Parking Brake

[Don.Williams]

My 98 C5 parking brake has never really worked effectively, that is it doesn't even hold the car when idling in gear.

I would think there would be a service bulletin about this but find none.

I kept reminding the dealer about this but they never wrote it up.

When I finally demanded that they do something about it they told me SORRY, your warranty just expired.

Anyone else with a similar problem? Any solution other than to pay someone to remove the wheels and do an adjustment?

 

[johnl]

I've had the same issue. When my 97 was new, I absentmindedly jerked up the parking break sort of hard. It sort or went thunk and seemed as if the cable was loose after that. I mean there was almost no resistance when pulling up the handle and the little release button would rattle. The dealer worked on it and it seemed a little better for a while, then went back to loose.
Skip ahead to 75,000 mi. The right rear hub started making noise (the bearings were shot), when the dealer took it apart to repair it, guess what. "Sir your parking breaks are totally hosed and need to be rebuilt. They repaired the hub (under warranty) and parking breaks cost me $700 - $800.
Skip ahead again to 132,000 mi. The parking break won’t hold. The pull feels fine so I would guess the shoes are worn out. We’ll see when I take it apart in the next few weeks.

I have heard of some others with parking break troubles on some other boards, so you might have the dealer check them out when ever you take it in. (I mean, have them take it apart and have a look)

J

 

[BackSpacer]

here is a copy and paste from another forum.

***start paste***

Tech Tip

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 .. feel free to e mail me or instant message me.. Good Luck.. Many people have emailed me with their positive results from this fix...
Bill ( Evil-Twin )

***end paste***

 

[johnl]

Back Spacer, You are the Man!......Thanks a bunch.
John

 

[Don.Williams]

:bash


HI-

I have emailed this page to the dealer in question and also sent a FAX to service and the GM.

If I don't get any response in a day or two I will post the name of the dealer here.

DAW

 

[Don.Williams]

I have had no luck with General Motors nor with the dealer.

The problem is that every time you go in and ask for something like a brake adjustment they put you off, "We are a bit overloaded", "You're only having an oil change, why not do that later?" etc.

The net result is that it may be on the scratch pad of the service writer but is never put in the computer, so there is no record that GM or anyone else can check.

I have checked with some independent shops and they verify that this is a known C5 problem, not recognized by GM. They are also willing to describe their experience to anyone who asks but that doesn't bother GM, nor the dealer since "it's not on the record for your car".

In my prior post I said that if I didn't get a positive response from the dealer I would post his name here. I warned the dealer, sent him this URL, but got brushed off once more. They say there is no computer record of my complaint, and that's indeed a fact.

The dealer who gave me all the grief is:

;stupid Bob Stall Chevrolet
La Mesa, California

 

[BackSpacer]

I feel your pain. I do not go to a dealer unless I have to. I still have not adjusted my parking brake as per the instructions I have, but I am sure I can do it, and I plan to do it soon. If you lived close by and the adjustment is as simple as it sounds, I would consider adjusting yours for you, but NC is a long ways from California.

 

[Don.Williams]

;help BackSpacer-

I would guess you are in about the same situation I was in a while back.

I would surmise from the date of your car that it's just out of warranty and the dealer refuses to take any responsibility for it.

The lesson to be leaned is to get it in writing when you make what seems to be a minor request, and get it into the computer so the GM folks can see that you did ask for help.

Frustrating, isn't it?

I have the factory manuals for this C5, and have had them for each of the 4 Corvettes I have owned. It's true that if you can't turn up a service bulletin or recall within the warrnaty period you are just out of luck. The dealers don't go out of their way to help you in that regard. The only help you get is safety bulletins issued by the NTSB. Other problems are just ignored, hoping they will not be found until the warranty expires.

Prior to this I always bought an extended warranty. They were relatively expensive and were never used for the C4's I had so I decided that the second year of C5 production would be bug-free. Not so!

Just as a matter of interest, I have a new problem. The idler roller for the belt tensioner for the Air Conditioner needs to be replaced. I will be paying an independent Corvette service group to do that, but the interesting thing is that there is a TSR for that problem (87-61-13) and the fix is to install the same part, still being used for current production. I did get one belt tensioner for the other belt replaced under warranty but it didn't fix the problem. The dealer said "too bad" that's what the bulletin says to do.

 

[Don.Williams]

ad


For what it's worth I have the factory manuals for the 98, and I suspect they pretty much cover the mechanicals for the 99 and on C5's.

