pedal has always gone all the way to the floor and has zero braking effect. Time for a dealer visit...but based upon the coments in this thread, I'm not exactly overwhelmed with confidence.
-/jm

My parking brake holds on a hill that will allow you to go from 0 - 20 mph in about three lengths of the truck. Yours should too. Take it in with a printed copy of the TSB so they will know what you are talking about. If you have problems, contact customer care, they will surely assist you in getting the concern fixed.
 
7of7 said:
My parking brake holds on a hill that will allow you to go from 0 - 20 mph in about three lengths of the truck.
Mine holds equally well, today. 7of7, thanks for the E-MAIL :) I see the PDF is now listed here. Good karma to you bud (y)
 
Had my Av at the Dealer today to have the Parking Brake looked at and fixed as the pedel was still go to the floor, what was done - the system was looked at and the left side was worn and the right side was cracked the shoes on both sides were replaced and the drums were sanded this was done UNDER WARRENTY THIS WAS THE SECOND TIME FOR THIS the first time i gave them the service bulletin number which was said to be wrong and was told that the parking brake was working.
This time i took a print out and gave it to them the work was done UNDER WARRENTY
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
 
Just found this sight, nice.

Had my 02 to the stealer a couple weeks ago when I first noticed the "emergency brake" would not hold it from rolling backwards even in the driveway. They readjusted it, and it sort of works, but barely. I DID get a speech on how it is NOT an "emergency brake" but is really a "parking brake" and it is NOT meant to "stop the truck"! I asked "are you saying that it is OK if I park this thing in the driveway, put on the "parking brake", and in neutral it rolls down into the street???" and the answer given me was "it may not hold it from rolling down backwards, but if you back into the driveway it should hold it from rolling frontwards" and "you don't REALLY need it anyway since the automatic tranny will always keep it from rolling". :eek:

Yea, right! LOL!!!
 
Wow, if a dealer gave me that answer it would be hard not to laugh in their face!! My understanding is that a properly working parking brake is gonna hold the truck on a pretty steep grade, even in neutral. Mine sure does as this was discussed a bunch in the past. Hopefully you have some other dealers in your area you can go see and have it fixed right...

~bekind
 
Most vehicles parking brakes don't work as well when moving backwards, although they should keep the vehicle from rolling backwards. That is the main reason you can back out of the driveway with the parking brake on, and not realize it until you try to go forward... I would be looking at other dealers to see if they can get it working right.
 
Can someone point out the part (pin?), that gets replaced under warranty?

With 64K on my Av, I'm not even going to attempt to have the dealer look at it. I can do most of my own work. But, as second owner, I have no way of knowing what, if any, warranty/TSB work has been done.

Brake pads are glazed and slightly cracked. I'll probably be replacing these soon, also. But, e-brake shoes are worn, very, unevenly. Lots of material at the top. Worn to near touching metal, on the bottom.

I, also, noticed the wheel/pin (part # 6?) at the top will screw out of the center piece. Is this another adjustment, besides the nut and bracket at the cable union?
 

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Does anyone know how to actually adjust the parking brake?  Since it does contain a star wheel for the brake shoe then there has to be something that turns that wheel.  I just replaced my parking brake shoe and it looked just like the earlier post picture.  When i replaced it i screwed the start wheel all the way in, so there is really no tension on the shoe.  So still when i press the e brake it still doesnt work.  There has to be a way for daily adjustment without taking off the wheel and rotor to manually turn that star wheel. 
Used to be back in the day of drum brakes a person would back up and stomp on the brakes to automatically turn the star wheel.
Any help would be appreceited!!
 
Hi all.  I just finished inspecting and adjusting my parking brake.  It's not really that bad.  You just remove the wheel, compress the read caliper a little so it will clise off the rotor easily, remove the 2 bolts holding the caliper bracket and remove (no need to remove the caliper first - make sure to support it so it doesn't hang by the brake hose), then turn the rotor/drum assembly while pulling it off.  The brake shoes are right there.  Mine were still OK (2002 w/20,000 miles and I use the parking brake every time), but needed to be adjusted.  Like most, my pedal had always gone to the floor.  I had it checked by the dealer when I first bought the Av and was told that was normal and it would hold (and it did at the time).  Anyway, there's a little adjusting wheel where the pads meet (top) that can be adjusted to spread them out farther.  Make sure to sand down the rust ring that forms in the drum before putting it back on.  I adjusted mine so that the pedal would get to about 2-3 inches from the floor with firm but not hard pressure.  When you adjust them, make sure there is no drag when the parking brake is off or else those little pads will wear out in a hurry.  To make sure I was adjusting them equally, I adjusted the driver's side first, then adjusted the passenger side until the equalizer (where the 2 cables coming from each wheel meet and attach to the one cable leading to the pedal - just in front of the driver's side rear tire) was straight up and down (meaning equal pull from each wheel).  You won't get pedal resistance until the second wheel is adjusted, but it's good to work the pedal after adjustement to make sure the brakes don't drag. Make sure to use lock tight on the bolts when reassembling.

Unfortunately for me, while working on the adjustments, my parking brake release cable (from hand release to pedal) broke!, so I had to release it by hand.  I will hunt down a cable tomorrow.

If any of you are planning to try this adjustment and are confused by my directions, just let me know which part is confusing and I will try to make it clearer.

