SiberiaSurvivor

hello everyone. proud owner of a new to me 2001 silverado. 130k. coupe of days after i got the car i put it in a driveway with an incline and the parking brake was super stiff when i tried to push it. when it finally gave a little the brake light on my dash came on. checked fluid level and that seems fine. brake seemed to disengage just fine and i dont hear or feel any drag. not sure where to go from there. any advice greatly appreciated!!

kinda new to domestic trucks. traded a 2000 bmw with 180k for it. even trade.

SiberiaSurvivor

SiberiaSurvivor

posted in wrong section. whoops. Mods please delete. thanks!

oldchevy

Did the parking brake pedal come back up all the way? There is a switch there to let you know that the parking brake is on. Maybe the switch went bad or is stuck.

SabrToothSqrl

Parking brakes are mechanical - they pull a metal cable. No fluid...

subfan597

I just did rear brakes on my '01 Suburban. The dust plates were long gone, which helped to destroy my rotors and the parking brakes as well. The is a common problem with these parking brakes. The adjustment hardware rusts up and resists engagement. Or, as was in my case, although they engaged they wouldn't release and eventually ground down to atoms. I have 236K on my vehicle, and my parking brakes were removed long ago. I just replaced the dust plates with a two piece set that doesn't require the axle to be removed for their installation. My intent was to replace the parking brakes as well but whoever removed them snapped off a small bolt that holds the parking brake shoe retainer clip in place. It seems to me that you need to take those rear rotors off and the parking brake hardware as well. But leave that retainer in place, and just remove and replace the adjustment hardware with plenty of lithium grease that comes with the new kit which costs about $18. The parking brake shoes were about $20 apiece. And, while your at it, remove, inspect, and grease the guide pins. And you may want to throw on some new pads and rotors. And what the heck, replace those dust plates to help protect your investment of time and money. They were $27 apiece. Watch a Youtube video on it like I did, only wear gloves when removing that rusty dust plate unlike using your bare hands like the guy in the video did.

oilcanhenry

Might be a stuck brake caliper piston.