Nopike

iTrader: (2)

Decided to do a brake job. I have performed dozens including a few on my Maxima. I replaced the rear pads, rotors and also had to replace the drivers side rear caliper because the old one would not retract. The other rear caliper is only a couple of years old and appears to function normally.

I then bled the new caliper. Now when I apply the parking brake handle it travels its complete distance. Not the few inches (3-4 clicks) like it used to. The new drivers’ side caliper is barely stopping the wheel from turning at all. The passenger side appears to be fine. All the mechanical linkage is connected and appears to work just fine. I suspected that the new caliper was the cause so tried another new one and same bad results.

The parking brake worked just fine prior to this brake job. At this point I’m stumped and welcome any suggestions.

Zach-R

iTrader: (3)

My guess would be you need to adjust your cables. I cant tell you exactly how to because i have not done a Maxima before but my Civic did the same thing. Get a service manual or do a search for the procedure how. Good luck.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

Thanks. I guess my thinking is that with the thicker pads and rotors I would expect there to be less slack when I pull the lever, not more. I'll try that anyways.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

Tried procedure from FSM. Tightening the adjustment screw helped a bit but it still seems like the drivers side caliper is still not engaging at all.

1. Loosen parking brake cable.
2. Depress brake pedal fully more than 5 times.
3. Operate control lever 10 times or more with a full stroke (213
mm).
4. Adjust control lever by turning adjusting nut.
5. Pull control lever with specified amount of force. Check lever
stroke and ensure smooth operation.
Number of notches: 10 - 11 [196 N (20 kg, 44 lb)]
6. Bend warning lamp switchplate. Warning lamp should come on
when lever is pulled “A” notches. It should go off when the lever
is fully released.
Number of “A” notches: 1

Maxima_Joe

iTrader: (384)

You can try removing the caliper and moving the parking brake mechanism by hand to see if the piston moves. Could just be you got 2 bad remans.
I'm unsure if it matters but there's a pin on the pad that needs to be lined up with the groove in the piston.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

Thank you!

With the first reman, the piston seemed frozen and I was not able to turn it. The second one appears to operate normally moving in and out when I turn the piston. I thought that would solve the problem but no such luck.

I was not aware of the pin on the pad that needs to be lined up with a groove in the piston until recently. I'll try that tomorrow but I'm not feeling very optimistic. I have replaced the pads back there a few times and never even noticed that and my parking brake worked just fine.

I'm not too concerned about not having a parking brake but not having an emergency brake really bothers me.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

The nub on the pad should slide into the piston indentation at the 3 oclock postion. I did that and adjusted the piston so the pads fit somewhat tight against the rotor.

Problem is as soon as I engage the parking brake the caliper self ajdusts and the pads move away from the rotor. This causes the parking brake to be loose. The only thing I can think of is that the two calipers that I bought at Advance Auto are faulty.

Only other thing I can think of is that I'm not bleeding the line properly except that I changed the rear calipers a couple of years ago and did not have any issues with bleeding the lines.

Unless someone suggests something better I will try a third caliper from another source.

GGENIUS

iTrader: (1)

parking break and ebrake are the same thing on these cars... and if the piston on one caliper wont spin, then its seized, so theres no point in using it.

maybe you shouldnt be doing your own brake work?

GGENIUS

iTrader: (1)

also im pretty sure amount of pad left has nothing to do with how far you can pull your ebrake

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for being so helpful. I understand parking and E brake are the same thing and that calipers with seized pistons don't function properly.

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

I agree with you there. Maybe the companies that reman these calipers are not worth a damn.

GGENIUS

iTrader: (1)

they arent. our pistons are incredibly easy to compress with a pair of needle nose. you should test it before you leave with it.

GGENIUS

iTrader: (1)

okay let me get a clear idea of whats going on with your ****. you replaced your brake pads and rotors in the rear, and only the left rear caliper was seized? so you replaced it twice. and youre sure now that the right caliper is not seized?

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

That is correct the right caliper is not seized. I had to retract it to fit new pads and rotor. The new left one works properly also expect for the e-brake issue.

At this point I'm trying to figure out why the rear left caliper backs off when I engage the e-stop. My guess is these were not remaned properly. I will find out by purchasing a new (reman) caliper from another source.

GGENIUS

iTrader: (1)

what do you mean backs off? what does the cable literally do on the left side? can you not see it engaging?

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

Thanks to all that provided suggestions.

The issue was the POS new (reman) calipers from Advance Auto. I purchased a new caliper from OReily, Cardone brand. Installation was easy as expected, and the parking brake now fuctions perfectly. Just like it did before all this BS.

Receiving these defective parts made a simple job take many hours of work and frustration. Although I have generally had good luck in the past it seems like you can't trust many of these reman operations. My feeling is that their QC is probably very poor.