Good luck!
Glenn (pac_man)
 
To all with the 2002 P-brake issue:

Like many of you, I just failed my state inspection because my parking brake would not hold the truck.  After seeing the problem here, I did some additional research at NHTSA.gov only to find out this problem is in 1999-2002 GM trucks in general.  So, I asked for Chevrolet to cover the repair.  Then I took my truck to the dealership, because I knew that the factory would require that a dealer inspect the problem.

Chevrolet called me back before I heard from the dealer and resisted covering the repair and said they had no record of TSB's, recalls, or known defects in this area with my vehicle.  I offered to forward them their own letter to the NHTSA dated April 20,2005 where they acknowledged the defect and recalled the trucks with manual transmissions.  They offered to reconsider.

I then heard from the dealer that my truck had been repaired and was ready to pick up at no cost to me.  They replaced the p-brakes on both sides and the rotor on one side.

My opinion is that this a bigger issue than GM wants us to know.  After they were investigated by the NHTSA and the defect was discovered, the negotiations probably began on the recall and a compromise was reached to only recall manual transmission vehicles because this is where the crash and injury data was the worst.  However the automatics have the same brake system with the same defect.

If you have this problem, you can probably have it fixed at no cost.  Go to www.nhtsa.gov, go to the recall/tsb area (office of defect investigation) and look up recall/campaign #05V161000.  There you can go to the document search and see the results of the investigation and GM's acknowledgement letter in .pdf formats (they were too big to post here).  Then go Chevrolet or your dealer and ask why they would choose not to make your truck safe also since it has the same p-brake as the manuals and they know they have the problem.

I am very disappointed in GM and the NHTSA that all vehicles with this safety problem were not addressed in the recall.  Maybe politics.

timber
 
My parking brake on my '03 was going to floor and not holding the AV.? My AV only has 11,000 miles on it.? I took the AV in today for some routine maintenance and the rear seat seat belt recall.

I told the dealer about the parking brake.? When I picked up the AV, they told me that they fixed the parking brake under warranty and the problem was caused by pushing the parking brake to far to the floor.? I told them that my dad has always taught me to never push the parking brake too far.? The only reason that I did was because something was wrong and it wasn't holding any longer.? Anyway, they fixed it for free.

The description of the repair on the work order was:
R&R THE REAR ROTORS TO ADJUST THE REAR E BRAKE SHOES
 
I spent 22 years in the military as a motor maintenance technician and have never seen a parking brake system, separate from the main braking system,  that wears itself out with non-use. I noticed my 2002 parking brakes weren't working at 24,000 miles and was told would cost hundreds of dollars to fix and that it was a design "feature" that they wear on a continuous basis so as to ensure they are repaired on a regular basis. This was illogical and considering I never use them anyhow, I never had them repaired. I hope my main brakes never fail! Anyone know who designed a separate parking brake system that was designed to wear out whether used or not???
 
upon replacing mine a 100k

I feel gm had their head up their a--. The ONLY way for the parking brake to adjust and stay centred is for it to be used and often. The pad is like a horse shoe. when the break is used the horse shoe is pushed open against the inner drum. Only a tin plate 180 DEG.from the spreader, friction holds the shoe against the backing plate. Not centred mind you Just holds it from flopping around. Buy using the brake is the only way it can become centred again.

The action of driving is enough for the shoe to droop against the drum and wear out the pad. then the backing plate and the rotor it's self. This is the Worst design I have ever seen.

A simple alignment bolt or pin would save the system.

Luckally I had planed to replace all 4 rotors allready. what I found really ticked me off? Oh well whats another $60 for shoes when you have new rotors and pads ready to go on.

All 02 - 03 owners who think theirs are fine should look at the parking break pads. Hopefully it will be soon enough to only need shoes............ Especially if you have ever herd a squeak or other noise related to " OH that's just Dust "
 
Wiki said:
Just got back from the dealership and disscussed the parking brake issue. ?

They said we have the same parking brake setup as the Corvette. ?It is a secondary small set of pads on our rear disc's. ?That is the reason for the "no resistance" feel. ?However, if your vehicle is not being held by the brakes, then they do need adjusting. ?


i always buy repair manual as soon as i buy used car. so, intitally, i was plain startled how far down the parking brake goes and how little resistance it has. though i like where the pedal is when engaged, otherwise every other time i get into the car, it catches on my pants leg. :laugh: but parking brake does hold, i checked on incline.
anyways, i consulted with manual. says "cable is self-adjusting".? i yet have to see this - it's pooring here in seattle today, so all my under the car projects are on hold.
what the book says - if it does not hold, or has EXCESSIVE pedal movement (without specifying what excessive is. normally, it should just click maybe 5-6 times and stop) - then parking brake shoes need to be replaced. this was stated? for rear disk brakes too.
so, i donno what exactly is dealer adjusting on self-adjusting cable. brake shoes replacement looks like maybe 25 min. per side job for a half way decent tree shade mechanic - pull the wheel off, pull the caliper off, remove the shoes, install new ones, adjust the drag on rotor.? i can see THAT done for $120 including parts, though.
 
Try replacing the parking brake shoes....took me about 10 mins per wheel.
 
I hate to drag up an old topic, but I am finally replacing brakes on my Av (78,000 miles is pretty good on originals)  I did rotors, pads, and my master cylinder, cuz my  pedal is sooo soft.  Anyway, On the parking brake, does anyone know if the retainer goes inside, or outside the pad?  I have mine set-up on the inside right now, but I don't know if its right.  Maybe this is self -explanatory with the new clips (I still have the old ones).
 
Check in CAFCNA tech section sperry posted a document on how to repair the Parking brake
 
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