Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Rear caliper hang up... warm weather

It's August in Ohio, which means it's warm out. I am having a bit of a problem. After I engage the e-brake, and release it, the driver side won't release. After about a mile or two down the road, it will release. Once it didn't release at all, and I had to use a brass hammer to tap the lever on the caliper back to it's original position. Is this a faulty caliper like I am assuming, despite the idea of 57k miles? Is there anything I can do, such as rebuilding the caliper to fix the problem, or is replacement the only option? It's a 2000 CSVT.

Check your parking brake cable for that caliper. Chances are that it is frayed or cracked and needs to be replaced due to rust.

I checked the line, no fraying, and the line looks good, no crimping anywhere. I am thinking that it's a faulty caliper.

The problem is not visible. It's back inside the cable jacket. If the accordian boot on the rear of the cable is ripped or missing, definately replace the cables.

Some early models had to have a revised (heavier) return spring on the caliper for this problem.

If the caliper hardware itself is hanging up you should be able to see why by looking at it.

Expected life of the cables is only about three years anyway.

I replaced both cables on my 96 and the E-brake would still drag somewhat. Put on the heavier return springs and the problem is gone. It seems that there was a TSB kit at one time that included cables and heavy springs but according to a parts guy it is no longer available. I did find the springs separately. I have the part numbers at home and will post them. If you have rear disks you really need to make sure they are not dragging. I have a feeling there are a lot of older contours around with this problem. It is easy to check. Just jack up the car and spin the wheel. It should spin freely with NO drag.

Return spring part numbers FRZ-2745-AA and FRZ-2L642-BA (left and right)