my 05 eS has a problem with the brakes… it has been running fine until yesterday… I drove it and found that it was acting as though the emergency brake is on… won’t get over 22mph it will go 28mph… I had my shop look at it… they loosened the hand brake and removed the brake drums and sprayed cleaner in all… put it back together and spun the tires… all free… I drove it for about a mile and stopped letting it sit for about an hour… got in it again and it acted the same… after a stop and start again it rolled ok although I wasn’t able to get over 25mph… was on a road that I usually don’t drive so don’t know it I may have been going up a hill… had another stop for about 10 minutes and it seemed to be locked up again… backed up and then went forward… rolling is not as free as it was two days ago… I have stumped my ‘wrench’… we changed wheel cylendars about 3 months ago as one was leaking and he said if we change one we should change both… anyone else have this problem or ideas??
The GEM brakes are not really adjustable. I have had trouble with dragging brakes before. The parking brake cables will seize up and should be replaced every few years. NEV accessories has the best prices. Also, check the levers inside the drums that the cables attach to. These will seize up at the joint and cause excessive effort needed to operate the parking brake and will also cause the brakes to drag. Heat up each lever at the joint and work it back and forth. Then lubricate the joint and reassemble.
thank you Daniel… I let the car sit from Thursday as I had company… got in it today and it drove like it used to… on flat ground it went 28mph… BUT as I truned into the garage it acted like the brake was on… I backed up about 4 feet and it was ok again… I’m wondering if it’s not the rear wheels but the front…
Your idea of backing up a few feet leads me to believe that the parking brake mechanisms are in fact sticking. It is a very common problem on the GEM. If you believe that something is wrong with the front brakes, just jack up the front and turn each wheel individually. They should be only a light drag through the differential. The front brakes are disc and are completely self adjusting.
what a difference a jack can do… after a hectic day of running to the grocery store … a 10 mile round trip… about 4 miles into going the brake started draging… a 45 minute park and it again was good to go for about another 4 miles before limpimg the last mile home… an hour on the charger and off to the garage… they were miffed again but pulled out the temp gauge and checked the heat of all the brakes… of course the brakes worked fine going so the breaks weren’t overley hot… but the left front was hotter than the right… I took the gauge and went for a drive… as I was coming back it hung up again… I checked the front… right was 195… left 205… rear in the 90’s… back to the jack… front tires were hard to turn… rear turned with ease… calipers and new lines… my nearest dealer doesn’t stock… the other Co dealer’s GEM parts guy had to work Saturday and was off… Nev Accessories doesn’t have any stock for '05 or newer… will let my fingers do the work in the morning… for now I have a wrench and will relieve the presure when I drive the car… thanks Daniel for your ideas
Hi. I’m new here. My 2000 GEM 825 has inoperable front brakes. A fter replacing the right front cylinder, and bleeding, they still won’t work. Hardly any fluid comes out the front lines. Back ones flow freely. What to do?
I’m back to SCREAMING again… my milage has dropped again… I was about to call my battery guy and raise cane when the car stopped coasting or rolling around in the garage… as I took it back to the break guy the pedal had no play… after releaving the presure it worked good again… guess I need to start carrying a tool box with me… the only thing that we have not done are change out the piping and one front brake hose as GEM still has me back ordered on one…
Make sure your hoses and lines are not kinked. Is there any leakage? Have the brakes been bled properly? The last possibility is a bad master cylinder.
If one of your front brakes is getting hot, this is causing the fluid inside to heat up and bind the caliper. Sometimes, the caliper can be unbolted and the two pistons pushed back in to free them. Otherwise the caliper can be disassembled and easily rebuilt. The seals are a few dollars and the caliper bores can easily be honed. They are a lot like motorcycle brakes. Also make sure a hose isn’t getting pinched somewhere. Lastly, be sure that the brake pedal linkage isn’t binding. This will cause the brake to slowly overheat and bind up.
[QUOTE=GEMmechanic;12241]If one of your front brakes is getting hot, this is causing the fluid inside to heat up and bind the caliper. Sometimes, the caliper can be unbolted and the two pistons pushed back in to free them. Otherwise the caliper can be disassembled and easily rebuilt. The seals are a few dollars and the caliper bores can easily be honed. They are a lot like motorcycle brakes. Also make sure a hose isn’t getting pinched somewhere. Lastly, be sure that the brake pedal linkage isn’t binding. This will cause the brake to slowly overheat and bind up.
