Brake Smell
 

I recently replaced the rear rotors and brake pads on my Blazer and since then I've noticed that there is an odor coming from my rear wheels. It smells a lot like it would if you've ever driven with your emergency brake on. At first, I dismissed it as my new roters/brakes setting, but now I'm wondering if I should investigate this further.

Also, how difficult is it to replace the brake pads on a Blazer. I used to drive an Oldsmobile and the calipers on that car needed a special tool to release them so you can get the brake pad and caliper back on the rotor. I was afraid that this was true for most/all GMs, so I went ahead and took mine in. But if I can save $60 or so, I'd rather just do it myself next time.

RE: Brake Smell
 

No special tools required with our rear brake setup. It's only on the setups with an integrated parking brake like your Olds had.

As far as the rear brakes are concerned, did you make sure that that slider pins were well lubed and that the caliper could slide easily? If the pins were not lubed up, then the caliper could be dragging the pad on the rotor.

RE: Brake Smell
 

One of the pins in each caliper was rusted. I know the mechanic lubed the crap out of them, but I don't know successful he was. I really don't want to spend the money on new calipers right now. I was trying to see the pads were rubbing based on how well she coasted, but I had never driven a Blazer before and I don't know how well they coast.

Also, when I make a hard right, there is a slight grinding sound that concerns me a bit.


Now that you bring up the parking brake. How do you check if the parking brake is still good on a Blazer?