So i always keep my parking brake in good adjustment there is always tension on the lever as soon as you start pulling it. The other day i was going really slow about to park and i pulled the parking brake and it easily locked up the rear tires like it normally does. It didn't seem any different than it normally does. The next time I went to park the car i notice the parking brake lever has 3-5 inches of play in it and if i pulled it all the way it would hardly apply the rear brakes.

I figured worse case scenario something broke along the brake cable. So i adjusted the tension bolt on the brake lever and now it has tension like it always did maybe .5 inches of play but now I still can't lock up the rear tires and the rear brakes barely hold the car and I am pulling pretty hard on the lever. I can't figure whats going on. If it was the pads or calipers failing I figured it would only effect one side. I checked the calipers the pads are better than 80% and the pins don't show any rust.

Could the piston on one of the calipers failed by backing its self back into the caliper? I have never heard of this.

 

Have you checked to make sure one of the cables didn't snap or come off? The parking brake still locks both rear wheels?

 

Thought that might be it so i drove along some gravel both tires lock up.

I would think it was just be due to my pads/rotors/calipers being old but the fact that there was a sudden change in the tension on the brake cable leaves me with no explanation

 

one part of your cable has a bind or is seized. It will only get worse.

When that happens again try driving for a minute or two. Stop the car and see if one of the rear brake discs is hotter than the other. I DO NOT INTEND for you to touch the rotor... that would be stupid. Just wave your hand and see if one feels hotter. If yes... that parking brake cable should be replaced.
If no... my guess is that the cable that comes off the parking brake part you pull is partly seized. Replace that and all should be good.

 

So i looked at the drivers side caliper and found it wasn't releasing fully. The spring feels very weak and it takes very little additional force to release the brake. The pads on the rear are new an I have no problems with the caliper sticking in normal driving does it need to be replaced just for the parking brake sticking? Has anyone replaced the spring and had this solve the problem? Are there any other fixes for this besides replacing the caliper?
Where is the best place to get a good rear caliper?

 

you can buy a used one from me or go to autozone and give them your old one and they will give you a new one with a lifetime warranty on it i think, good luck

 

It's posible that you've been keeping that cable adjusted to tight, causing a slight drag on your rear brakes. If so, then your pads are all glazed up and have limited griping power. That's why you can't hold the car anymore.

Do check the cables, verify the caliper functions correctly also, if both check out OK, I'd start looking really hard for new pads and rotors back there.

 

Hey everyone. I wanted to post a new thread on the question but the site won't let me. I have '95 Maxima rear calipers on the rear of my Suzuki Samurai. Its a fairly common application for a rear disc conversion due to the integrated ebrake. I fabbed up everything and the brakes work great (after some adjustments to the MC and valving). When I pull the ebrake the spring loaded lever on the calipers bottom out completely (fully on) but I have very little ebrake holding power. I got these calipers used and media blasted them and painted them so everything is clean, greased and slides fine. I did not pull the pistons out though. Both twisted back into the caliper bodies fine and I am reusing the pads (over 75% left). I am wondering if there is any further adjustment I am missing. The nissan manual doesn't talk about any ebrake adjustments at the caliper location. The rotors are Suzuki but the same thickness as the Nissans. Here is the link to my build for picture references. thanks. http://www.zukikrawlers.com/showthread.php?t=39224. And sorry for hijacking the thread....

 

I had the same exact issue a few weeks ago. I actually ended up driving with the brake engaged until one rotor was red hot. I too found that the brake wasn't releasing at the caliper, but the cable was fine. I just replaced the calipers with some rebuilds from advance auto in March, so it was a little disappointing to see this happen already. From what I've gathered on these threads, the rear calipers on our 4th gen's are full of issues. I would just buy some rebuilds from Autopartswarehouse or some similar place. The A1Cardone's are a decent price.

 

I think i had something similar I believe but mine was due to cold weather. my ebrake would freeze up, all i would have to do is pull it a few times and it released. whats your weather like?