I can scan in the short section on parking brake adjustment if anyone is interested, or email it to you.

I don't know whether this would be a copyright violation, but if so, it would be one way to get the attention of a real person at GM. (Maybe an attorney, but that's better than no-one).

 

[BackSpacer]

Do the instructions in your manual differ from the directions that I gave you? If so, email them to me.
Thanks

 

[Don.Williams]

Well, I did it and it seemed to work. Not having the special drum measuring tool, I had to adjust by feel, but now I have functional parking brakes.

When I got to the point of making the adjustment I found that the star wheels were completely screwed in to the minimum extension, just what you would expect from a delivered part which was intended for production line adjustment.

I also found the address for the dealer service survey reports and an old un-subimted blank request for a Satisfaction Survey. I will fill this out shortly and mail it in, along with all correspondence with the dealer.

The address, in case anyone is interested is:

Chevrolet Motor Division
P.O. Box 10063
Toledo OH 43682-4081

These surveys are apparently very important to the dealers because they always called me to request that I submit a favorable survey. I have not, however, been able to find any way to reach the S. Calif. District Manager so I'll just make do with that address.

Bottom line- I adjusted the parking brakes yesterday and can send some comments and photographs of a couple of key items to anyone interested. Actually there is another post which pretty well describes how to do it by feel.

Two points are important:

1.Both star wheels are on left-hand threads, so you have to turn them clockwise into their aluminum receivers to expand the drums.

It helps to open the brake bleeder when you retract the pistons, apparently something related to the ABS system. Also, to my great joy, the calipers will sit nicely on the upper suspension assemblies so you don't have to worry about hanging them with bailing wire while you remove the rotors.

By the way, my car only has 31,000 miles on it and the vibration damper has slipped to the extent that it causes extreme belt wear and noise. Total repair cost would be about $450. I doubt that GM will recognize that as their responsibility so here I go again with another quality issue for the 98 C5. There have been so many I have lost count.

Don Williams

 

[Don.Williams]

Well, I did it and it seemed to work. Not having the special drum measuring tool, I had to adjust by feel, but now I have functional parking brakes. The parking brake works quite well in reverse, but not as good as one would lexpect when going forward, so you can't trust it to hold your car on a hill.

You still need to use the transmission park position.

When I got to the point of making the adjustment I found that the star wheels were completely screwed in to the minimum extension, just what you would expect from a delivered part which was intended for production line adjustment.

I also found the address for the dealer service survey reports and an old un-subimted blank request for a Satisfaction Survey. I will fill this out shortly and mail it in, along with all correspondence with the dealer.

The address, in case anyone is interested is:

Chevrolet Motor Division
P.O. Box 10063
Toledo OH 43682-4081

These surveys are apparently very important to the dealers because they always called me to request that I submit a favorable survey. I have not, however, been able to find any way to reach the S. Calif. District Manager so I'll just make do with that address.

Bottom line- I adjusted the parking brakes yesterday and can send some comments and photographs of a couple of key items to anyone interested. Actually there is another post which pretty well describes how to do it by feel.

Two points are important:

1. Both star wheels are on left-hand threads, so you have to turn them clockwise into their aluminum receivers to expand the drums.

2. It helps to open the brake bleeder when you retract the pistons, apparently something related to the ABS system. Also, to my great joy, the calipers will sit nicely on the upper suspension assemblies so you don't have to worry about hanging them with bailing wire while you remove the rotors.

Do plan on having a nice long breaker-bar to remove the caliper bolts, and have loc-tite on hand for use when you re-install them.

By the way, my car only has 31,000 miles on it and the vibration damper has slipped to the extent that it causes extreme belt wear and noise. Total repair cost would be about $450. I doubt that GM will recognize that as their responsibility so here I go again with another quality issue for the 98 C5. There have been so many I have lost count.

Don Williams

 

[johnl]

I too used the write up and my P break adjusted quit nicely. Do the reverse aout adjust routines and it will tighten right up. It took about an hour and this includes the time to clean and put the tools away.
Sorry about your delar problems. I've been doing most of the work on mine for quite a while now and it really is an easy car to work on.
Cheerrs
J

 

[Don.Williams]

Johnl

Great that you too were also successful.

We took more than two hours but maybe it would have taken less time with only one person. I had help.

You mention that it is an easy car to work on, and I agree that it is, most of the time, but now look up what it takes to replace a crankshaft harmonic balancer. That's the next problem, at only 31,000 miles.

