Heed Jon B's warning on 2003-2010 emergency brake issue

[FrgMstr]

Use a punch.

[ohlarikd]

What are you missing? A sledgehammer most likely...mine was fairly stuck too. Just need a hammer with some mass behind it.

Ah ok, I used a hammer and an awl. Now that it's out, I see it has a compression fitting on it. Makes sense now. Thanks!

Drivers side basically ok, but swapped pads and pushed in piston. Have to do passenger side another day, it was against garage wall and no time to finish anyway. That is the side where I hear squeaking, so I am a little worried.

[A2008]

My 08 has 4700 miles on it. Checked both sides. Passenger side: Both pads look good, even wear. Driver Side: Outside pad looks good. Inside pad is half of what outside pad is. I rarely ever use my emergency brake. Will be moving the inside pad to the outside. Thanks for the Heads up! Great Post

[swexlin]

Just had my new Baer rotors installed, and along with all fresh pads. I'm now going to attempt to not use the e-brake unless it is:
a. and ACTUAL emergency
b. parking on a steep hill

[ohlarikd]

Checked the passenger side today, even wear. Both sides were fine luckily, but swapped pads anyway. The squeaking I had at low speed is GONE, so that is a relief. Now, if I can just break the habit of using the parking brake all the time. My attempt to not use it today resulted in pulling it 4 times in one excursion. Arrrrg.

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

Checked the passenger side today, even wear. Both sides were fine luckily, but swapped pads anyway. The squeaking I had at low speed is GONE, so that is a relief. Now, if I can just break the habit of using the parking brake all the time. My attempt to not use it today resulted in pulling it 4 times in one excursion. Arrrrg.

Therein lies the problem: Each time you (habitually) yank the handle, you ratchet-tighten the inner pad against the rotor.

This trick will stop your habit immediately: Make a loop of tape, or duct tape, or double-stick tape, and put it on the UNDERSIDE of the E-handle where you grab it. Out-Of-Sight. The instant you then grab the habit-handle you will recoil at the "tacky" feeling instead of pulling it. If you still NEED to brake you can choke-down on the handle and still use the E-brake.

It is a RARE SRT10 that is NOT dragging the inner Epad, and damaging the pad and rotor, out of sight. You gotta look.

[Creatre]

Been trying to be better about this lately. Annoying when I have to use the ebrake on a incline because I get the squeak back for a few days. Assuming it wears the pad a bit and that's why it disappears after a little driving.

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

Been trying to be better about this lately. Annoying when I have to use the ebrake on a incline because I get the squeak back for a few days. Assuming it wears the pad a bit and that's why it disappears after a little driving.

You described it Exactly......


Trivia: Gen 1-2 does the mechanical tightening rear adjustment too, but the dual-role hydraulic caliper does not make it a negative factor! Hint for Gen 1-2 Track-Rats: Pull and release the E-brake handle 5-6 times before a track event session to actually Add a bit of rear brake bias! G1-2 rears SUCK.... this process makes the rears bite a bit sooner, and with a bit more tip-in pressure! Your Track-tip for the day....

[swexlin]

Having just installed new brakes and rotors (thanks Jon, by the way) I am diligently trying not to do this. One question -
is it a bit more wear on the T-56 to leave it in gear on a slight incline without using the e-brake?

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

No Parts Moving, so no real wear.....no friction, no heat...the weight of the static car is far less than any at-speed load. Just be dang-sure you have it firmly in gear.

[SA Heat]

Just a reminder for Gen 3-4 owners....

Thank goodness I saw this thread. My inside e-brake pad on the driver's side was worn down to almost nothing....put a new pad on this morning. Wheel up to wheel down took less than two hours total. It will go a lot quicker if I ever have to do it again.

Does anyone know of a known permanent fix yet other than disconnecting everything?

[swexlin]

No Parts Moving, so no real wear.....no friction, no heat...the weight of the static car is far less than any at-speed load. Just be dang-sure you have it firmly in gear.

Thanks Jon!

[ohlarikd]

Does anyone know of a known permanent fix yet other than disconnecting everything?

Sadly, there is no solution. I just never use the emergency brake anymore... just leave it in reverse. Kind of a pain in certain situations as you can never leave the car running.

[SA Heat]

Sadly, there is no solution. I just never use the emergency brake anymore... just leave it in reverse. Kind of a pain in certain situations as you can never leave the car running.

Thanks. I'll try to do the same as much as possible. I don't like the idea of the pad dragging, but at least the "fix" (pad replacement) is relatively easy.

[Vprbite]

Always leave it in first or reverse, right? As higher gears could roll on a steep incline? I was also taught to put a car In Reverse if facing downhill and first when uphill. Though I am not sure if that makes a difference. Perhaps someone who knows more can add their expertise

[swexlin]

On very steep incline I'll still use the brake, but on a very slight incline, any forward gear (if uphill) should work.

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

HINT: I talked the last guy out of buying ANY parts from me or the dealer. How? Just SWAP the 2 unworn outer pads with the 2 thin, worn, inner pads. Move outside pads IN, and inside pads OUT. The outer pad gets almost NO wear, and you can see it easily, so you don't even have to spend $60 on half-a-set of pads.


But if you IGNORE this Gen 3-4 SRT issue you could have to spend a lot more on ruined rear rotors and/or calipers.

GEN 5 OWNERS with mileage on car: please examine, report back? THANKS.

[HEADCSE]

I caught mine in time on my 03. I couldn't believe it. I changed them out just in time. The problem is once I did that I had to powder coat the calipers cause I wanted them red. Then that took a while so it created more time to get rid of the run flats to PS2 and chrome the wheels. It turned into much more than a 100 dollar project! LMAO!

[kblake905]

Hmmm.
This post had me worried so I checked my 2004 with 18,000 miles.
I had habitually set the parking brake every time I parked.
They looked fine! Whew!
But I will refrain from using the E-brake from now on.....
DSC03225.jpg

[Steve M]

Hmmm.
This post had me worried so I checked my 2004 with 18,000 miles.
I had habitually set the parking brake every time I parked.
They looked fine! Whew!
But I will refrain from using the E-brake from now on.....
DSC03225.jpg

Your pad wear is nice and even...if mine looked like that, I'd keep using the parking brake without hesitation.

I wonder why yours is so nice and even, and the rest of us suffer from massively uneven wear?

[ohlarikd]

Your pad wear is nice and even...if mine looked like that, I'd keep using the parking brake without hesitation.

I wonder why yours is so nice and even, and the rest of us suffer from massively uneven wear?

That is how mine looked at 5000 miles on my 2005. Pretty even. But I pushed the pads out anyway and I don't use the e-brake anymore because they still were squeaking.

[Steve M]

That is how mine looked at 5000 miles on my 2005. Pretty even. But I pushed the pads out anyway and I don't use the e-brake anymore because they still were squeaking.

Yeah...mine squeak all the damn time.

[ohlarikd]

Yeah...mine squeak all the damn time.

It was very annoying and also kinda embarrassing in traffic and parking lots... Took me awhile to break the e-brake habit.

[Vprbite]

So can anyone answer me if leaving it in reverse when facing downhill and 1st when facing uphill is better than just first gear? I was originally told that when learning at 15 yrs old but I don't know if it actually makes it difference. Anyone know for sure?

[ViperGTS]

Usually, you go with the highest gear ratio:
1st = 2.26
R = 2.90

First - emergency brake.
Second - 1st or R.
Third - Turn the front wheels so that the wheel hits the curb when moving downhill.
Parked.