E-brake woes

[R-code]

Pulled this little gem off of the car this weekend. Looks like the guard on the e-brake cable slid out of place some time ago and the trailing link has been eating away at the covering ever since. Good thing to check for during your routine inspections.





The guard in question is the thick piece of plastic situated a few inches to the left of the damage. It's supposed to be tied in place where the cable and the trailing link make contact.

~Mike~

[xtascox]

How did you go about pulling the cable? Mine is stretched out and needs replacing. I couldn't find a how-to anywhere although I am sure there is one hiding somewhere...

[R-code]

How did you go about pulling the cable? Mine is stretched out and needs replacing. I couldn't find a how-to anywhere although I am sure there is one hiding somewhere...

It's not all that difficult, it's just time consuming. Once the car was in the air (E-brake OFF) it went down like this;

1. Support the catback with a scissor jack and release the two rear exhaust hangers and the on just upstream of the gas tank
2. Remove all the fasteners holding the two rear-most exhaust shields. There are two on the rear piece and four on the front. These fasteners will appear to be a bit tricky at first, but fear not! They're most likely coated in rust, so a liberal coat of PB Blaster or the like will save you a fair bit of headache. After that's set in, a 24mm socket and a three inch extension is all you'll need to twist them off with your favorite 1/2" ratchet. I found this to be the easiest way to remove/reinstall them without risking any damage.
3. Lower the scissor jack until you have room to pull the shields out the rear under the gas tank. Keep in mind that these two pieces are riveted together, probably to prevent rattles. It is possible to get them out without damaging anything, you just have to take your time and plan your next move.
4. Raise the scissor jack to support the exhaust and take the stress off of the remaining hangers.
5. With all of that mess out of the way, take note of where the three guards are located on the sheath of the cable you intend to replace. There is one clear plastic tube at the front and a pair of black rubber pieces with eight 1/4" fins around the outside. It is important to make sure the new cable is installed with these in the proper location to prevent what you see above.
6. At the rear caliper, use a long screwdriver or small prybar to rotate the E-brake arm toward the front of the car, grab the end of the brake cable with a pair of pliers and pull it out of the arm. Take care not to unseat the return spring as it's a bit of a PITA to get back in place.
7. Crawl back under the car and release the other end of the cable from the T-bracket in the exhaust channel.
8. Back to the wheel well! Release the tie holding the cable to the trailing arm. You will need to do this in order to get the necessary flex out of the cable to complete the next step.
9. Compress the three prongs on the spring clip that keeps the cable mounted to the caliper bracket and pull it forward. You will need to pull the cable out of the sheath a few inches in order to stretch the rubber seal at the end. If you don't, the seal at the end will bunch up and make it almost impossible to pull the assembly through unscathed. It takes some wiggling, but it can be removed without damaging the boot. This is good practice so you don't screw up the new part when you install it.
10. Under the car there is a small white collar holding the cable into a bracked. Compress this with a pair of pliers and wiggle the cable free.
11. Finally, there is another circular spring clip holding the forward end of the cable to the chassis. Release it and pull the cable towards the rear of the car to get it out.
12. Reverse these steps to install the new piece. Remember to orient the guards correctly, especially the piece that holds the cable to the trailing arm.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. If I'd known there was going to be a how-to request I would have taken more pictures.

~Mike~

[xtascox]

Thanks a lot. I don't think you left any ounce of detail out there!

[R-code]

Thanks a lot. I don't think you left any ounce of detail out there!

I try :D Please let me know if you run into any problems so I can refine that for future searches.

~Mike~

[SVT#4967]

probably one thing I would add is the steps required to reset the tension on the cables.

I just replaced my e-brake cables on my 98 SVT because the passenger side was rusted in the "pulled" position.

Upon install, I found it very difficult to get the cable back into the t-bracket and the calipers. After looking through my manual I found that the e-brake handle has an automatic tension setup that required being reset in order to place proper tension on the new cables. After removing the e-brake handle from the car and resetting the auto tensioning unit the cables went into the t-bracket and caliper easily.

[R-code]

probably one thing I would add is the steps required to reset the tension on the cables.

I just replaced my e-brake cables on my 98 SVT because the passenger side was rusted in the "pulled" position.

Upon install, I found it very difficult to get the cable back into the t-bracket and the calipers. After looking through my manual I found that the e-brake handle has an automatic tension setup that required being reset in order to place proper tension on the new cables. After removing the e-brake handle from the car and resetting the auto tensioning unit the cables went into the t-bracket and caliper easily.

Guess I lucked out, mine slipped right into place. What manual did you use? I might give it a shot just to make sure everything's working well.