 

[johnl]

As long as your in there, drop in a reverse grind cam.

Just kidding. I know it's frustrating. The warranty coverage was nice but then I took a job and ended up commuting 1000mi/wk. Blew right through warranty milage, and I have been working on it ever since.
Good luck with it.
J

 

[danl72]

Wow, sorry to hear about ypur brake problems. I can actually say that i get good service from my local dealer, believe it or not. They take good care of my C5 when i have to take it in. I took it in to fix the tensioner that was making that horrible sqeeling noise and they found out that my water pump was leaking and replaced it under warranty. I did not even know it was leaking. I did have a feeling something was leaking, but I was going to wait to see if I could find it, but they found it for me. They have always been good at servicing my Vette, as well as my other GM cars that I had. This dealer is also owned by GM themselves. I think that all dealers hould give good service because that is what they are suppose to be there for. The service department is even open until midnight Monday through Friday.

 

[Don.Williams]

This whole story turnes out to have a happy ending, for me at least. I was having not only the brake problem but excessive rumble and noise in the front belt area. Estimated repair cost for the balancer replacement was $450 and I didn't think this was fair, even though the car was out of warranty.

I adjusted the rear brakes myself but then the front end noise got much worse.

I finally got the Corvette regional manager involved and the dealer asked me to bring the car in for a look.

Although the balancer still seems to have excessive wobble, they determined that it was not loose and had not moved. They did, however, do the following, all at no cost to me:

New main belt tensioner system [This is a new design]
New main serpentine belt
New Alternator and pulley
New Vibration damper [Both new design]
New A/C belt idler pulley
Replaced 2 exhaust system hangers which were causing muffler rumble

Turned all 4 brake rotors
Adjusted brakes and parking brake
Measured parking brake lining, good as new, no wear

Total cost for the above: $0.00

I checked and found that the dealer and GM shared the cost of all this, which would normally run around $1,000.00.

I paid them to change the brake fluid just to be sure there was no moisture accumulation.

Both the dealer and I agree that my Vette is now the quietest one they have worked on and I am very happy.

 

[atmmac]

I took my car in for the seat belt recall and and i told them to check the parking brake. It seems as though they tightened it but if the car is parked so that it will roll forward the brake will not hold that. It only holds when the cars rolls backwards. Just tonight I had another steering column lock problem. Called up my dealer and told him that it was doing it again. They had just fixed it in july. He apologized and told me that he would have a flatbed tomorrow morning and that i would have it back that same day. Talk about good service. I go to Mclaughlin Chevrolet In Whitman Massachusetts.

 

[Cirrus8]

I have heard pros and cons on the self adjusting star wheel. I have heard that there is no blade to adjust the star wheel and I have heard that there is a blade and that the star wheel can be adjusted by backing the Vette up and applying the e-brake while he car is still in motion. What is the truth or, does it vary with the year of the Vette?:confused :confused

 

[Don.Williams]

As far as I know, starting with the C5, 1997, the auto-adjust star wheel is not accessible without removing the wheel and disk/drum assembly.

If it was properly adjusted at the factory, the parking brake will self adjust every time you stop the car with the parking brake while rolling backwards.

If it is adjusted properly, the parking brake will prevent the car from moving when it is idling in gear. Also, the brake handle will have a maximum travel of about 45 degrees, no further.

If it is set so that self adjusting is working, you will have more parking brake effectiveness against rolling backwards down hill, and probably not enough effectiveness to prevent it from rolling down hill in the forward direction.

In my case, I was able to prove, using photographs, that the parking brake had never been adjusted at the factory. The adjusters were completely closed. I cleaned them with brake spray, adjusted them by feel, and got them into the self-adjusting mode.

Althought I had continually mentioned the parking brake problem to the service advisor, it never made it into the compter system, generally because "Why don't we do that next time", or "The brake dept. is busy now, just do the oil change for now, etc."

I finally reached the boiling point when taking the car in for an oil change, and guess what- "Sorry, your car is 3 months out of warranty".

The bottom line is that I persisted and got the parking brake adjusted (using a special gage), got all 4 rotors resurfaced, got a front accessory drive belt, new style idler pulleys and belt tensioners, and a new generator with a new pully and damper for it.

There are more details on all of this other front-end stuff under the heading "Crankshaft Balancer", and also in an earlier post on this topic.


DAW