• Welcome to the Contour Enthusiasts Group, the best resource for the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

    You can register to join the community.

Parking Brake replacement

TourEnvy

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Oct 23, 2006
Messages
2,725
Location
Las Vegas , NV
Has anyone replaced there parking brake and how easy is it? I believe its teeth are worn cause it only catches in some spots. Any insight would help.
 
Its really easy. You need a 10mm wrench and there is two bolts. Mine broke about a month ago. What happend was the little silver piece broke off which keeps the brake cable on it. This piece is nessesary. When you take it off make sure you bend that piece back. The end of the brake cable just slips out of the socket that its in. When you get a new one (i suggest you get it from a junkyard), you want to cut the ebrake cable and bring it home. Because if you break the silver piece, the handle is trash. So you want to bend it a little and slip the cable out and put the one on your car on!

Very simple. Took me 10 minutes ( but it took me 20-30 times taking it appart and pputting it back together witht the old one to figure out that you need that silver piece to keep it on the ebrake).

Good Luck!
 
O ya i think Reebs has one still because he is parting a Contour out. I was going to get it from him but i got the one from a junkyard.
 
O ya i think Reebs has one still because he is parting a Contour out. I was going to get it from him but i got the one from a junkyard.

Thanks for the help, my local junk yard has one. They pull it for you. Now im concerned that they will fudge it up... Is there a specific name for the silver piece that i can bring to there attention or should i tell them to leave the cable attached.. I hope they would know better. :rolleyes:
 
Ya tell them to just cut the cable. Tell them not to take it off. Ya you dont want them 2 break it
 
Is there a specific name for the silver piece that i can bring to there attention or should i tell them to leave the cable attached.. I hope they would know better. :rolleyes:

Um... IM not sure but its noticable. It clamps onto the cable. Not sure wut its called though sry
 
Does anyone know the correct way to remove your center counsel? (off your E-brake Handle in particular) to prevent ripping the leather/vinyl bootcovering?
 
Well there are clips that hold the boot onto the console. I broke all the clips but glued them back on. Do you need to know how to take the whole console out? or just that part?
 
well, i think there are two diff designs as well, arent year 2000 counsels a lil different, but kinda the same lol? but ya, I broke all but 3 clips lol! I had to change my e-brake cus it was binding up when i lifted it, but its super easy, and if this is what you need to do to fix your ebrake system it is nice to DO IT! lol. 50 bucks at a junkyard is what I paid. If youre gonna get new cables, I would say NAPA has some great ebrake cables. bout 60 bucks for the pair. 30 dollars a side. Im gonna try to hotglue the boot it in summer or somethin, but, I mean how do you remove the counsel off the ebrake nicely cause it seems akward.
 
Last edited:
Yeah the ebrake handle is a little tuff, i glued my boot back in and by the time I got it back in, part of it came apart. I remember workin the shifter forward and back like two times by the time i had it the console) on all the way. maybe if you have a hand doing it will work better.
 
Get this: I called the junkyard yesterday to ask for an e-brake. they said they had it. then i call today (AM) and I asked for it. the ladie said they didnt have one. ????? Then she proceed to tell me they crushed the car this morning.. I laughed. I couldnt believe it. It was the only 98+ on the lot. My luck.
 
well, to make it really easy, instead of THEM pulling it at the yard, check this out, (what is there only 1 yard in your n'hood?) go to a nice fresh Contour, rip the center counsel off like a madman, with your cable cutters snip the wire going back to the equalizer. now the ebrake in the jyard contour is loose. There are 2 i think 10MM holding the handle on, zip those off and theres your handle. Then, find lil dibbies and pocket em. like mirror caps, and plugs. !!!!!!Only snip the EQualizer wire off one in JYard IF and ONLY IF your Equalizer WIRE on YOUR car is good.!!!! Then go Home and grab your Ebrake handle , The EQ wire is held in like a simple bicycle brake connection on the Ebrake Handle. Feed YOUR good EQ wire into/onto the Ebrake handle from Jyard and there ya go. No spent money for them to remove it, (2 mins work) and no need to go under and release the eq from the JYard Contour. Simple. Fast. Efffective., Or , buy one from #0037 up there! Describe Your "it only catches in some gears" problem a lil more please?
 
Last edited:
No, I should have explained better. This place wont let you go in the yard. Theres others around, ill have to shop. This place was just easy. I pull up on the handle and some times it ill drop back down all the way or part of the way. Like the teeth arent catching in the notches. I may take it out and try to file the notches so there deeper and see if that works, what do you think?
 
Last edited:
take your ebrake in there with ya just to check. damn that sucks that ya cant pull-your-part at the yard. (oh well they crushed it anyways so F em! no business for them! lol 10) I bet 99.9% mystique handle would work. call ford or somethin and see if the part numbers for the handle match up? too much work lol ya. And ya hmm it just drops right back down eh, its not supposed to do that! even if you had it off the car, and the EQ NOT hooked up it should stay in the notch and not fall. You should ALWAYS have to push in the button to make it fall, I believe that is normal operation, even if its not hooked up...if I recall......so ya maybe one of the gears is faulty on the handle possibly? it would have to be the release mechanism of the button, or the following gear. Sounds like ya need a new handle.
 
Last edited:
...The mystique handle will work.

When pulling, you are supposed to keep that line attatched to the handle. D/C it from the metal bracket (equalizer) and remove. With any used unit, you will have to reset it. The E-brake handle for these cars has an auto-adjust on it. It automatically sets its tension for the lines with it's first pull (first engagement).

Any new handle (approx $70 through Bill Jenkins) will come with that line attatched, and already in "reset" mode ready to install and be auto-adjusted.
 
Yes the new Handle from Ford has the EQ "line" Hooked up. I was just saying snip the junkyard one to make it quick to remove, that is all. I was fighting with the fact to purchase new, or get a Yard handle, the 20 dollar savings was a good enough reason for me to buy a junk'd one. Good luck.
 
Back
Top