# Parking brake issues...



## expat (Dec 26, 2013)

Ok, so i followed the service manual instructions on adjusting the parking brake, now it sets and holds fine on a hill. The problem is that when I first set it, I feel the exy slip one or two inches before it grabs. I always notice this because I put the auto trans in neutral, set the p/brake then release the foot brake hearing the p/brake groan as it slips and grabs. Is this normal? On my 2000 accent the p/brake is a rock with out any slip once it is set. Any advice/ suggestions would be great.

2005 T30 X-trail.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Maybe there is stretch in your parking brake cable? I had both LH and RH cables replaced this fall, as well as the emergency brake shoes. My LH cable had seized and the pad had separated from the shoe, so needed replacing. If it holds and only slips an inch or two, I wouldn't worry about it.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Re your Accent, it probably holds better because it activates your rear drum brakes. On the X trail the emergency is a secondary system with fairly small brake shoes. Main braking in rear is a disc brake set up.


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## expat (Dec 26, 2013)

quadraria10 said:


> Maybe there is stretch in your parking brake cable? I had both LH and RH cables replaced this fall, as well as the emergency brake shoes. My LH cable had seized and the pad had separated from the shoe, so needed replacing. If it holds and only slips an inch or two, I wouldn't worry about it.





quadraria10 said:


> Re your Accent, it probably holds better because it activates your rear drum brakes. On the X trail the emergency is a secondary system with fairly small brake shoes. Main braking in rear is a disc brake set up.


 Thanks quadraria10, I'm planning on changing brake fluid and silcon greasing calipers this month, so I will take off the rear rotors and inspect/clean/grease as well. WTF is with the dual (disc/ drum) rear systems? just a drum setup would have been adequate.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Might have been adequate for parking brake, but disc brake set up is better for stopping the vehicle, lol.
By the way when removing your rear rotors make sure your parking brake is off, otherwise you will have a hard time getting them off and probably damage the parking brake shoes. I am pretty sure that this is what a mechanic did to mine when changing my rotors and pads. I also think my seized parking brake cable was a result of too much heat being applied with a blow torch to the bolts holding the rotors, and indirectly fusing the plastic coverings. And all because I was too lazy to do it myself... but I am sure the mechanic was happy--he got to pad the bill and then got extra work replacing the parking brake cables. Maybe I am getting cynical but I am starting to suspect some mechanics always find a way to break something whenever they fix something. 
Good luck with yours


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## Snowyfox (Jan 21, 2014)

Rear breaks are well known on the Xy for being a pain. The calipers on the discs tend to stick. The caliper bolts are the issue, be careful when removing. There is a tiny rubber washer on one of the bolts, to much heat and it melts, not good.

For rear brake calipers this may help from the team on the UK Forum UK Nissan X-Trail Owners Forum ? View topic - T30 PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Glad to see you participating in the forum Snowyfox. It is a good tip to service the caliper slide pins once or twice a year. It would take quite a bit of heat to melt the gasket you are referring to. In my experience what tends to go wrong is the tabs on the brake pads can jam and you end up with a pad sitting on a slight angle which causes it to wear unevenly. It also causes the caliper to not fully release. On our vehicle its always an inside pad, and what I think happens is that the excessive heat from a rubbing pad, tends to affect the caliper piston and compromises its ability fully retract. Of course the mystery is why does one caliper slide pin have a gasket at the tip, while the other doesn't. Its a challenge to remember which goes where when you do your brakes. The service manual from my recollection is no help, because it shows both caliper slide pins being the same. Do you know if its the top or bottom one that has the gasket on the tip, and does anybody know if in practical terms it makes any difference if you get them reversed.


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## Snowyfox (Jan 21, 2014)

This was recent job for me on the SVE. When we came to change the discs all round, we found the brakes had been neglected somewhat, as can be seen from the pic of the bolt from the near side rear. For some reason the rest were pretty good.



Valid point on the bolt gasket, but I have been told it has been done. Ours had in fact perished  I have not found a replacement yet apart from direct from Nissan. There is a chap on Ebay selling a set of caliper bolts including bolt gasket, but quality is unknown. 

ESM shows separate part numbers ....