~Mike~

[SVT#4967]

the 2 book factory service manual set purchased from Helm Inc.

once you have the e-brake cables detached from the equalizer bracket you need to...
1.) remove the shifter knob/boot and the center floor console.
2.) unbolt the e-brake handle from the car and pull the cable and equalizer bracket through the floor of the car.
3.) once out of the car, pull the e-brake handle to the fully raised position.
4.) find the "pawl" which holds the gear from moving back and release it so it is no longer holding the gear, now pull the cable out. placing the equalizer bracket between your feet while using your hands to release the pawl and pull the cable out works good.
5.) after you've pulled the cable out, re-engage the pawl to hold the gear and release tension on the cable. The cable will remain in the fully extended position until the first time tension is applied (e-brake handle pulled while cables are attached).
6.) re-install the e-brake handle into the car and torque the bolts to 23 Nm.
7.) attached the e-brake cables to the equalizer bracket, re-install the heat shield and exhaust in reverse order.
8.) pull the e-brake handle and when tension is applied, the pawl will allow the gear to spin and tension the cable properly.
9.) re-install the center console and shifter boot/knob.

This could also probably be done in the car without removing the e-brake handle but 2 people would be needed. One to work inside the car and one under the car to pull the equalizer bracket.

sorry I don't have any pictures but I hope this helps.

[Redlineracer12]

I had a cable that looked similar to that on my Cougar. I replaced it without having to do anything with the handle. Just slipped that bad boy into the caliper first then the T bracket and its been working like a charm ever since.

[PurpleMystique]

Where'd you pick up a new cable?

[R-code]

Where'd you pick up a new cable?

Napa.

~Mike~

[Redlineracer12]

Where'd you pick up a new cable?

Ford for me.

[SVT#4967]

yep, got mine from Ford as well. Kit comes with 2 rear cables and 2 return springs. ~$66 IIRC

[CSVT#49]

It's not all that difficult, it's just time consuming. Once the car was in the air (E-brake OFF) it went down like this;

1. Support the catback with a scissor jack and release the two rear exhaust hangers and the on just upstream of the gas tank
2. Remove all the fasteners holding the two rear-most exhaust shields. There are two on the rear piece and four on the front. These fasteners will appear to be a bit tricky at first, but fear not! They're most likely coated in rust, so a liberal coat of PB Blaster or the like will save you a fair bit of headache. After that's set in, a 24mm socket and a three inch extension is all you'll need to twist them off with your favorite 1/2" ratchet. I found this to be the easiest way to remove/reinstall them without risking any damage.
3. Lower the scissor jack until you have room to pull the shields out the rear under the gas tank. Keep in mind that these two pieces are riveted together, probably to prevent rattles. It is possible to get them out without damaging anything, you just have to take your time and plan your next move.
4. Raise the scissor jack to support the exhaust and take the stress off of the remaining hangers.
5. With all of that mess out of the way, take note of where the three guards are located on the sheath of the cable you intend to replace. There is one clear plastic tube at the front and a pair of black rubber pieces with eight 1/4" fins around the outside. It is important to make sure the new cable is installed with these in the proper location to prevent what you see above.
6. At the rear caliper, use a long screwdriver or small prybar to rotate the E-brake arm toward the front of the car, grab the end of the brake cable with a pair of pliers and pull it out of the arm. Take care not to unseat the return spring as it's a bit of a PITA to get back in place.
7. Crawl back under the car and release the other end of the cable from the T-bracket in the exhaust channel.
8. Back to the wheel well! Release the tie holding the cable to the trailing arm. You will need to do this in order to get the necessary flex out of the cable to complete the next step.
9. Compress the three prongs on the spring clip that keeps the cable mounted to the caliper bracket and pull it forward. You will need to pull the cable out of the sheath a few inches in order to stretch the rubber seal at the end. If you don't, the seal at the end will bunch up and make it almost impossible to pull the assembly through unscathed. It takes some wiggling, but it can be removed without damaging the boot. This is good practice so you don't screw up the new part when you install it.
10. Under the car there is a small white collar holding the cable into a bracked. Compress this with a pair of pliers and wiggle the cable free.
11. Finally, there is another circular spring clip holding the forward end of the cable to the chassis. Release it and pull the cable towards the rear of the car to get it out.
12. Reverse these steps to install the new piece. Remember to orient the guards correctly, especially the piece that holds the cable to the trailing arm.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. If I'd known there was going to be a how-to request I would have taken more pictures.

~Mike~

I was actually able to do this without removing the hangers from the exhaust. You can easily reach around it to take the retaining nuts off of the heat shields. Once you get the car in the air with the rear wheels off it only takes about 20min to get everything swapped out. Assuming you don't break anything and you have all of your parts ready to go.

I also picked up my cables from Napa, which where like $24 a piece??? Don't know it was a while ago.

[R-code]

I was actually able to do this without removing the hangers from the exhaust. You can easily reach around it to take the retaining nuts off of the heat shields. Once you get the car in the air with the rear wheels off it only takes about 20min to get everything swapped out. Assuming you don't break anything and you have all of your parts ready to go.

I also picked up my cables from Napa, which where like $24 a piece??? Don't know it was a while ago.

The nuts themselves weren't the problem, I wanted to remove the shields completely without damaging them. I was working under the car on my back and my long arms were proving to be a hindrance when I tried to reach the forward end of the cable. The heat shield procedure adds about 10 minutes to the whole job and it saved me some serious cuts and scrapes.

~Mike~