1994 Chevy Lumina parking brake

AINLEYD

MEMBER
1994 CHEVROLET LUMINA
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
129,401 MILES

1994 Chevy Lumina parking brake will not disengage with the release lever, do I have a reasonable chance to fix it by changing the parking brake adjustment settings?

Saturday, November 27th, 2010 AT 2:52 PM

2 Replies

MERLIN2021

MECHANIC
17,250 POSTS

First thing to look at are the cables themselves, if frozen, replacing the cables would be the fix. Put a pair of vice grips on the front cable about 2 inches from where it comes out of the guide from inside the car, spray some lube on it and tap towards the front. If you can release it that way, replace it. Also chech each rear cable after the front is released. Rusted and stuck cables are the # one cause of your problem.

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Saturday, November 27th, 2010 AT 6:49 PM

AINLEYD

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Thanks very much for the reply. I did jack the back up and was suprised to find the rear wheels free spinning. Even so I attempted to loosen the park brake adjustment anyway. After letting the car down & starting it, the result was still the same. At this point I believe I'm dealing with an autotrans that's failed in park mode which is why the brakes locked up. The transmission had been slipping for the past year I've been driving it; had been getting worse lately and it appears that it finally let go. I even called a tow truck that was unwilling to tow it to a garage because he didn't feel he could drop off an unmovable car there after hours. Pending my conversation with the garage mechanic Monday morning, I believe she's relegated to the ash heap of history.

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Sunday, November 28th, 2010 AT 1:51 AM