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## expat (Dec 26, 2013)

I found a front caliper hardware kit from AC Delco, go to the AC Delco website and use the part finder to find the exact part for your truck. It has the caliper boots, the rubber caliper bolt bushings, chrome brake sliders and some type of springs x4 ( no idea what these springs are for). Here is a link for the kit, I used the AC Delco website to find them via the part finder link. Amazon.com: ACDelco 18K1693X Professional Durastop Front Disc Brake Caliper Hardware Kit: Automotive


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

They also have a kit for the rear brakes. The springs are to help keep the brake pads from sticking to the calipers. Probably worthwhile to install if you have them. It would be a braking system upgrade lol.


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## Farley1 (Feb 7, 2015)

expat and others.
Just signed up for this X-Trail forum. I own a 2006 Bonavista. Live in Southern Ontario.
I have the EXACT same problem as "expat" explained.
Here is what I think it is..............
1] Check lug nuts are torqued to specification. See owners manual. Think its 93 Ft/lbs.
2] Park your XT as "expat" describes. That sequence is important. It also takes pressure off the transmission parking pawl.
3] Make sure the parking brake firmly holds the XT.
4] Start with jacking up the driver side rear wheel so it clears the ground. Use an axle stand and chock the front wheels. Safety Always.
5] Put on a pair of good work gloves.
6] Grab the tire and try turning it CW then CCW. Did it turn some? In both directions??
7] If so one of three things might be wrong......
7a] A CV joint is shot.
7b] Excessive back lash in differential.
or
7c] The e-brake shoe assembly/backing plate is loose.
Think about it. The only thing holding the weight of the car is the differential if there is something wrong with e-brake assemblies. I have #6 on the each side. I will be taking the XT in for a host of rear clunking noises from the rear end this Tuesday.
I WILL REPORT BACK WITH THEIR FINDINGS AND CURES.

Ian


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Rear clunks in mine were usually bad caliper or rear bearings. Will look forward to your findings. Good luck with it.


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## Farley1 (Feb 7, 2015)

Well the mechanic felt there was nothing wrong. I don't believe him. I said OK and drove home with the rear clunking and thunking all the way. Grrrrr.
BUT! He did tell me the front lower ball joints needed replacing. OK. NOW i have a HUGE vibration at 110-120 Kph. I'm ready to snap. There was no vibration before i sent it in for service.
I should have read the lower control arm messages here and did it myself when the weather warmed up.
Have other forum members gone through this? I will be visiting him as he did a front end alignment and now the steering is not straight. 
I have mentioned I am ready to snap, right?

For the rear end clunking/thunking noises i will look over the struts when this brutal deep freeze moves on.

Sorry more will be reported on.

Ian


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

That is a pain Ian. Could it be a broken rear link rod? Kind of strange the mechanic couldn't diagnose anything. Rear bearings ok? 
As for the front lower ball joints, you may as well replace the entire front control arms. My guess is your guy screwed up the alignment. Lot of places cannot do it as they don't have the equipment to reset the steering angle sensor. Surprised they would even do it if you had a bad ball joint. 
Anyway I posted a link to a company selling control arms for the X trail on Ebay, in a past thread. Huge savings compared to Napa or Nissan. I suspect they are the same as were used on 02 to 06 Altimas, but no way of confirming that. Just checked and they no longer have any for sale. Best deal I can find is 2 Front Lower Control Arm Ball Joints for 2005 2006 Nissan Xtrail x Trail 05 06 | eBay 
Sadly the Cdn dollar is not worth the same as a year ago, but these are still under 300 for both sides delivered. Rock Auto has them as well but with delivery you are looking at 380 Cdn. 
Made the steering on my Bonavista feel like new. It was a pain but a really worthwhile repair where you could feel the before and after difference. After all it also includes the replacement of four front suspension bushings. Your originals are over 8 years old now.


