parking brake woes...

[DavidT]

It is my rear passenger rotor that seems to be sticking a bit. I had my rear calipers changed not long ago. With the car jacked up, the rotor will spin somewhat, but not as free as it should, or as the other side. Sometimes when in reverse or under 5 mph I can hear it rubbing. If I engage the parking brake (while jacked up), nothing happens. I am guessing it is the main parking brake line and it has seized up (rust?, etc.). How hard is that to replace and what is the p/n? Oh yeah, I have never seen a "parking brake" light in the instrument panel. Actually, the entire 8 months I've owned the car, the parking brake never has worked right, and on a slope, it will only "lock" a little. If I were to leave it in neutral, my car would be gone.

<small>[ August 05, 2002, 05:30 PM: Message edited by: dkautumna ]</small>

 

[smcallis]

Ask Torrie at fordpartsnetwork, he can give you the p/n and probably the best price..OEM anyways. Not sure if anyone else makes the cable.

 

[SHONUT91]

I replaced mine not long ago,I had the local dealer get it in.I paid like 26.00 for it,I don't remeber the p/n right off the top of my head.When I get home from work I will look through my reciepts and e-mail it to you.It is real easy to put on,the only hard part was getting it adjusted properly and that was not to hard. thumbs_u

 

[NiNeTy Fo SHO]

My parking brake didnt work for months. Easiest thing to do that might work, take some carb. cleaner and spray it into the cable where it comes out at the brake. If there is any rust of anything, that should loosen it up. Mine works great now, before I could push the E-brake pedal to the floor and get nothing, now I go halfway and the back tires are locked up. FWIW, try that and chances are you will know if its the cable or not.

 

[Bizzy]

You need to check the fitment of the brake pads in the calipers. If the piston has been adjusted out too far it will cause some drag, as will pads that are not completely straight.

Also check the slider pins in the bracket. Very important that these are checked regularly and lubed as necessary. Don't let them go by the way side, you'll pay for it in the long run if you do.

When you press on the e-brake, does the pedal go down quickly or is there any resistance? If it goes down very easily, I'd suggest checking to see that they are connected to the caliper and that the T (near the driver's door underneath) is also connected.

The e-brake cables are not too expensive at a dealership. But do check out FPN or SHO Nut to compare prices. They are easy to install, but the return spring is a PITA. The cables can rust up and sieze from the inside even though it still looks very good on the outside. If you get new ones I'd suggest you **** them like every 6 months.

A good way to see if they are siezed is to take a flat head screwdriver and manually move the e-brake lever on the caliper. If it's not moveable, then more than likely the cable is shot. It could be the sole source of your problem...or not. But try replacing the side that the wheel that is rubbing on first.

Edit: Also, when lubing these cables...I wouldn't use a chemical that breaks down grease...like carb cleaner. You want grease in there to keep the inner cable sliding freely. If it's siezed up now, it won't be long before it siezes again. Better to save yourself the headache in the long run and get new ones if they are. They're cheap enough that they aren't worth trying to "fix" IMO.

<small>[ August 06, 2002, 08:47 AM: Message edited by: Bizzy ]</small>

 

[PaulRuffo]

I just replaced my parking brake cables. I bought them from Josh at www.shonutperformance.com. I replaced the cables right from the pedal inside the car all the way back to each side of the rear. (total of 4 cables) It works great now. If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask. My email is [email protected].

Paul

 

[DavidT]

Bizzy,
Scott told me to do the same thing with a flat head screwdriver and the lever. I can not locate where exaCTLY that is. Can you give me another description, or better yet a picture

 

[warmachine]

The caliper parking brake levers should be fully released to their stops (the bolt that the lever return spring is attached to). If these are not fully released you will get brake drag. If these are released then your problem has to do with the caliper/pad itself.

If the lever is not fully released (one side only), you probably have corroded park brake cables (if both sides are off the stops you may need to adjust the cables). The cables typically only last 10 years, less if the park brake is not frequently used.

If they are corroded, you should at least replace both rear cables. The Taurus uses a conduit reaction system. If you only replace one cable, you will get uneven caliper application from left/right.

It's not really possible to relube the inside your cables. If the conduit seals are worn you need to replace the cables. If you grease the exposed strand use a silicone grease.

One area that grease will help is the grommet where the LH rear cable passes through the frame.

-Greg
former Ford park brake engineer

 

[DavidT]

Thanks for the info.
Turns out the cable is sticking. It was engaged about an inch from the fully released position. I pried and pried and pried and finaly got it released.

 

[Bizzy]

My apologies...I didn't return to this topic until tonight. Shame on me. I'm glad you got it released...now would be a good time though to replace that cable. It's really not that hard of a thing to do...except the return spring.

Good luck!

 

[Deaks2]

I did my parking brake cables ( the two rear ones, the front one was ok) 2 weeks ago. Took 2 hours and was super cheap ($39 CDN for one cable and $46 CDN for the other.)

Parking brake now works like a champ. While I was at it I used a metal brush to clean the rear caliper slider pins. One of them was not even moving! Relubbed them up too. Now the car does nto dive as much under heavy braking!

DOM