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2004 GTP Rear brake problem

P

p coico

New member
My 2004 Grand Prix GTP Comp G has a
rear brake problem. I started to hear a scraping sound from the left
rear ( drivers side) wheel and looking at the rim I see a lot of
brake dust on it Also, recently I noticed that my e-brake pedal will
not depress when stepped on, stays in the up position and will not
budge. I took the wheels off both sides in the back and see that the
inner pad on the left side is shot. When I use a screwdriver to move
the e-brake lever on the caliper, I can move it to the engaged
position but when I remove the screwdriver pressure the tab does not
spring back... I have to push it back. But that's the case on both
sides, left and right, and the right side does not seem to have a
scraping issue. Here's my questions …...
1. How do I determine if it is the caliper that is stuck or a rusted/ stuck e-brake cable at the wheel ?
2. These calipers are the new type with the built in e-brake... I don't like these ….. how hard is it to get the e-brake cable off of them and back on.
3. How do you turn these pistons back in, assuming I don't have to replace the caliper.. since these are expensive??
4. If I have to replace the two e-brake cables going to the wheels, how hard is it to get that back together and adjusted ?

Thanks for any pointers..... I am trying to avoid bringing the car to a shop.. but I am stumped on how
to decide if I need to replace the caliper or the cables or both …. Thanks..
 


the e brake linkage could also be dirty and dry and maybe a good old fashioned lubing the parts up will fix it.

or the cables are rusted out inside their housings, have not changed them on a w body but have on other cars, its not to hard to change them.
 
BillBoost37 said:
Also keep in mind these calipers with the ebrake in them is known for having issues and needing to be replaced.
Click to expand...

Thanks guys .... I guess since I am used to the old setup that my 1997 GTP has in the rear.... simple caliper without the e-brake built in... I am not sure how to diagnose this. The e-brake petal will NOT depress at all..... caliper mechanism is hard to move with a screwdriver and stays in the position you pry it to unless you pry it back..... pads on drivers side look like the caliper kept pressure on them to wear them out.... but not sure if that is because of a bad caliper or the e-brake mechanism being stuck.. why they had to complicate these calipers boggles my mind..... and now they are like $80 ea !!
How do I get the e-brake cable off the caliper ?? Should I take the caliper off the mounting and try to just unload it and wiggle it off or do I have to get up in the middle of the car where the cable from the front comes down and joins the 2 back cables and somehow loosen up that tensioning gizmo that has a hex spinner on it ?? Thanks ..... Also,, how do you turn these caliper pistons in? Need a special tool ??? If so, is it in the loaner kits that some of the parts stores loan out ??? Man this used to be such an easy thing to do ....
 
This happened to me on a 2002 Cadillac Seville. I think the rear calipers are the same. You have to disconnect the cable from the caliper. I did this by removing the cable bracket that attaches to the caliper. Then pulled the cable end and got it disconnected. Move the parking brake mechanism on the caliper and see if it returns freely. If it does the caliper is just fine. If not you need to replace one or both calipers. On the Caddy it was the rear parking brake cables. The Caddy had 4 separate cables not sure about the Grand Prix. The cables were visually fine but were destroyed internally.

Don
 


Don,
Thanks... that was a big help. On the Caddy how difficult was it to remove the wheel cables at the end away from the wheels ? Any pointers on how to do it,,, I have never had to replace those before....
 
p coico said:
Don,
Thanks... that was a big help. On the Caddy how difficult was it to remove the wheel cables at the end away from the wheels ? Any pointers on how to do it,,, I have never had to replace those before....
Click to expand...

It was a trying experience due to rust. Once you have the cables separated at the caliper end you then go to the connection at the intermediate cable. After many many attempts to separate them I used an air hammer and they came right apart. This was about 6 or 7 years ago so remembering intricate details is difficult. But the second one went much faster than the first. When I did mine I had no forum help as most Caddy drivers have dealers work on their cars. So I went in blind and came out alright

Don
 
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