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## Farley1 (Feb 7, 2015)

I wish it was warmer out or had a warm shop to exchange the control arms. That is a terrific price. Nissan were $258 each. 
Once the weather improves I will go through the rear suspension again to find the source of the noise. Maybe it is the sway bar links. Easy to check by undoing each side and go for a test drive.
I will NOT be going to that repair shop again. Its like he doesn't care your a customer. 
I'll start a new topic when I discover what is wrong.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

Hi Farley 1, Nice to see Nissan price coming down. Last year they were $295 each, and over 400 each at Napa. Both plus taxes. 
For what its worth, installing the control arms is not that complicated. I had mine installed by Canadian Tire, who I normally don't trust to do anything other than wheel balancing. I just called by phone and asked what they would charge to install the supplied parts. They quoted me two hours. Its what I payed but they actually had it done in an hour. No alignment was required. If it had been spring or summer would have given it a go myself, but last January it was not something I was going to do. 
Re your repair shop, with all the super cold weather most have been pretty busy so maybe they were a little less friendly than usual. If I were you I would take it to a Speedy or Midas and have them inspect it for free on a hoist.


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## expat (Dec 26, 2013)

Hello Farly 1, 
From my experience, I would start by cleaning everything out of the spare tire well and those pockets on either side then look around with a flashlight in the small crevices for noisemakers. Then look under the rear seats for anything else that is loose. I once had a rogue fire extinguisher and gravel in the spare tire well that made noises like the rear end was falling off every time I hit a bump. I also have a continuing problem of a right rear noise, which I just realized is the rear bottom seat latch being loose. 

I'm very wary of mechanics, especially when they make a commission selling you a part plus labor. I have noticed "diagnosis by replacing parts until its fixed" is quite popular at most places. So I Google/ youtube/ nissanfourm enerything now, I will not be sold unneeded work again.

As for the alignment/ vibration issue, take it back and ask them to fix it. A huge vibration at 110km/h is a safety issue, especially since they put it there.


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## Farley1 (Feb 7, 2015)

Expat & Quadraria10.
I tried emptying out the trunk and that still left the noise. Good thinking though. Try the easiest thing first. It is getting a little warmer so I might be able to start crawling around to find the source.
I like the idea of going to Midas/Speedy. The shop owner wanted the snow tires at 35 psi with them set at 30/31 psi on the day of our test drive. That did nothing, which i figured.
He blamed the harsh vibration to the aggressive snow tires. I am wondering if a weight fell off during the repairs. Great! Another cost to sort this out. For the off centered steering wheel he said that was fine. Baloney.
Expat I will now live by your statement....."So I Google/ youtube/ nissanfourm enerything now, I will not be sold unneeded work again." We all should. Money does not grow on trees.
Have a good weekend.


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## Farley1 (Feb 7, 2015)

Well better late than never!! The clunking noise was very worn sway bar rubber bushings. $45 for the pair. Not sure if they came from Nissan but appear too. This clunking or a sharp rapping sound when you would transition from the street to a laneway or ?? If you had a little bit of brake on when crossing over a bump it was even louder. Thanks Corporate Auto in Burlington. These were the same folks that straightened out my steering wheel due to the crap alignment i had done earlier mentioned in this thread. I had the catalytic converter alarm SES light up and they said given it another tank of gas and let us know if the light goes out. It did! Will keep an eye on that. Knock on wood, the X-Trail is running fine.


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

That is great Farley. Surprised they made so much noise. I had a bit of that last year, with a bad rear sway bar link, had both of those replaced as well as the rear roll bar bushings. I bought those from the dealer and a look at invoice shows they cost 21.32 tx included for the pair for the genuine Nissan parts. The two end links I got off ebay seller in uk for $36 cdn including delivery. Paid a garage one hour labour to install, and guess what --torch happy tech managed to burn a tiny hole in my rear cv boot right side. Well at least I think it was him, as a month later needed to have that side bearing replaced and that mechanic called me suggesting I should change the boot at the same time because it had a hole. I asked to see the part later and it was questionable because there was no actual hole just a thinned spot due to melting. Anyway the mechanic managed to pad his bill, and as usual laid the blame on the previous guy. Anyway its great when you find a place that is both competent and that you can trust. Its important to keep the XTrails on the road seeing every one in Canada is now between 8 and 11 years old, and most from what I can see are aging pretty well. Though I do see the odd sad one with rust on rear door and rear wheel wells. Which reminds I want to have by undercarriage rustproofed anew.


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