I tried to pull out of the drive way the other day after releasing the parking brake and the truck would barley move. I finally made it back into the drive way. I think the drivers side emergency brake is froze up. Its cold here right now. I replaced the rear brakes along with the emergency brake pads last month. Seamed to work fine until cold weather set in. Any fixs, TSB's?

2004 Chevy Silverado
1500 ext cab
2 wheel drive
5.3 v8

 

old school solution to this problem is not to use the emergency brake during the cold weather.

take a hair dryer or heat gun and see if you can get the brake cable to release

must have moisture inside the cable, when it releases spray it good with silicon oil.

you may just not need to use the emerg brake for a while.

 

try not to pull it up too hard in the winter or it freezes... since it is in reverse anyways when you leave the car all should be prettttttty secure. at least in my opinion.

 

Ill give this a shot thanks guys...

 

I have got a similar issue, let me know what you guys think about this:
If I put the e-brake on, when I pull back the handle to release, I have to pull
It back with all my strength to get the e-brake to release, sometimes it pulls the
Dash off, I am afraid I am gonna brake it eventually.

Luckily there are no hills around here and I never have to use it,
But whenever I park on a hill I hate to have the truck resting solely
On it's gears. Is there a way I can fix this issue?
I have no idea why I have to pull the handle so far back and so hard
In order to get it to release.

Thanks

 

Mine is definitely not the cables. The Handle moves easily. I think its in the actuator at the wheel. Does anyone no if its hydraulic or mechanical for the emergency brake with disk brakes in the rear? I changed them but didnt really look into how the Ebrake was engaged.

Mille, yours sounds like its at the peddle release. Also it could be cables. If the handle doesn't move freely then it could be rusty cables and need a good dose of silicone. If it moves freely then it might need to tighten the cables up or the them up. But it sounds like the release on the Ebrake peddle. If you are pushing the e-peddle to the floor is there room for it to retract a little to release? If its going to the floor cables need tighten. Peddle release cable could be stretched also.

 

I carry a chock block; best damn e-brake going. Put a rope loop through it to make it easy to pick up. Save the factory e-brake for safety roadside checks.

Anybody know why they still call them e-brakes anyway? Nobody uses it in an emergency. I think most manuals call it a parking brake these days.