Parking Brake Issue / Cost to replace?

Achilles99

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After a recent driver's ed event, my friend's Viper started making a weird metal popping noise in tight turns (parking deck). We took off his wheels, and the rear parking brake pads were completely worn down.

Coincidence, or is it possible the track event contributed to this? Could this be the source of the weird noise? We also noticed that his right rear rotor was really uneven around the outside edge (about 1/2" on the outside edge was worn down considerable more than the inside portion of the rotor).

We installed new rotors thinking this would fix the problem, but the popping was still there. To avoid further damage, my friend drove the car immediately to Palmer Dodge in Atlanta to get it checked out. They think the rear parking pads is the culprit, and quoted $300 for the pads/labor for the rear parking brake.

Does this sound about right? I removed the rear parking brake pads in about 30 minutes (my first time doing it, could probably do it in 10 minutes now). Are the pads that expensive?

Any ideas on the metal popping noise?
 

RTTTTed

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You changed the rotors but left the uneven worn pads in the car?

And what kind of pads? What kind of rotors?

Did you check the car for the weld recalls? What year? Some early Gen 2s had weld recalls for the steering, diff and susp. bracket welds. Frame builder had some bad welding get through quality control.

Ted
 
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Achilles99

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Front and rear pads were changed, front and rear rotors were changed. The rear PARKING BRAKE pads we didn't think to check before buying pads/rotors from JonB, and those were were down to about 3mm of pad left. So, it wasn't ALL the way down to the metal plate but we thought it would need replacing soon.

Palmer thinks that in a sharp turn (even low speed in a parking deck) puts enough flex to possible create metal to metal contact with the rear parking brake pads. This sounds highly unlikely to me. Regardless, my friend only drove the car a few miles to the dealership. I don't think that worn rear PARKING BRAAKE pads would create that much damage on a rotor, do you?

So, the question is:

1) Would rear parking brake pads that are worn create a popping noise in sharp low speed turns?
2) Is $300 a reasonable estimate to get them replaced?
3) Would a track event somehow cause the rear parking brake pads to wear down? Or was this just a coincidence?
 
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Achilles99

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You changed the rotors but left the uneven worn pads in the car?

And what kind of pads? What kind of rotors?

Did you check the car for the weld recalls? What year? Some early Gen 2s had weld recalls for the steering, diff and susp. bracket welds. Frame builder had some bad welding get through quality control.

Ted

Ran Brakeman 3's on stock rotors up front, and stock pads/rotors in back for the track event.

Replaced with EBC reds and EBC rotors all around after the track event, but still has the popping noise. So, that means the problem is either the rear parking brake or something else altogether.

06 srt coupe, this is the srt forum isn't it :) Good call on the welds, though. I wonder if the gen 3's had any issues...
 

RTTTTed

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Emergency pads could ruin a rotor within a few miles if dragging.

Since they're old, change them. I'd change the pads every rotor change

I assume your checked wheel bearings and CV joints?

Yes, check the welds, but there was no issues with the Gen 3s on that.

Ted
 

Newport Viper

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I think $300 is a little high. However the cost of the pads from what I remember, were pretty high.

Mine went out at 25,000. highway/street/ one or two track event miles.... It wouldn't hold on a hill.
 
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Achilles99

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Update: Friend picked up car from dealership, rear parking pads changed and the metallic noise is still there. Any ideas? At this point, all pads and rotors have been change.

Would a wheel bearing make this noise?
 

RTTTTed

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Yes, wheel bearings could cause that noise.

Loose A arms could cause that noise.

CV joints could cause that noise.

Rear differential could cause that noise.

Driveshaft could cause that noise.

Ted
 

Tabs1

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Jack up the rear and turn the wheels, do you hear anything. Is the piston on the e-brake caliper shot and not retracting? Is is only happening during turns? Clutch pack? While the rear is up, make sure everything is tight.
 
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Achilles99

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Turned the wheels, no sound. How can you tell if the ebrake caliper is shot and not retracting?

Problem only happens in a tight turn, almost full lock. Everything else seems tight. Car is at Palmer Dodge now, they thought a new set of ebrake pads would solve issue but it didn't. So, they are going to inspect further. Will keep everyone posted in case someone else runs into the same problem...
 

Tabs1

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Ebrake pads dont wear that much normally. If you dont hear any grinding then the bearings are probably good, or are just starting to go and only make noise under load but probably not. This is a common problem on vettes, clutch packs go and they grind when you do a circle 8. Let us know.
 
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jdeft1

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Yes, wheel bearings could cause that noise.

Loose A arms could cause that noise.

CV joints could cause that noise.

Rear differential could cause that noise.

Driveshaft could cause that noise.

Ted

Yep... I agree. I doubt the brakes have anything to do with it.
 

bluesrt

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not torking the wheels with a tork wrench could cause that noise-not to say,but have seen that issue before
 
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Achilles99

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Definitely have torqued the wheels. No issues. Even switched the wheels. The problem sounds isolated in the right rear wheel area.

Sounds like an issue that should be covered under warranty.
 

ViperGeorge

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I had the same problem on my 06. Parking brake pads worn out. Ended up replacing the rear hubs. However I still had a noise, turned out to be a heat shield hitting the drive shaft.
 

Kai SRT10

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I had a strange noise (sounded like worn brakes) but it turned out to be a blown pinion bearing (the bearing at the junction of the differential and the drive shaft.)
 

ViperGeorge

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While my noise ended up being the head shield hitting the drive shaft, the hubs were worn out as well. This caused them to walk a bit and wear out the parking brake pads. Given the parking brakes were shot I would check the hubs as well.

Drive train noises can be hard to identify. In my case the noise was proportional to car speed not engine speed. It didn't matter which gear I was in or whether the engine was running or not. The frequency of the noise increased with car speed even if I shifted gears or turned the engine off momentarily. These tests focused the search on something that would turn faster as vehicle speed changed. That left wheels, drive shaft, hubs, rotors, and half shafts.
 
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Achilles99

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I know this is an old thread, but someone asked me about it. Turns out the issue was a bad differential. Dealer changed it out (under Maxcare warranty), and the car ran great.
 

Darbgnik

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Changing out the parking brake pads, with it obviously not being the problem....... sounds like my local dealership.
They have no idea, just start replacing stuff till the problem goes away.
That's the reason I try to do all my own work when I can.
 
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Achilles99

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To the dealership's defense, it really did sound like metal rubbing on a worn pad. I honestly thought it could have been the ebrake as well, and it did need changing anyway. I was surprised at the cost of them, though!
 

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