E brake 89 corvette
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
E brake 89 corvette
I was driving today and it seemed like the brake pad was stuck on the roter. So i made sure the ebrake wasnt on so i stopped and pulled up and it got stuck. So i tried pulling down on it and when i did it seemed like the cable snapped because it was then very lose. I noticed after 5 more minutes of driving that the back right tire roter was inflamed red and smoking 
Does this mean the e brake cable snapped or just somthing with that back right brake? And its weird because its only the back right one. Doesn't the ebrake lock up the back tires not the front? So wouldn't it be both. Also in the car it says in the computer screen Anti-lock and The warning E brake light. any tips would be great thanks!
Does this mean the e brake cable snapped or just somthing with that back right brake? And its weird because its only the back right one. Doesn't the ebrake lock up the back tires not the front? So wouldn't it be both. Also in the car it says in the computer screen Anti-lock and The warning E brake light. any tips would be great thanks!
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,363
Likes: 7
From: 1994 LT1 Coupe 6-speed with FX3 & 2000 LS1 Vert 6-Speed with F45 Hunterdon County, NJ
don't drive the car till this is fixed -- you'll warp the rotor and risk the ABS not working correctly.
You might have 2 problems.
1. the e-brake (actually called a 'parking brake'), arm works such that you pull it up with mild pressure, apply a little of pressure, press the button, and then lower it down, while you feel pressure/spring tension to the bottom.
If your not feeling that spring tension on the way down, the brake mechanism may not have released (didn't pull up hard enough before pressing button) or it has jammed.
2. there are 3 cables associated with the parking brake (similar to bicycle brake cables -- a cable within a housing. One from the inside mechanism to a connector, then two cables, each one going from the connector to each wheel's caliper 'pivot' arm.
These cables are notorious for getting water inide and rusting stuck, to the point you might have broken off the end which attaches to the connector, but the cable is rusted stuck, while still pulling the caliper pivot, actuating that wheel's brake.
Suggest pulling off the wheel and checking if that cable's moving and then crawling under and looking at the connector and the cables connecting to it.
You might have 2 problems.
1. the e-brake (actually called a 'parking brake'), arm works such that you pull it up with mild pressure, apply a little of pressure, press the button, and then lower it down, while you feel pressure/spring tension to the bottom.
If your not feeling that spring tension on the way down, the brake mechanism may not have released (didn't pull up hard enough before pressing button) or it has jammed.
2. there are 3 cables associated with the parking brake (similar to bicycle brake cables -- a cable within a housing. One from the inside mechanism to a connector, then two cables, each one going from the connector to each wheel's caliper 'pivot' arm.
These cables are notorious for getting water inide and rusting stuck, to the point you might have broken off the end which attaches to the connector, but the cable is rusted stuck, while still pulling the caliper pivot, actuating that wheel's brake.
Suggest pulling off the wheel and checking if that cable's moving and then crawling under and looking at the connector and the cables connecting to it.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 7,839
Likes: 22
From: San Diego, Ca
Usually the handbrake assembly - for which there was a Recall - and when it breaks the cables fall to the ground and you drag them around. Sounds like yours may have done that, but it also sounds like the parking brake mechanism is hungup. That's spring loaded and should have returned to the "off" position. You'll need to pull the wheel on the offending side and see if you can find the problem. May need to be rebuilt. Make sure the mechanism hasn't broken - try moving the lever (carefully) with a screwdriver or take off the cable and see if it releases.
