stock3
05-27-2012, 09:08 AM
It’s a possible fix because some parking brake cables may be frozen (read rusted) beyond repair.
My parking brake cable has been frozen for about a year now so I decided that it's finally the time to take a look at it. Basically if I used the parking brake, the handle would have no cable tension for about one click. After one click you could feel the resistance again. The cable wasn't retracting all the way.
So here is the arrangement.
http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/krzysiekz1981/My%20Car%20Stuff/2012-05-26083318.jpg
First order of business is to take that spring off. You can use vice grips or adjustable pliers. Just grab the spring end that is facing you and push it away from the notch it sits on.
http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/krzysiekz1981/My%20Car%20Stuff/2012-05-26083351.jpg
Once the spring is off, the brake cable can be easily pulled off from the lever. I don't have a picture of that procedure, but I used the screwdriver to push the lever to the left slightly, and then move the cable away from me.
Here is how the cable looked like. As you can see it's pretty rusty.
http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/krzysiekz1981/My%20Car%20Stuff/2012-05-26083631.jpg
But this rust is not really causing the cable to stick. It is the sleeve that the cable was wrapped in all the way to the end. What happens is that this plastic sleeve gets brittle and peels away. Unfortunately it only peels away to the point where the rubber grommet starts, since it's protected from elements after that point. This sleeve catches on the grommet or maybe the plastic flange whenever it passes that point when the parking lever is released.
Here is the pick of it.
http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/krzysiekz1981/My%20Car%20Stuff/2012-05-26084332.jpg
What I did was pull the cable as far out as I could and cut off the plastic sleeve. This way the end of the sleeve no longer travels over the end of that plastic flange and won't catch on it. In order to pull the cable that far, however I had to release all the tension on the parking brake lever. Just turn the tensioning nut all the way until it reaches the top. Before you do that, however you should measure or just visually remember how far the bolt was sticking out before you turned the nut.
Here is a pic of the nut after I loosened it all the way. Before I loosened the nut you could see about an inch of the bolt, but it may be different for everyone.
http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/krzysiekz1981/My%20Car%20Stuff/2012-05-26084118.jpg
After I exposed as much of the sleeve as I could, I simply cut it with a utility knife. Don't go too crazy, though because you may be cutting into the cable itself. After that I lubbed the cable with some chain lube. I sprayed a little each time into the plastic grommet hole and moved the cable by hand to work in the lube. You can use some other lube like ATF or regular oil, but I find that chain lube is best for this sort of thing because it's thin when sprayed but becomes tacky after a while, so it will stay in place. I would avoid white grease, silicon spray and other general lube sprays as they will not last long in this case.
http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/krzysiekz1981/My%20Car%20Stuff/2012-05-26085300.jpg
This is about it. The parking brake works like new again. One thing I forgot to mention is that this happened only on driver's side of the car, the other side moves freely. Also, since the plastic sleeve is now gone the cable is now exposed to elements and will rust, so I expect that I will have to inspect it annually or so and re-lube as necessary. Still, better than replacing the whole thing.
My parking brake cable has been frozen for about a year now so I decided that it's finally the time to take a look at it. Basically if I used the parking brake, the handle would have no cable tension for about one click. After one click you could feel the resistance again. The cable wasn't retracting all the way.
So here is the arrangement.
http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/krzysiekz1981/My%20Car%20Stuff/2012-05-26083318.jpg
First order of business is to take that spring off. You can use vice grips or adjustable pliers. Just grab the spring end that is facing you and push it away from the notch it sits on.
http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/krzysiekz1981/My%20Car%20Stuff/2012-05-26083351.jpg
Once the spring is off, the brake cable can be easily pulled off from the lever. I don't have a picture of that procedure, but I used the screwdriver to push the lever to the left slightly, and then move the cable away from me.
Here is how the cable looked like. As you can see it's pretty rusty.
http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/krzysiekz1981/My%20Car%20Stuff/2012-05-26083631.jpg
But this rust is not really causing the cable to stick. It is the sleeve that the cable was wrapped in all the way to the end. What happens is that this plastic sleeve gets brittle and peels away. Unfortunately it only peels away to the point where the rubber grommet starts, since it's protected from elements after that point. This sleeve catches on the grommet or maybe the plastic flange whenever it passes that point when the parking lever is released.
Here is the pick of it.
http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/krzysiekz1981/My%20Car%20Stuff/2012-05-26084332.jpg
What I did was pull the cable as far out as I could and cut off the plastic sleeve. This way the end of the sleeve no longer travels over the end of that plastic flange and won't catch on it. In order to pull the cable that far, however I had to release all the tension on the parking brake lever. Just turn the tensioning nut all the way until it reaches the top. Before you do that, however you should measure or just visually remember how far the bolt was sticking out before you turned the nut.
Here is a pic of the nut after I loosened it all the way. Before I loosened the nut you could see about an inch of the bolt, but it may be different for everyone.
http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/krzysiekz1981/My%20Car%20Stuff/2012-05-26084118.jpg
After I exposed as much of the sleeve as I could, I simply cut it with a utility knife. Don't go too crazy, though because you may be cutting into the cable itself. After that I lubbed the cable with some chain lube. I sprayed a little each time into the plastic grommet hole and moved the cable by hand to work in the lube. You can use some other lube like ATF or regular oil, but I find that chain lube is best for this sort of thing because it's thin when sprayed but becomes tacky after a while, so it will stay in place. I would avoid white grease, silicon spray and other general lube sprays as they will not last long in this case.
http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/krzysiekz1981/My%20Car%20Stuff/2012-05-26085300.jpg
This is about it. The parking brake works like new again. One thing I forgot to mention is that this happened only on driver's side of the car, the other side moves freely. Also, since the plastic sleeve is now gone the cable is now exposed to elements and will rust, so I expect that I will have to inspect it annually or so and re-lube as necessary. Still, better than replacing the whole thing.