2008 Uplander Rear Caliper Replacement

[quickcurrent]

I was trying to replace the brake rotors and pads on my 2008 Uplander, when I found out I could not squeeze the rear calipers on both sides. So I went and got rebuilt Raybestos calipers, but am having a problem with the emergency parking brake cable, that I hope someone here can assist me with.

The emergency parking brake cable has no slack to allow the end to be pulled off the old caliper and re-inserted into the rebuilt caliper. There is a convoluted union of the two cables going to each wheel that uses a bolt and what appears to be a collar with two 10mm nuts wrapped half way around with a cover making the nuts very hard to get at. Also the entire union sits atop the rear axle and it has been exposed to the elements over time and has much rust and crud on it. I've cleaned it with a rag and sprayed lots of penetrating oil on it last night to try to turn it to provide the slack I need to unhook the cable end and reconnect it to the new caliper. Still no go. Turning the nuts also turns the cable rather than the nut turning about the bolt. So I have some questions:

1) How big a job is it to replace the portion of cable going to the left rear wheel if I cut the cable?
2) Alternatively, could the spring on the caliper be disassembled safely by removing the bolt holding it to the caliper or is it likely to cause injury?

Thanks,

quickcurrent

[Tech II]

Not familiar with the Uplander.......hopefully you have not removed the old calipers yet......do the pistons have notches in them 180 degrees apart? If yes, then they don't squeeze in....they have to be rotated inward.....you will need a special tool that has notches and goes on the end of the ratchet/extension.....

This is a universal tool that I have used.....rotate the piston...if it goes outward, rotate in opposite direction.....

[quickcurrent]

Yes, they have V notches on the pistons, so I think I need some tool! But my notches are V shaped not very deep on the face of the piston and quite large, not quite like the ones I see online!

I had put one on, not the other, but can take it off and return them both.

Thanks

[Tech II]

They, the pistons, come in various shapes and sizes.....that's why the cube has 6 different types of projections on each face...

[quickcurrent]

It's a good thing to know, Tech II, about the screw type caliper pistons, which was news to me, and may (??) have caused me to replace calipers unnecessarily in the past!

This time I had to replace the calipers anyways. I went to one of my local parts stores down the street from me (Partsource, a chain in Ontario) that has a loan-a-tool program and borrowed their super duper screw type caliper tool kit, but was unable to retract the pistons even with a 1" wrench applied to the bolt on the tool for more leverage. Those suckers were really stuck! I sort of thought that might be the case because the pads on the back were worn less than on the front, but it was worth the try. Seems I had no brake action on the rear end of the vehicle for a while!

I took the vehicle to the dealer a few too many times and they managed to warp my rotors really badly, probably with the use of the damned air wrench on the stud nuts. I was getting pulsation and vibration whenever I applied the brakes on the highway.

So I had to do these brakes to fix that problem in spite of the pads and rotors not being that bad for wear (probably another 10,000 miles left on the pads). Good thing I did, after finding out about the seized rear calipers!

To do the emergency brake cables, I applied some Rustcheck undercoating spray on the bolt at the union of the cables above the rear axle and let sit overnight. Still the nuts/sleeve would not turn! I again applied more of that spray and the following day it started to turn. It was tough turning that nut/sleeve contraption because it's rather small, quite rusty, and awkward to get at it. It takes quite a while to screw it out to the end of the bolt to provide sufficient slack to disengage the cable from the old caliper and engage it on the the new one, I'd guess half an hour of meddling with it. At the end it goes on a little easier screwing it back to tighten the emergency brake cable, but still no piece of cake. The cable must be pinched with a vice grip to restrain it from turning and to permit turning the nut/sleeve assembly. I hope I never have to do this again! But just in case, I packed the cover with grease so the bolt/nut/sleeve contraption should not rust now, unless the summer heat melts it off!

The vehicle was also making a clunking sound that I had hoped was caused by the brakes being in poor condition, but, after doing the brakes, the clunking sound remains. The vehicle has just under 65,000 km on it (40,000 miles)! I asked my parts supplier what parts they sell lots of for this model of vehicle that might be a source of clunking and he suggested the strut mounts, but it feels to me more like some sealed joint ran out of grease (i.e. defective) and is now clunking from corrosion (perhaps tie rod ends). Any suggestions as to what might be going on? - the sound is normally made when I go to start from a stop, sometimes turning, usually a low speeds. It's not evident a highway speeds.

[quickcurrent]

Does anyone have any ideas about the clunking noises? Surely somebody else with more miles on the odometer than me must have run into this!