Hello, I'm new to the forum, obviously, and was advised to introduce myself.

My name is Tyler, I'm a Scorpio, and I enjoy long walks on the beach. lol.

I, along with my girlfriend, have a black 2001 Bonneville SLE. We love the car, but are having some of the common issues; the paint is bubbling and peeling off on the hood, the passenger heated seat has quit working, we replaced one of the rear window regulators, and now the other one has stopped working. Those are all easy and simple, but there are also two issues that I haven't seen much about in my searches of the forum.

First, the parking brake, which we never use, is stuck. This happened early this spring when she had the car washed at a full serve car wash, and they parked it on a hill and set the brake. When she left, she disengaged the pedal, but called me and said the car felt slow and their was a funny smell. The cable seems to be frozen somewhere under the trunk where it curves around and goes up above the control arms. I unhooked the cable at the caliper to make the car driveable again, but now the North Carolina vehicle inspection is coming due, and I cant seem to find a part online, and if anyone has a fix for this, Im all ears.

Second, when you are stopped at a light or in a parking space on a slight incline, the rear of the car will suddenly jump a little, making a noise like something that was stuck coming loose. I didn't realize the car had a load leveling rear suspension, but from looking at the forum, I have seen some posts regarding the system. If anyone could tell me if mine sounds like a sensor gone bad or something more major, that would be great.

I love this car, but once I get my girlfriend her Camaro, and the Bonnie is paid off, I intend to convert her to RWD. Anyone on here been crazy enough to attempt this, or am I the cheese that stands alone?

Thanks to all of you who can respond with help, and also to those of you who just read this.

Tyler

:Welcome

The hood is a common problem we call hood herpes. The hood is aluminum and that paint peels. Might be a extended recall, might want to check on that.

Try Auto Parts Fast at RockAuto for parts, they should have the brake parts your looking for.

Don't recall off hand if anyone has converted a bonnie to RWD, but I do remember someone putting 2 engines in one for a 4WD/2 engine car.

Welcome Tyler. Thanks for introducing yourself. With all you have on your plate and the radical mods you have in mind, I have a feeling this is perfect place for you to be. If you are handy with cars (and it sounds like you are) you may want to pull the E brake cables off the car and see if the cables are binding inside the conduits. You may be able to free them up with WD40 or something along that line. Pulling the lines off will also indicate if there is a routing or kinking issue. Fortunately you can still drive the car while the cables are off (temporarily).

I have the factory service manual for the 2001, so I will read up to see if it suggests anything further. Also, let me know if you need more detail and I can send you scans of the relevant pages from the FSM.

Hi Tyler;

Welcome to the Bonneville Forum!

Most of the issues you wrote about are things we can all help you with.

Please post your questions in the appropriate area of the forum. That way it will get better exposure and the answer you receive can be beneficial to to other members as well.

Welcome to the BonnevilleForum Tyler, Never seen a RWD conversion. Tuff one there. I bagged mine. That'* enough "first'*" for me. A RWD would have to be a frame rail conversion. I'd love to see that accomplished.

thank you, ill have to try to pull those off when i have the car in the air to put new tires on it tomorrow. Quick question do I need to do anything special before I put the car on the lift to disable the auto leveling to prevent further damage?

The only things in the way for the RWD conversion is $$ and time. But I am also considering trying to find a newer Bonneville, because the only thing I dont like about this car is the fog lights being so close together.

Hey, I never thought in my life that Id be happy to get backed into, but the lady in the Escalade had good insurance, and we no longer have the hood herpes!!!! Yay

Some times things work out for the best.

"My name is Tyler, I'm a Scorpio, and I enjoy long walks on the beach. lol."

Welcome to the forum, I like your sense of humor...