I know virtually everything from 95-05 was the same for both j bodies, but there are some differences.
Somehow, my e-brake assembly auto tensioner broke, and it tightens, and tightens and tightens, but doesn't release. Idk what happend, but it IS in the assembly inside the car.
So my question is are the parking brake assemblies the same for all third gens?
I think I answered my own question. Seems there is one for 95-99 and one for 2000-2005.
tell me if you know so much my friend, i redid my back brakes and now i have no e-brake i retighten the star wheel till the drums just barely rubbed enough to stop on their own after a few turns?
2010 Lonestar Bash 2nd place J-Body Street Class
I'm not sure what your asking, but if your asking "I just did my rear brakes, and now my e-brake doesn't work so well. " Then yes, you have to tighten the star wheel until the shoes are just rubbing against the drums. You should get roughly a few turns out of the wheel before it stops. You should just barely hear the dragging. If that doesn't solve your no e-brake, then check the cables. They may be frozen, or not moving freely enough.
Did you replace the hardware?
yes i replaced everything and adjusted the star wheel to where they just barely drag. i noticed that when i moving at a low speed i can pull it and i will feel it slow the car a bit but not a lot.
2010 Lonestar Bash 2nd place J-Body Street Class
Definitely check the cables under the car. Make sure nothing is getting hung up, or frozen.
If everything is moving as it should, try tightening the star wheels one more click on each side.
If that still doesn't work, then your cables might be stretched out.
When you use the e-brake while moving, it's not going to slow your car like the hydraulic brakes do. The e-brake uses the rear brake shoe only.
i think i stretched them out, how do i fix them if their stretched out?
2010 Lonestar Bash 2nd place J-Body Street Class
Only thing you can do is replace them. If they are stretched out beyond the point of having the slack taken up by the auto adjuster, then all that's left is replacing the cables.
how hard is it to replace them?
2010 Lonestar Bash 2nd place J-Body Street Class
Well you have you take the drums apart again to replace the one the goes side to side. To replace the one that goes from inside the car to down to the rear axle, It looked an awful lot like you'd have to remove the carpeting. According to GM you need their special tool to remove the cable from the e-brake lever assembly, but you could probably make your own tool using a hose clamp or something.
It looks fairly straight forward though. I'd try replacing the one that goes from the driver's side to the passenger side (there might be two, but it looked like one).
Matter of fact, when you did your rear brakes, did you hook up the e-brake cables properly on the shoes on both sides? I'd take the drums off real quick and see if they are all put back together right.
i hope i did, i need a example of what they should look like
2010 Lonestar Bash 2nd place J-Body Street Class
I'll have access to all data tuesday again and i'll see if they have a diagram. If not, i'll pop off my drum and snap a pic.
alright man thanks i appreciate it
2010 Lonestar Bash 2nd place J-Body Street Class
subscribed, i would like to make my ebrake level tighter also.
~1996 Cavalier LS 2.4L (auto)
I have noticed on many j's the e-brake is not all that tight. On my old sunfire gt, no matter what I did, it would break loose right around 1400 rpm's. Before My ebrake lever broke though on my cavi, it would hold like no-body's business. I had it up to 2000 rpm's before it broke loose. On our old 98 sunfire se, it held to about 1300 rpms no matter what, and on our old cavi sedan, it held to roughly 1800 rpms. My current cavi and my gt are both manuals, while the se and sedan were auto's, so I don't see any correlation there.
Letxen3, the best way to tighten your e-brake is to first be sure your shoes are adjusted properly. This can be a painstaking process, and take quite some time to get perfect. You have to jack up the rear axle so the wheels are off the ground, with the e-brake off, and adjust the star wheel from behind the backing plate. You should hear the shoes dragging slightly on the drums. You should also get a couple revolutions out of the wheel before it stops.
If that has no effect on your e-brake, then since you have a 96, you should have an adjuster screw on the lever assembly inside the car under the center console. Try tightening that.
Alldata didn't have a great picture, but friday I'm planning on swapping out the lever and I'm going to be removing the drums, so I'll snap a pic then if you can wait till then.
