I had to use the e-brake to stop. Now it does not engage?

THEMAILMAN

MEMBER
2002 CHEVROLET BLAZER
4.3L
6 CYL
4WD
AUTOMATIC
180,000 MILES

A while back my regular brakes failed (a caliper started leaking) while driving. I had to use the e-brake to stop. Now it does not engage. Everything is fine with the pedal. I got someone to sit in it and push and release the pedal while I checked the action at the rear wheels and everything is fine there. It is just not grabbing. I tried adjusting them, but not sure if I turned them the right way or not. Either way I turn the adjuster, no change. Do I need to replace the shoes?

1 Reply

DANNY L

MECHANIC
5,648 POSTS

Hello, I'm Danny.

It sounds like you just have adjusted the rear shoes enough turns to tighten them up. They will only adjust one way correctly to tighten. You will hear clicking sounds while adjusting. Here is a tutorial for you to view showing how tp replace parking brake shoes: This video shows the job being done on a similar car but the process is the same.

https://youtu.be/uo1RnATyEok

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/parking-brake-shoe-replacement

I've attached picture steps below on parking brake replacement for your vehicle. Hope this helps and thanks for using 2CarPros.

Images (Click to make bigger)