My emergency brake cable came loose from the bracket in the driveshaft tunnel where the one cable splits into two. I have looked all over for a way to adjust the slack so I can fix it but I couldn't find anything. I thought there should just be a threaded rod or something like that but I read somewhere that they stopped using that after the '89 model. How do I adjust this thing so I can hook it back up? Is the adjustment somewhere on the caliper? Thanks in advance.

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1991 Z28 - 350 TPI, T56, McLeod street clutch, LT4 pressure plate, Pro 5.0 shifter, ported plenum & runners, AFPR, Holley Annihilator ignition box and wires, Hooker shorty headers w/o AIR, Flowmaster muffler, homeade ram-air, SSM subframe connectors, Kenny Brown STB, Global West steering box brace, Steve Spohn adjustable torque arm and T56 crossmember

 

Anyone?

 

yeah, anybody? I sat there and looked at the thing for ten mins, couldn't find a single way to adjust it.

 

Parking brakes for '90-'92 are supposed to be entirely self-adjusting I thought.

 

The parking brake is self adjusting in the handle assy. The only adjustment is on rear disc equipped cars. The adjustment is in the rear calipers. Its called free-travel. You're supposed to have new pads or pads parallel to within .006" to adjust it. It only has to be adjusted after a caliper overhaul.

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-Jason M. 1991 Camaro Z28

 

Well then how the hell do I get enough slack in the cable so I can hook it back up? I cab stretch the cable to within maybe a half an inch from the bracket but there is just not enough slack for me to get it hooked up. There has to be some way to do it.

 

Pull the cable back from the e-brake handle. It comes out.

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-Jason M. 1991 Camaro Z28

 

Ok I can unhook that to give me the slack I need to hook up the other cable. But then I won't have any slack to hook it back up to the parking brake handle. The only way to do it would have to be by adjusting the slack somewhere in the system and then retightening it. There has to be some strange way of adjusting the tension back at the brake caliper or something.

 

don't unhook it from the handle, just pull the equalizer back with the e-brake handle hooked up. Mine pulled right back and let me hook up the cables.

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-Jason M. 1991 Camaro Z28

 

Mine will not let me pull back. Do I have to have someone in the car to hold the button in to allow the ratchet to release? Please help.

 

Something weird happened to my ebrake today--similar to your situation.

Had my brakes done a week or so ago (rear drums), and since then, the parking brake handle didn't come up as high, and was very tight. Today, the handle skipped a bunch of teeth, as it has done before, (and I usually just put the handle down, it reengages and is fine). Today however, it after it "stripped out", you have to pull the handle all the way up for the e brake to engage. Barely works.

Took it back to the shop, and they adjusted the rear brakes, but the brake handle was the same, sticking straight up and barely working. Worse yet, when I got the car home, the back end stunk like brakes--because now the rears are dragging. So I've got to take it back and get them to adjust the back brakes to where they were. The mechanic was mystified as to how to get rid of the slack in the brake cable.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Steve91Z28 L98
[B]My emergency brake cable came loose from the bracket in the driveshaft tunnel where the one cable splits into two.

What about just putting the cable back in the bracket? Also, is there some way to adjust the cable tension in the console? I think my problem is in the brake handle assembly.

 

I believe that is where my problem is also. I think the brake handle has a ratchet mechanism. In my case I need to loosten it. Your case you need to tighten.

When I had my thirdgen rear my handle would seem not to enguage one in a while. However when I would quickly bring it down and back up it would catch.

I still have not resolved this issue. I have not had much time for the car lately.

BILL

 

91-92 had the ebrake adj. in the handle - pull the console and take a peak at the handle base

i don't remember what i had to do on mine, but i do know i was able to relaese the mechanism and pull it all the way as far out as it would go (so i actually have more cable before where it splits than necesary)

then once ya got it all hooked up, just start goin up and down on the ebrake handle until its tight...

i think if ya pull the console and look at the mechanism you should be able to figuer it out - let me know if ya can't, i mgiht be able to find a digram or proceedure in my book when i get home this afternoon

 

This is your lucky day. I've had this problem as have all of you and it's rather simple. Carpet and dirt gets into the grease that would normally allow the self adjusting ratchet to work. My first attempt to cleaning this was to just burn off the carpet. Neadless to say that worked for a year but the problem came back worse than before. It was so bad that half the time I would pull up on the e-brake it would fly up in my face without working!!! So I went in, cleaned up the ratchet and greased it up with some spray industrial red grease. Now it's fine and self adjusting. The red grease BTW is an industrial only product so you won't find it in autoparts stores. If you can find it I recommend it for anything that would require wheel bearing grease. I put some on my squeeking doors and it's been sqeek free for almost a year now where the lithium grease only worked for a few months.

 

Took my car back to the shop that did the brakes, and they took off the console, and found a broken piece in the ratchet assembly, a pin, or bolt, that holds it all together. Said it was broken, and they ordered the new part from a dealer. Had been super tight when I first got the car back, and a couple of yanks later, snap! Oh well, it held for 13 yrs.

First they tried WD-40, which I've done before too, but that didn't help, so the CSI type mechanic investigated further. I didn't ask them to go under the console, they just did it. While I usually try to fix sfuff like this myself, I think I will just let the shop do it. The guy said the part would be 30 bucks or so. If the shop's charge isn't too steep, I'll let 'em do it, and post when I know what the part is called, etc.