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HUGE thump from rear wheels when moving away. Any ideas?

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Old Apr 18, 2003 | 04:59 PM
  #1  
bb0ys's Avatar
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HUGE thump from rear wheels when moving away. Any ideas?

Ok heres the background:
It's a 97 SE 5 speed. I parked it at one of the school parking lots, left the car in neutral, and pulled the e-brake up. It only went up about 8 clicks til snug (i never pull hard). This is how I always park it. 12 days later (today), I went to the car, started it up, and put it in first.
The instance I moved forward, I heard (and felt) a huge thump/clunk/clang and the car lurched forward.
I instantly knew the rear brakes were the culprit. I thought the calipers might be frozen, but I didn't feel any drag from the rear of the car as I drove it. I did notice that my rotors seem warped (or there are deposits on them, since warping is a "myth") from the vibrations in the wheels/shaking of car (very minimal) when I step on the brakes hard at high speeds.

Does anyone have any ideas why my brakes were locked up after i put the ebrake down, if that was what really happened? Is this common or has anyone else had similar experiences.
Thanks for the help.
Old Apr 18, 2003 | 05:16 PM
  #2  
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i think mine do that too, i have an auto so i dont pull my ebrake unless i absolutely have to cuz when i do, my passenger side rear brake will sort of drag when im goin down the road. mine will stop after a day or so, that or sometimes if i wash the brakes it will stop.
Old Apr 18, 2003 | 05:22 PM
  #3  
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Moisture can cause your rotors to rust and develop a high spot where your pads where. Do a few hard stops on the highway from 70 down to 30, let the rotors cool by driving a mile or so, then repeat. Do that 4 or 5 times, just like your bedding in new pads and rotors. That should wipe away the high spot and restore smooth braking and stop your thunk thunk thunk.
Old Apr 19, 2003 | 07:48 AM
  #4  
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Re: 1 more thing

I did the bedding process and I notice a very slight increase in the smoothness of braking. There is still some vibration, but I'm going to need to replace the rotors and pads eventually, probably when I do a 100K service.
I'm still concerned about the "sticking" that happened while my car sat there.

If I take the rear wheels off, whats the easiest way to tell if a caliper is seized? I'll try playing aroung with the ebrake while the wheels are off...anything I should look for?
Old Apr 19, 2003 | 12:10 PM
  #5  
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Anyone?

Any ideas from someone else?
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