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98 SVT Contour E-Brake Install Woes

F

fordsvt98

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Jul 8, 2004
Messages
665
Location
Minneapolis, MN
Brand new E Brake handle, Brand New Cables, Brand New Calipers. I Have the Cables all hooked up from the Handle Equalizer all the way back... ready and waiting to be hooked on the e brake Banana on the Caliper, Cables will not go that far back! Please shoot me some tips here cause im kinda frustrated.

I Have pulled the Slack from the Handle all the way it seems. Im stuck at this point. Any pointers? Is this a One Man job?

I guess I should say, what do I hook up first? A. At Caliper Banana End? or B. At Ebrake Handle Equalizer?
 
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I used a big ass jack at the side, I used pliers on the tinners, I grabbed one lip of the tins with the tip of the pliers and spun it. after i got em off, I dropped the exhaust, , propped on one side the cables were super easy to get at.... at the height my car's rear was at a home depot bucket on its side worked great as a prop. then once I had the heatshields off I cut a lil slice on the shields by the rivet and pulled em apart so theyll be two piece and maybe easier to put back in. To anyone that thinks this is a ***** to do, dont, its so damn simple. Putting it back together now ummmmm.......these cables seem short lol. I cant wait to hook em up tommorow but I just ran out of time tonite. I got the super cheap ass Cables from O'reillys Auto Parts at 13.99 a piece. I hope I can hook em tommorow I think I need a hand though.

Im gonna try hooking at rear caliper first, then maybe getting a big ass screwdriver in the caliper banana to wedge it forward, then try to assemble at the equalizer.

I painted my old calipers yellow, so the yellow bracket that holds the pads looks real sweet mixed with that new silver look of the caliper. Im not gonna paint em, but im gonna freshen up the pad bracket soon after winter.
 
Ya, well it looks to say hook the caliper side first then go on to the equalizer if im reading it correctly. Thanks for the link Tony. But, is this Autozone how-to all we have? This Autozone how-to completely contradicts what some other Ceg'r how-to says. All Ive seen on this on here is people saying "i did it! yay!" Well, whatever. Some of the true Veteran Contour.org people are MIA, and Im seeing a bunch of posts of people asking how to get the dam heatshields off lowl. I got to wait till saturday to finish this project. Im so crammed with house projects and BS.
 
I think i just broke the E-brake handle because its starting to cut the cable. Where did you get your E-brake handle? and how much?
 
I guess I shouldnt say "brand new handle" but now brand new to me, I got my E-brake handle from a salvage yard out of a black 2000 contour here in MN for 50.00 my old one was just really loose and felt wobbly and old. I just wanted a new one, but dint wanna pay 73.00 at fordparts.com or 98 sumethin at the stealership. I called ford and they wanted like 70 bucks a piece for the cables I thought that was kinda funny business, two stealers told me that, I asked about the tsb numbers, and dude acted like he didnt know what I was talkin bout. I got my rear calipers at Autozone for 42.99 a piece + 45.99 core charge But, I ordered the pass side and got the driver side TWICE!! finally they looked it up in the computer and it says "part numbers may be reversed" or some excuse like that. Why they have it listed in thier computers with part #'rs in reverse (according to them C384 pass C385 driver) is utterly ridiculous. But the calipers were remanufactured Ford stock so I thought that was nice. So ill have time to hook it up tomorrow. Thanks for the replys guys and happy holidays!
 
From 1996 Ford CD,

Parking Brake Cable and Conduit

Front

Removal
1. Fully release parking brake.

2. Raise vehicle on hoist.

3. Lower exhaust system and remove heat shields.

4. Disengage parking brake rear cable and conduits from parking brake cable and equalizer.

5. Lower vehicle.

6. Remove console.

7. Route parking brake cable and equalizer through hole in floor pan.

8. Remove parking brake cable and equalizer from parking brake control.

Installation
1. Position parking brake cable and equalizer on parking brake control.

2. Release cable tension as outlined.

3. Route parking brake cable and equalizer through hole in floor pan. Install grommet into opening.


4. Raise vehicle on hoist.

5. Connect parking brake rear cable and conduits to parking brake cable and equalizer.

6. Install heat shields and raise exhaust system.

7. Lower vehicle.

8. Install console.

9. Operate parking brake control several times to set adjuster.

Rear

Removal
1. Fully release parking brake control.

