Ok heres the deal. Recently I notice a lot of brake drag whenever I use the e-brake. So I decide to take a look at the lines. On both sides the e-brake lines were ripped and hitting the suspension...so I did what motorvate said and bend that bracket away from the suspension. I notice that inside was a little rusted so i decided to spray some WD-40 and PB Blaster in the tears to free or lubricate anything up that might be rusted or rubbing. Then I taped off the tear so no more mositure would get in. Then I lubed both the the "horns" on the brake caliper where the cables connect to (again WD-40 and PB). Heres where the fun starts.

I tested the e-brake and I noticed that the drivers side horn is not releasing fully right away but the other side is fine. I tapped the horn into the position it was supposed to be lightly with a hammer and tested again with the same results. Is there a fix to this besides replacing the lines? I will be taking my wheels/brakes apart soon to do wheel studs, so what should I do to the parking brake while I have the brake assembly off? Thanks, and I hope someone has a solution cuz I really hate not using the brake.

Oh, BTW....After about 1/2 mile of driving after using the brake, I can feel the parking brake fully release while driving. Thanks

 

Nobody....I heard it was a common problem?

 

Just replace those lines. Either buy new or find a good set from a bone yard. Sounds like those lines are fubar'd

 

Couple of questions:
How much are new lines?
How much should I pay for used lines?
Easy to install?

Are you 100% sure its the lines? Because the right one is fine. And also, I can feel it release after 1/2 mile of driving, but if the lines were bad to the point where they were holding the brake, then they wouldn't release at all right? I was thinking maybe it's not the lines but the actual part that connects to the caliper. Thanks for your help, and is there any temporary fix that i can do to the lines?

 

How should I know? I'm not the one under your car looking at the damned things!

car-part.com or call your local junk yard to find out the prices.

Maybe the rear caliper is sticking? You won't know until you take the tire off and properly inspect the brake caliper.

Try here:
http://www.cybrrpartspro.com/Chilton...961m/8961.HTML
It covers 4-gen stuff too

 

 

I think your caliper is gone. I had the exact same problem with the rear right caliper. The cable brake was not releasing. the cable was itself was moving freely in and out when disengaged from the lever on the caliper. But the caliper lever itself was stuck. I posted other details here:


http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=257978

As a side note, untill I was ready to fix this, I left the cable brake unhooked from the caliper. That made the cable brake acting on ony one wheel, but was no big deal. Only after I realized the caliper was seized all together. That meant even the service brakes ( hydraulic) was not working on that wheel either. I noticed a big difference once I changed the caliper.

I dont think your lines are the cuplrit, but the caliper is.
Disconnect the cable brake from the caliper and have an assistant pull and release the cble brake handle inside the car while you are watching the other end of it. If it moves freely in and out, you will know the line is not at fault.

 

I love your exploded views Jeff, very helpfull!

His caliper is probably shot. Thats what failed on my old Prelude, the rear caliper e-brake assembly. They were so tight that the brake wouldn't release at times. I almost cooked the rear rotors a few times.

 

I agree with what Twiggy said and I had the same prob. The line had a slice in it...got corroded...caused the line to always be pulled(on)...seized out caliper and the arm wouldnt pull the cable off because it was siezed. I would fix the caliper and e line cuz if it corrodes more and you keep getting drag ur pads will be gone and you will probably go through more calipers. What i "paid" (all was warrantied) 80 for line 120 for caliper (if i remember correctly)

 

F*CK That.....this is just another reason to sell the maxima. God damn, so many problems...it's like I discover one every day, I am getting really mad right now

 

This problem is not specific to MAxima. You can expect similar problems to any make of a seven year old car.