Alright,

Did the front brakes and rotors on a 1997 AWD Grand Caravan with no problem. Started on Passenger rear wheel and got the caliper off, but now how does one get the rotor itself off? Its wanting to come free, but there is something still holding it in place. I can hear a spring like noise when i try to convince it off, however I cannot see where to release this spring (probably emergency brakes) holding the rotor firmly in place. Has anyone run into this before? Does anyone have suggestions? All help is appreciated.

Thanks

 

Try backing off the emergency brakes.

 

Not quite sure of how to back them off. I took off the cable that pulls them, so nothing is pulling on them. Is there a slot or hole to release the shoes?

 

Just wondering...did you manage to get the rotors off? My husband ran into the same problem this afternoon with no success. The manual just says they should come off.

 

I have passenger rear off. Apparently a previous owner left the emergency brake on at one point plus rust and stuff. So the parkingbrake (emergency brake) shoes cut a groove into the rotor preventing the rotor from sliding off. A friend and I removed the ABS sensor, cotter pin, the hub bolt and the 4 bolts holding on the shield and hub assembly after removing the caliper and then slid the whole thing off the drive shaft. From that point we removed the rubber plug on the bottom of the rotor assembly and turned the star adjustor until the brakes retracted far enough to knock the rotor free of the brakes. This may differ for other brake types as this is an AWD vehicle with 4 wheel ABS and DISC brakes. But yes, in all normal conditions the rotor should slide off with minimal problems. So my replacement not only includes pads and rotors, but also ebrake shoes.

 

Well as the saga continues, I got the passenger rear all done with minimal problems. I am currently fighting driver rear as I cant get the rotor to slide over the emergency brakes. Assembly was identical to the other side, yet im faced with this new problem. I have the star key cranked into the minimal expansion and still cannot slide the rotor over the e-brakes.

 

well finally more or less finished for the time being. Decided to assemble the left rear without the ebrake pads seeing how everything stops with a caliper which works fine.. It turns out the metal thing that slides back and forth is frozen against its metal housing, pushing the brake out fully at the top. Im guessing this is a dealer item as I cant find pics of it on the advance/autozone sites.

 

Well Ive gone and ordered the part, 44$ after tax for a little piece of metal. Item description calls it a "lever" Hopefully this will work and i will have finished all my problems.

 

I just had this nightmare with my 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan(ann. Edition) ...[:@]

What a trime, all day to get the 2 rear rotors off, both parking brake mechanisms were rusted very badly and are a dealer item only over 100 dollars per side!!![:@]After only 57,000 miles!!!!

After blasting with LARGE hammer, over 75-90 times per side the rotors did come off, everything is fine now, but I have no parking brake to speak of, each side's parking brake system needed a full hardware kit and shoes...which as I indicated above, are very pricey! Not a fun time...

[&:]

 

Can completely relate. though I didnt spend the money on anything other than shoes for both sides and a lever for the rear driver. I found the lever online for about 24 + shipping so if i decide to do the other side that is going to be the route I choose. Mine rear emergency brakes just include 2 shoes, 3 springs, an adjuster star and 2 spring loaded bolts.