jcorkin

So my E-brake hasent worked on my car since i got it, I can pull the lever up and it engages the brake but wont lock into place. What inside locks this in the engaged position? I plan on opening it up tomorrow and taking a look at it just want some input before getting into it.

c4cruiser

Do you mean the parking brake handle? It's designed to lower with just a push downwards so that you can exit the car without having to crawl over the handle. It doesn't lock in place.

joeld

Yea, mine did this too when I bought it years ago. Usually happens when PO's didn't use the park brake much. There is a "pawl" that drops down to engage the teeth on the assembly. When the lubricate around this pawl pin gets old,sticky, and dirty the pawl sticks and doesn't drop when the handle is pulled up to engage.
After the cover is removed, you'll see this clearly. Clean the pin good and re-lubricate.


Joel

Midnight 85

Check the button on top, it is probably stuck in the down position or maybe you are pressing it when you pull the handle? If it is stuck down just put some PB Blaster down inside it and work with it to free it up. Or like c4cruiser said, if you expect the handle to stay in the up position, it ain't gonna do it for the reason he stated.

94flavette

It's working exactly as advertised.

jcorkin

Im gonna go take a look at this right now, never like leaving a manual in gear to keep it from rolling and it really irritates me that I have to.

jcorkin

well that backfired horribly. Sprayed it and got it loosened it up, got her to lock into place but now its stuck on, i pull the lever up and I never get any resistance and the parking brake light on the dash is on. Looks like in order to see what is going on in there I will have to remove the seat. Oh joy

jcorkin

I know it wasnt working prior because my driveway is on a decent slope and if I pulled the brake lever up it would just fall back down and the car would roll, if i held the lever up and let off of the brakes the car would not move but the second i would let go of the handle the car would roll. The pawl was stuck but i got it freed and now it wont disengage. I read the manual too and followed the directions but nothing.

DinoBob

Taking the seat out is cake, fortunately.

jcorkin

Just not the way I wanted to spend my nice sunny sunday, nice days are hard to come by in the chicago area. What all do you have to do to get the seat out?

Midnight 85

Reach under the front of the seat and you will find a heavy bail wire that holds the cushion in place. You will probably have to bear down hard on the cushion to allow clearance for the wire to come out of it's groove it sits in. Once the wire is loose you can pull the bottom cushion out and that may be all you have to remove. If you still don't have room then you will see four nuts at the bottom of the shell. I think I remember them being 13mm. take those 4 nuts off and the whole seat will come away from it's track.
That being said, before you do anything to the seat, get your PB Blaster and lube the cables under the car all the way to the rear wheels. Then lube the cable where it goes into it's housing at the bottom of the brake handle assembly. Let the PB sit for about 1/2 hour then try to operate the brake and see if it will break loose.

AGENT 86

Have you tried pushing the button while you are pulling back on the lever ?

jcorkin

I tried everything I could think of.

braeburn22

have you tried pressing the footbrake at the same time, it may just create enough slack to help the lever release.

jcorkin

I tried that last night too. I did spray everything down real good with pb blast and wd40 and let it sit all night and to my surprise it was functioning properly this morning, didnt have to pull anything apart. It did seem to hang up a bit every now and again but after cycling it multiple times she works flawlessly now. feels good to have a properly working e-brake. thanks for all the input.

Ghast

I have a different problem but it didnt seem necessary to warrant a new thread. Does anyone have a guide for how to replace the brake part of the E-brake itself? Mine is worn and with the e-brake fully engaged, the car still rolls fairly easily.

ecorse66

Check your private messages.

Dave T.