Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting rear brake caliper frozen...

The car shudders when at 45mph and above. so i had a high speed balance done and i found that the rear right caliper is 'frozen'. (I did nick a curb w/ that same wheel on a turn but it was shuddering before that.. hopefully a just coincidence. )

I'm getting an estimate on the cost tomorrow, any ideas for a quick fix?

Corroded e-brake cable would be the first place to look, in view of history of that item on rear disc equipped Contiques.

ebrake line wasn't the problem. The rotor was rusted and had a groove in it.

I replaced the rotor, caliper and both rear brake pads. rotor was $50, caliper was around $120... ouch

would that caliper wear out faster because its connect to the e-brake?

I've had the exact same issue recently! The local dealer wanted $550 to "fix" it for me, but I took it to another shop and they were able to un-freeze my calliper for $30! The only issue I have now is that one of my pads is dragging, so I get an annoying squeak at low speeds. Hopefully that will be taken care of tomorrow. I think I'll go your route in and by some new brakes in the Spring.

Mine started freezing up this summer. I filled the ebrake cable with motoroil, and now it is as smooth as butter...

My next step was to get the replacement cable kit, but I figure I won't do it now since it's all good now...

Originally posted by mtx_only:

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....would that caliper wear out faster because its connect to the e-brake?

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Calipers don't usually wear out although the seals may loose elasticity over time and/or leak. Rotor and pads will wear faster if e-brake does not fully release (due to sticking cables).