Did a dumb thing.

[RodL]

Just got my VX back from the front end rebuild. Filled up with fuel at the local Farm Service place. (7 cents a gallon off from 7pm to 7am for 70 days) slipped onto the scale to see what we weighed full of fuel. 4280 lbs is what the scale said. May have had 60 lbs of take off parts in the back so the 4220 I got a few weeks ago is still good. If I get out and stand off the scale we are right at two tons.

Anyway, now for the dumb part. I NEVER use the emergency brake. Why I grabbed it instead of putting the car in park I DON"T know. But I did. Today I was doing some errands getting ready for a trip to Missouri on Monday and something just doesn't feel right. come to a stop let my foot off the brake to coast a bit and it feels like I am still on the brake and the car comes to a complete stop without my foot touching the pedal. I have an emergency brake hanging up on the passenger side. I have tried playing with the handle, shifting into reverse and backing up and it still seems to hang up. Taking it out to my shop late this afternoon or sometime tomorrow to pull the wheel and disc off and see what's up. Comments, suggestions and ideas welcome, especially before I tear into it.

Rod

[evillecutter]

probably overheated something and needs replaced or lubed - good thing is brakes aren't the most expensive thing to fix and i dont see this doing any permanant damage

ive seen this warp rotors before and they can usually be honed or worst case replaced - if the brakes are stuck on partially its prob the caliper sticking

[Vendetta]

Nothing dumb here bud, don't feel bad. And like Cutter said, brakes aren't the most spendy bits anyway.

I thought I was about to read that the e-brake didn't hold and your VX rolled herself into a something... unforgiving.

-V

[JoFotoz]

FYI...

Once in a while my hand brake takes TWO button press and release attempts ..
...to fully disengage.

Ya probably tried this..but thought I'd mention it.

jo

[Marlin]

That isn't dumb at all, my ebrake pads are shot from doing stuff like that on the trails, and then forgetting about it. Silver lining, if you managed to damage the rotor, you can upgrade to cross drilled rotors

[Y33TREKker]

You might just have a brake piston hanging because of the usage of the parking brake. It will happen on my car if I use the parking brake too, but since my car is also an automatic, I've rarely had a need to use it's parking brake. (And after learning that my brakes are prone to hanging IF I use the parking brake, I've never used it since).

First step would be to determine which piston is hanging. You can do this by getting that wheel off the ground and spinning it to see if the brake on that corner is the one that's hanging. (Or you can simply drive fora bout a block, then get out and feel whether any of your rims are hotter than the others). Once you get that determined, there are sometimes manual adjusting screws on the back of the caliper that allow you to back the piston/pads away from the rotor. (The one on my car has an internal allen wrench head I have to gain access to by removing a regular hex head bolt on the back of the caliper). Back the piston away from the rotor far enough to free up the wheel, then adjust in back and forth a few times until it's JUST out of contact with the rotor.

Once you get it set this way, DON'T USE THE PARKING BRAKE AGAIN UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO or you'll find yourself having to repeat the same process at some point on the side of the road.

I don't know why some calipers hang and some don't, but some obviously do when the mechanical aspect of the parking brake is brought into play but simply don't if relying only on the hydraulic action of the brake fluid.

Of course all that is based on the assumption that the brake calipers on our VX's have a similar adjusting screw. I've never looked, so I can't say for sure, but if they do it would most likely be located on the back of the caliper and centered directly behind the brake piston cylinder itself. I can't look right now but maybe someone can verify in the meantime if we also have these adjustment capabilities.

[Gizmo42]

I would never tell someone to NOT use their parking brake. The park pawl in the transmission isnt very big. A light tap from another vehicle can break it then you are looking at big money to open the transmission to replace it.

[Marlin]

I am pretty sure that the ebrake has its own pads and does nnot involve the calipers. It is a mechanically actuated tiny brake pads. Pulling the handle actuates a lever that engages the pads. At least that is the way on the trooper, I assume the same on vx. There is an adjusting port on there, some allen size, and the adjustment is as u described.

[Y33TREKker]

I would never tell someone to NOT use their parking brake. The park pawl in the transmission isnt very big. A light tap from another vehicle can break it then you are looking at big money to open the transmission to replace it.

Seeing as how the OP had already said he never used it anyway...

[Y33TREKker]

Some e-brakes on some vehicles are separate functions that don't incorporate the main caliper, some aren't. And no one said absolutely never use the e-brake anyway.

[RodL]

Thanks for all the comments. I will be tearing into it tomorrow afternoon. The E brake is similar to drum brakes inside the disc rotor. I have had them on many vehicles. Usually not too bad to fix. I know it's the passenger side from the heat generated and the slight odor of a hot brake. Thanks again.

Rod

[Triathlete]

Oops...double posted

[Triathlete]

Regular brakes and ebrake are seperate functions. The ebrake is a cable operated drum brake that resides in the drum in the center of the rotor. The pads are about $70, are available at local parts stores and are not overly difficult to do. No special tools are required...only a lot of patience in getting everything lined up and the spring/retainer in place.
Of course it may just need adjusted. On the lower back side there is a small rubber cover. Remove it and use a screwdriver to turn the adjuster barrel until the pads rub lightly.

[Scott Larson]

Yup, like Billy said, e-brake is a drum brake inside the the rotor hat that is cable actuated. Get underneath and whack the backing plate on both sides with a BFH and that should release the shoes...best-o-luck!

[TheGanzman]

Here's a tip from The Old Dude - on EVERY vehicle you own, use the E-Brake EVERY time and ALWAYS! I learned this the HARD way back in the day on the '77 Cadillac Seville I owned. Once that mechanism freezes/rusts up, on some vehicles it can be BIG $ to re-do...Use 'em or LOSE 'em!