Daniel[/QUOTE]
Oops! I forgot to state that it is a 2000, with drum brakes!
Okay, now I see this thread has two different members. If you have attempted to bleed the brakes and still get no flow, I would first ensure the lines are not blocked and then replace the master cylinder.
[QUOTE=GEMmechanic;12253]Okay, now I see this thread has two different members. If you have attempted to bleed the brakes and still get no flow, I would first ensure the lines are not blocked and then replace the master cylinder.
Daniel[/QUOTE]
Do I have to get the master cyl. from GEM, or is there another source. Thanks.
ghtaboma; I think you are stuck with GEM parts… unless you can find one on eBay… that would probably be used and you maybe just trading problems… don’t know where you are… East or West…
although they don’t show one in their catalog you might try Nev accessories: NEV ACCESSORIES Roger or Ivan can help you if you call or e-mail… phone # on website
next your local dealer… you can find a part number on this site… the 888 number is to a dealer in Fla… Lee is the parts guy and usually has parts on his shelf and will UPS it to you… GEM Parts dept will now drop ship to you but you must go thru a dealer… Gem Car Parts Direct | The Nations #1 Source for Gem Car Parts
Good question. I have never had one go bad in over ten years of working on GEMs. I do not know of an aftermarket source for the assembly, but it is possible the seals inside are available. Until one of our four GEMs fails, I won’t have an opportunity to disassemble the master cylinder. If and when this occurs, I will attempt to match the seals and post the part numbers on here. Replacing these seals is easy for an experienced mechanic. The plastic cap for the master cylinder is available from any auto parts store. See my post on after market parts. I was also able to match up front caliper seals on the 2005 and newer GEM. An experienced and patient NAPA store might measure the seals and sell you replacements for a few dollars. They could be metric or standard. Despite being made in Italy, the front caliper seals are not metric.
[QUOTE=GEMmechanic;12278]Good question. I have never had one go bad in over ten years of working on GEMs. I do not know of an aftermarket source for the assembly, but it is possible the seals inside are available. Until one of our four GEMs fails, I won’t have an opportunity to disassemble the master cylinder. If and when this occurs, I will attempt to match the seals and post the part numbers on here. Replacing these seals is easy for an experienced mechanic. I was able to match up front caliper seals on the 2005 and newer GEM. An experienced and patient NAPA store might measure the seals and sell you replacements for a few dollars. They could be metric or standard. Despite being made in Italy, the front caliper seals are not metric.
Daniel[/QUOTE]
I think my Master Cylinder is failing internally as well. I tore it apart (quite easy) and was beginning the search for replacement seals. Since it is dang near impossible to get GEM parts cheap, I wanted to match up what I had with another master cylinder rebuild kit. Problem is, no one carrys’ rebuild kits any more, they are all special order for the specific application.
Not to Hi-Jack a thread, but here it is:
Why do I think my master cylinder is failing at the seals? I had to replace the reservoir due to it rotting. During the brake-bleeding process, the pedal never gets stiff…ever.
I removed the entire master cylinder from the GEM and bench bleed it and it gets stiff just fine. But as soon as I hook it up to the GEM and hook everything back up, the pedal goes right to the floor on the first push and never gets pressure again. The lines all have fluid and I bleed the brakes at each wheel cylinder. I’d hate to take it to a mechanic when it is something silly, but I think the master cylinder seals are giving out under pressure.
Daniel thanks for the help on the brake pedal… we found that it was binding… think we have fixed the brake drag on the 05… meanwhile the garage I use and talk up has become a GEM garage… the other day my eS and an E4 were the projects… the E4 on the rack for wheel cylinders and now because they got no fluid on the bleed needs a master cylinder… GEM is back ordered… think one was found at a dealer… there the eS sat with the dash out and hood open… wish I’d thought of my camera… might try to stage it on Monday… think they may still be waiting for the master cylinder… and to think these guys hadn’t heard of a GEM less than a year ago…