SO does anyone have any suggestions to why my backs brakes might not work?
I had an internal leak in the abs actuator but i replaced the actuator with a used one that doesnt leak and appears to work fine and bled all the lines. The back brakes did not work before and i was told by Midas that the ABS actuator was to blame. well the back brake may be working now but they dont lock up (abs speed sensors are out so i should b able to lock the wheels. I went on gravel and slammed on the brakes and only the fronts locked up. With or without abs the rears should have locked up momentarilly. So my ? is how to diagnose this problem. My E Brake works altho weakly, so i know the calipers arent stuck right? Fluid came out of the bleeder screw so the lines are fine? The pads should b good since they werent used for a good while. Also how do i tighten the ebrake? I would really like to resolve this problem so any input would be great, thanks for reading.

 

just keep pulling and releasing the handle like 10 time and see if they adjust.

if it doesn't work try another 15 times

it it still doesn't work, forget i told you anything.

 

lol ok... ive pulled them a couple times but only when taking the dash apart to get the center stack out. il try wat u said. im using the rust building up on the rotors to tell me whether or not the brakes are working form now on. if sum of that crap starts to fade away or showlines or wear from the pads then il know im good

 

does the parking brake hold you on a hill if you pull it? i think my drumbrake adjusters are shot. my brakes work good for a while, then start fading. i yank the handbrake a few times and i'm good for another week or so.

 

well no hills nearby to test on but i will test it, it i pull it as far up as it can go then put it in gear and ease off brake the car usually wont move but if im moving and pull it the e brake barely stops the car, hell it barely slows it. and my rears are discs incase u didnt read that but they are still self adjusting based on the handbrake being pulled i believe.

 

yea i saw you have discs. i don't know what the adjustment mechanism is on a disc brake... i was just making a semirelated comment about my own brakes.

 

gotcha, but i do think theres the same im pretty sure the owners manual said that. and hopefully others will have ideas as to wat else could be wrong.

 

there is a nut thats under the e brake boot on the drivers side look for the 2 small slits
and get a deep 10mm turn clockwise a little and that will pull the brake cable into the handle more
im not sure if this is supposed to be for adjustment but it will tighten the handle, but too tight might leave the park brake on a little so ,careful-you

 

pull your rear wheels and see if the caliper can move by hand.

 

Try to move the caliper? as in left to right or squeeze it or move the piston? I'm not exactly sure wat you mean, sorry.

 

slide it in and out like the caliper moves when it is being applied

 

alright maybe when i get out of school today il try that, and if it doesnt move what sould i do? Hit it harder lol? And what if it does, any other suggestion to my problem? Thanks so far though fo the help.

 

if it doesn't move then take the caliper off and lube up the slides. you may have to clean up the slides too. being in chicago they pit and rust.

 

alright hopefully today il get it done but ive got to go to the aerosmith concert tonight. will i have to push the piston in the caliper when im done i heard that was hard... i just wouldnt consider myself good at that.

 

 

you shouldn't need to touch the piston.

 

alright well it didnt seem to squeez much but i turned the disc while a friend pressed the brakes with the car on and jacked up (wheel off) and the disc locked up so the brakes must work but i dont know how well... on gravel the fronts locked up but the backs didnt seem too lock, what might be wrong?

 

you worry too much.
I doubt much of anything is wrong other than worn front struts.

 

lol yea i do and i probably shouldnt i just like to make sure everything works properly and with winter in a few months all the brakes working would be good to have and i got them so its all good. Thanks

 

if your struts are worn, your brakes can't function properly.

 

crap. i never thought of that before. i'll have to keep that in mind if by chance i have any dollars laying around in the future. my brakes aren't too great. I'm going to bleed them again because I have a feeling they have some air (it goes halfway down with almost no effort, and is not that hard to reach the stopper with a little pressure. I manually 'adjust' my rears from time to time but the fix doesn't stay for long.

 

When he followed me to my garage last time and we pulled out of the ShowPlace parking lot his struts looked a lil on the bad side, so I would also consider that a reason for his rear brake problem. One way to really find out

 

how much do these struts cost and can i put them in myself?

 

you can install them yourself and pricing varies widely by where and what brand you buy.

I have a pair of used rear tokicos with about 10k on them (I think less, but not 100% sure)

 

how much, how good a quality are they?

 

PM me an offer on em.