SNKPWR

i was driving the 93 SE for a couple of days since i don't drive it much, and it had been sitting pretty much since i bought the GT in January...cleaned the windows, checked the coolant and oil levels, aired up a low tire....all was good until yesterday coming home from work, POP! from the right rear, then CLANK CLANK CLANK CLANK, etc...i pulled over to the side of the interstate, looked up under the car back there, no sign of anything out of place, so i figured it must be the brakes, inside the drum....

so all the while home (~20 miles), i was limping in the slow lane at 40 mph w/ my flashers on, HORRIBLE clanging noise coming from the right rear brake, with about half-power brakes (left LOTS of stopping room in front of me)....

i just can't wait to take that drum off and see how many parts fall out....i've never done drum brakes before, i wonder how many pieces i might have to replace?

oh well, when i get it fixed, i'll post some pics up of carnage...wish me luck!

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-2002 Grand Prix GT Black

richtazz

I believe your 93 has rear disc brakes, and the rotor broke.
You were looking at the hat still attached to the hub, and the clank you heard was the rotor braking surface rattling around. Hopefully you didn't over-extend the caliper pistons or snag anything with the clanking ring of metal that broke free.

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Would you drive any better with that cell phone up your ...?!

SNKPWR

could swore i saw drums back there when i did the front brakes several months ago...but i'm gonna double check...

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-2002 Grand Prix GT Black

SNKPWR

ok guess i was wrong...rear disc...but i don't have the wheel off yet due to shiotty weather this weekend and no garage...maybe this coming weekend...i'll let you know if it is what you were saying rich..should have pics...

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-2002 Grand Prix GT Black

richtazz

did you ever resolve this issue SNKPWR? I was just wondering how it turned out.

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Would you drive any better with that cell phone up your ...?!

SNKPWR

LOL car is still sitting EXACTLY where i left it...we're putting our house on the market and have been fixing the house rather than the car...i'll post up when i do get to it...

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-2002 Grand Prix GT Black

SNKPWR

alllllrighty...got around to popping the wheel off last night.... turns out the carnage was not nearly as graphic as i'd been imagining in my head (i know, i'm sick)...

as soon as i removed the wheel, i hear a piece of metal hit the ground...i pick it up to see what it is...twisted lump of metal that used to be the backing plate for the outboard brake pad...LOL

SO, what seems to have happened is that the outboard pad wore down enough to where it was starting to grind...as old and nasty and rusty as the other pad was, i'm guessing the retaining clip broke, and the pad worked itself out of the caliper, got tossed around, then somehow was held inside the wheel by the rotor or dust shield, causing the horrible clanking...the lack of pedal pressure was from the piston coming out further, and the two "fingers" of the caliper contacting the rotor and acting as the other pad....

good thing i babied it home or i might have had to buy a new caliper as well...turned the rotor, turned the piston back in (many curse words since i don't have the correct tool),put a new set of pads on, should be driveable until after we move when i can properly re-do the rear brakes...

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-2002 Grand Prix GT Black

richtazz

for future reference, if you pull the parking brake lever part way back with one hand, and use a set of needle nose vice grips (you can set the jaws to stay in the correct postion to engage the holes in the piston instead of holding pliers open) it's relatively simple.

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Would you drive any better with that cell phone up your ...?!

SNKPWR

thanks rich, i'll keep that in mind for the other side...

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-2002 Grand Prix GT Black