A few months ago my '02 (60K+ miles) got brakes in the front, backs were fine. I asked them to look at the parking brake and tell me why it doesn't work. They said the cables were not hooked up and they were going to charge a bundle to do that. I should have argued and pursued it, but didn't. Up to that time, I just thought it was the nature of the beast and I just wasn't pulling the handle up hard enough.

Today I'm getting back brakes and the new story is that the parking brake needs new linings. The mechanic tells me that they wear out just like regular brakes. "How can that be since (1) a few months ago you told me it wasn't connected and (2) the thing never worked, in fact has practically run me over several times?" Their reply is to say that it needs new linings, and that will cost $500.

What I've learned about the Corvette has been mostly from this forum, but in searching I don't run across anything having to do with parking brake linings. Does anyone out there have information about this?

 

 

check out a fellow CF members web site...
There are several possibilities
1. The cables are Not connected
2. The cables are not adjusted
3. The lever mechanism is not adjusting because the grease has dried out
4. The shoes need adjusting (via starwheel)
5. The shoes need replacement ( very rare but it has happened)

http://www.ronjpics.com/Corvettestuff.htm
rich

 

Thanks for the reply Rich.

The mechanic says the shoes need replaced, that they are detached or broken. If so, they got that way because many times when I used it, I'd get out of the car and get nearly run over by it as I got something out of the back or walked in front of it. One time, five minutes after I'd parked it on a nearly flat service, I was inside my mother's house and saw it rolling in the driveway headed for her camper! Fortunately, it got just a little scrape that rubbed out just fine. But after that, I never trusted it. Now I have to leave it in gear and it stays put.

I downloaded your information and will look into that. Thanks again!

 

C5 parking brake = Worthless

 

This from former Forum member Evil Twin.....

Parking Brake Adjustment -- 1 of 1
Date Published: 2002-05-01

Submitter's Name: Bill Matera
Email Address: wmatera@snip.net
Corvetteforum.com Member Alias: Evil-Twin

I posted this fix several years ago, but it was lost in the software upgrade... When My C5 was new the e brake barely worked,, I took it to the dealer, and was told that brakes are a wear item and that I would have to pay for new shoes.. the car had less than 1000 miles on it .. the e brake only engages when the car is stopped so how could they be worn.. Any way I decided to take a look ans see if i could do anything..I was not crazy about the dealer touching my car anyway.. OK.. here we go.. the e brake works similar to the e brake on most cars with rear drum brakes.. with that in mind... jack up the rear of the car...remove the wheels...then remove the bolts for the calipers...then the calipers and pads...you will see the caliper bracket.. it has two bolts that hold this to the brake backing plate.. they are very very tight... but they will come off ( They are 125 ft pounds with loctite)... Once the bracket is off you can remove the rotor ( make sure the e brake is not engaged ).....Next.. you will see how the system works.. it has a set of shoe brakes .. and the rotor has an internal drum... In the last few years I have found that many many C5 come from the factory with poorly adjusted e brakes... Now locate the star adjuster.... turn it out to make the shoes grow in diameter...( Mine were out 33 clicks)... I did ten clicks at a time and the slid the rotor back on.. I did three sets of ten before I could feel any drag... I then clicked five more and could not get the rotor on...I then backed off two clicks and got the rotor on.. it was tight when I started it on the shoes but when i finally seated it it was perfect.. I then did the other side.. it was out exactly the same amount.... I then put everything back...Now for the test...When I engaged the e brake.. it locked up the brakes at a point about 45 degrees.... 90 degrees being straight up.. the lock up was so positive...I knew I did it right..next .. to check the release .. I took the car to a hill... set the e brake .. car in neutral and it stayed there ... then to check on the release.. I slowly disengaged the ebrake...and found that the shoes where totally retracted after only an inch of lever release...after this fix I could stop the car using only the ebrake with the car doing ten miles an hour...The ebrake also has an auto adjust feature.. but it will only work if your e brake lever is between 45 degrees and 55 degrees..if your ebrake is out further than that the e beake will not auto adjust..... ( AUTOADJUST feature ) roll the car backwards on a hill.. or in reverse @ 5 mph..pull up on the e brake lever... this will slam your car to an abrupt stop.. the engagement of the shoes to the drum while the car is moving backwards will cause the shoe assembly to flex.. it is the flex that causes the blade to click the adjusting star one click... Do this three or four times and it will expand your shoes.. you can not over tighten thes shoes... if it needs two clicks to get to max... and you do four clicks.. it will only adjust the star two clicks.. Also remember to use loctite on the brackets and caliper bolts..If you have any questions on this repair ..

 

Okay, quick update to my last post. Evil-Twin's post was from five years ago, and it should be corrected as follows:

- The roll backward tip is incorrect. It does not tighten the shoes only the slack in the cables.

- Also, and here is the important thing Evil-Twin stated - the e-brake lining comes from the factory with only 2/32 lining because it only makes contact when engaged. This can easily be misconstrued as WORN and an unsuspecting C5 owner can get raked over the coals paying for another one, when theirs is perfectly fine.

These notes were supposed to be updated in the Tech Tips section five years ago, but since there is no oversight in that section, it was not done. Hope that clears things up, and thanks to Bill for the help!

Glen

 

doNOT pay $500 for this crap!!!! This forum is here to help YOU, the C5 owner. As soon as you can get your Vette back from those crooks, hit us up!!! We can and will help you. I have done a fair amount of work on the parking brake, others on here have done more. Run away from those people. They are clueless about the C5.

Joe

 

Thanks Joe, Glenn and Bounty-Hunter. I've downloaded Evil-Twin's information and had already decided I will definitely NOT pay $500 for something that I don't understand and I wonder if they do, since they couldn't explain it very well to me. The change in stories from 'the cable is disconnected' to 'the linings are disconnected, maybe broken' was the icing on the cake for me. Though they usually do a good job on our vehicles at this dealership, this one just didn't sound right.

Here's another thing I learned, maybe others knew this, I didn't. When I dropped my vehicle off at 6:30A the technicians were there taking orders. When I picked it up after 5P, they were still there. When I mentioned that overtime must be great, she told me that they get paid by commission. I wouldn't accuse them of lying about work that needs to be done, because I just don't know enough about this, but I am more suspicious.