2. Raise vehicle on hoist.

3. Lower exhaust system and remove heat shields.

4. Disengage parking brake rear cable and conduit from parking brake cable and equalizer.

5. Remove parking brake rear cable and conduit from routing brackets.


6. On disc brake vehicles, remove parking brake rear cable and conduit from the rear disc brake caliper.

7. On vehicles equipped with drum brakes, remove parking brake rear cable and conduit from parking brake lever.


Installation
1. On vehicles equipped with drum brakes, connect parking brake rear cable and conduit to parking brake lever.

2. On vehicles equipped with disc brakes, connect parking brake rear cable and conduit to rear disc brake caliper.

3. Position parking brake rear cable and conduit in routing clips.

4. Attach parking brake rear cable and conduits to parking brake cable and equalizer.

5. Install heat shields and raise exhaust system.

6. Lower vehicle.

7. Adjust cable tension by operating parking brake control several times.
 
Ive never had a working e brake on my car since i owned it like 3 years! Those cables were rusted out since day 1. and I have an autostarter and I never get to use it! This winter is gonna be great now......I cant wait to hear it engage!
 
Finally got around to finishing up my Ebrake install. Well, the Orielly auto part cables are simply JUNK! DO NOT attempt to install Oreilly's "Brake Best" Cable's or you WILL run into Serious problems. TOO SHORT! Went to NAPA. Ordered me new cables. 28.99 a piece, had to be shipped. total $66.02 with shipping and tax. Butter smooth, what a cinch to install. More than enuff room to connect at equalizer, not like those crappy ass oreilly cables. Wow. OMG! I can use my auto starter now! just in time for winter!
 
Yea my dad ran into this same problem when he was doing the e-brake for my brothers CSVT. He ended up buying Napa cables as well.

Oh and for those of you asking. I just bought a brand new park brake lever from Steve at Tousley Ford for $65.
 
fordsvt98 said:
I used a big ass jack at the side, I used pliers on the tinners, I grabbed one lip of the tins with the tip of the pliers and spun it. after i got em off, I dropped the exhaust, , propped on one side the cables were super easy to get at.... at the height my car's rear was at a home depot bucket on its side worked great as a prop. then once I had the heatshields off I cut a lil slice on the shields by the rivet and pulled em apart so theyll be two piece and maybe easier to put back in. To anyone that thinks this is a ***** to do, dont, its so damn simple. Putting it back together now ummmmm.......these cables seem short lol. I cant wait to hook em up tommorow but I just ran out of time tonite. I got the super cheap ass Cables from O'reillys Auto Parts at 13.99 a piece. I hope I can hook em tommorow I think I need a hand though.

Im gonna try hooking at rear caliper first, then maybe getting a big ass screwdriver in the caliper banana to wedge it forward, then try to assemble at the equalizer.

I painted my old calipers yellow, so the yellow bracket that holds the pads looks real sweet mixed with that new silver look of the caliper. Im not gonna paint em, but im gonna freshen up the pad bracket soon after winter.
Click to expand...

Wow you went through a lot of work...

When I did mine I just drilled out the rivet holding the two heat shields together. You can pull them out around the exhaust without dropping it.

Disconnect the cables the brakes by prying the caliper arm back and disconnecting the cable. Unbolt the park brake lever. Disconnect the cables from the park brake T and reassembly with the new components. Putting the heat shields back in is as easy as taking them out. Slide them back into place and screw the self-die nuts back on. If you really want to you can use a self tapping screw and screw the two heat shields back together where the rivet was, or put a screw clip on the top one and bolt them together. Done deal.
 
CSVT#49 said:
...When I did mine I just drilled out the rivet holding the two heat shields together. You can pull them out around the exhaust without dropping it.

Disconnect the cables the brakes by prying the caliper arm back and disconnecting the cable. Unbolt the park brake lever. Disconnect the cables from the park brake T and reassembly with the new components. ....
Click to expand...
This is good info to know. In addition, if you want to do it the easy for reinstallation of the heat shield, just buy one of those exhaust straps from Autozone or Advance for $8. Victor 801.
 
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