I am having problems with my brake system. I got four new tires about a month ago and had them do a visual brake inspection. They advised of new rotors and pads, and some front end parts that might need replacing. The car is at 98,000 miles. Ever since they put the new tires on, I have noticed a metal rattling sound from right front tire area and it feels like the something is engaged (the 4 wheel drive, the parking brake, abs, something like that); no indicators show that these are on. It feels like the front tires are really grabbing and grinding when I brake. Last night, as I was backing out of my driveway, the brakes suddenly quit working and the parking brake indicator came on, the car did stop at that point, and now in reverse the brakes are very sudden. A friend went to drive it around the block, I was outside the car, and when they got to the closest stop, about 30 feet away, I heard a lound thud or clunking when they braked. I called the tire place and they said my calipers may be overextended or worn out. I wanted to get other opinions about this, the car is not even drivable at this point. Thanks for your help!

 

First thing is are you going to be doing the work yourself? If you are, you really need to get things apart and take a look. Fully inspect the calipers and all brake lines and hoses. Get yourself a set of brand name, Raybestos or Bendix, rotors and don't go cheap on them. The cheapest set will warp rather quickly. Also get a good name brand set of pads.

Jack up the front end of the truck and remove the front wheels. Loosen the bleeder screw on the caliper and put a prybar (or large screw driver) between the outside pad and the caliper and push the piston back in. You may want a rag over the bleeder to catch most of the fluid. The reason why I recommend popping the bleeder is so that you won't push all of the junk in the caliper back up into the system. Make sure that whne you push the piston in when it gets close to all the way in, you need to close the bleeder so that you don't introduce air into the caliper. You may still need to bleed the brakes afterwords, but you want to minimize the amount of air introduced.

Once the caliper has been compresseed, you can remove the caliper, the caliper bracket, and then the rotor should slip off... (I can't remember if the Blazers have a caliper bracket, if not, disregard that part above). Load the new pads into the caliper. Clean the new rotor with brake parts cleaner and wipe dry with a clean, lint-free rag (I'm partial to the blue shop/paper towels). Slip the rotor back on and reassemble everything the reverse of the disassembly.

Always remember to top off your brake fluid with fresh DOT3 fluid and pump up your brakes until you get a firm pedal before you start or move your vehicle.