I'm totally clueless on how to ask this question, but here goes 'nuthin.

I have a 2000 ZR2 4x4 and my back brakes are shot...rotors and all. My dad can help me replace the pads and rotor, but since everything is so chewed up, I am worried about any potential difficulty with the emergency brake components that I've been told are in amongst the rear brake assembly.

My E-brake doesn't work right now, and I am fairly certain it's because I basically have no rear brakes. I should also mention that I have rubbing and squealing while in motion, and it only gets worse when I push the brake pedal.

The main question: will I have any surprises once I pull the pads and rotor off? If so, any photos would be welcome and advice most appreciated.

PS: I tried my best to search the forum for answers to this, but didn't see anything...and didn't quite know what to search for.

Thanks in advance!

 

Since these trucks have 4 wheel disc brakes, the parking brake is a little different than on a disc/drum setup. Some vehicles can use the caliper as part of the parking brake but I'm not sure on that and this isn't one of those cases anyway. What the parking brake is, is pretty much a small drum brake housed inside the rear rotor that is engaged by the parking brake pedal and pushes up against the inside of the rotor. If it doesn't work now it could be misadjusted or the pads have worn down so they no longer make contact with the rotor or the cable could be snagged on the frame somewhere as the cable runs through it in a few places. You don't even have to touch the parking brake to change the rotor if you don't care that it doesn't work. The pads can be adjusted outward if they are worn down. However, something to note: I just had my rear pads, rotors and calipers redone and ran into what appears to be a common problem. The calipers are aluminium and for some reason, they don't like being pressed in to change the pads. This was done on my Blazer just like any other disc brake job but then the calipers started sticking. Chances are you will need new rear calipers as well. I vaguely remember reading something about this somewhere on here before it happened to me but it didn't help me any because a mechanic did mine and even though I suspected the calipers sticking they didn't listen to me until the third time I brought it.back with smoking rear brakes. That squealing noise may be the metal tabs in the pads to let you know its time for new o.es or it could be the metal pad backing if its gone too far

 

Thank you sir. You prompted me to call my regular mechanic and he explained that while they heat up the calipers in effort to help prevent them from sticking, it's actually the caliper brackets that more often than not become the problem...(I hope I got that correct - I'm not so great with this stuff).

In any event, I think I'll just leave it to the pros and save myself any problems once I have it ripped all apart.

Thanks so much for the insight!

 

I had the same problem with mine...but didn't know it until removing the calipers to replace the rear brakes. The caliper slide bolts were rusted/seized, causing the calipers to **** sideways, and stick. The caliper piston itself wasn't sticking.Pulled out the slides,cleaned them, gave them a major does of silicone brake lube,put all the new components on, and voila! Rear brakes work great! Now for the front..