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E brake tightening

Z

Zetec_contour

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Jun 7, 2008
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I just raced past you ;)
How do u tighten an ebrake cable on drum brakes,they hold and the brakes were done,but the lever is almost at the top befor it holds.It's suppose to engage early and low right?
My car is a 98 contour se,zetec if it helps any:shrug:
 
you pull the drum off and tighten the adjuster. the drum brakes are suppose to be self adjusting.

I know my parking brake grabbed well before I changed the rear two cables. I recently had to change the handle and it was about the same. about all I can figure is the drums are at their minimum or beyond since they might be original at 207k. new drums and shoes might make the parking brake work better.
 
To the op:
On most cars there is an oblong hole in the back of the drum. Usually there is a black soft plug there you need to pop out. They sell an actual tool to adjust the "adjuster" but a thin flat head screwdriver works as well. Insert the screw driver in the hole and pry with it. Imagine the adjuster wheel as a starburst sitting perpindicular to the hole. Prying against the drum upward or downward to turn the "sunburst" adjuster wheel to loosen/tighten. It helps to have the wheel off the ground so that you can feel the drag by spinning the wheel. Adjust until you can turn the wheel but you feel resistance and you should be in good shape.

Edit: Also most e-brake cables have an adjuster where they split into two cables for each drum. if yours does then start there.
 
BigBEN said:
I don't mean to thread jack, but how do you tighten the e-brake on an SVT?
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you don't. recall the piston is self adjusting and will more out as needed. as the pads wear down the parking brake is going to grab higher. It should shelf adjust when you pull on the handle but if the cables are stretched out it might not make a difference.
 
BrApple said:
you don't. recall the piston is self adjusting and will more out as needed. as the pads wear down the parking brake is going to grab higher. It should shelf adjust when you pull on the handle but if the cables are stretched out it might not make a difference.
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I havent looked myself but are you sure there isnt a nut somewhere like other cars have? I know my mazdas have a nut right there at the brake handle if you pull the cover. It adjusts the main line that the two individual lines clip into under the car.
 
no nut, its entirely self adjusting. if it doesnt engage until the top of the pull, odds are your cables are stretched and need to be replaced. they are probably all rusted and need to be replaced anyways.
 
Dyoel182 said:
I havent looked myself but are you sure there isnt a nut somewhere like other cars have? I know my mazdas have a nut right there at the brake handle if you pull the cover. It adjusts the main line that the two individual lines clip into under the car.
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nope the handle is self adjusting everytime you pull the handle. the rear calipers are also self adjusting as the pads wear.
 
Dyoel182 said:
I havent looked myself but are you sure there isnt a nut somewhere like other cars have? I know my mazdas have a nut right there at the brake handle if you pull the cover. It adjusts the main line that the two individual lines clip into under the car.
Click to expand...

As stated, there is no nut. I replaced a frozen cable a few weeks ago, and it really didn't make the handle come down much lower. It's at about 1/3 of the way up. With the original cables in my other SVT, the parking brake is engaged after only about 2-3 clicks.

striker2 said:
no nut, its entirely self adjusting. if it doesnt engage until the top of the pull, odds are your cables are stretched and need to be replaced. they are probably all rusted and need to be replaced anyways.
Click to expand...

Rust probably wouldn't be an issue on a Texas car.
 
TX00SVT said:
Rust probably wouldn't be an issue on a Texas car.
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maybe, maybe not. the problem with the e-brake cable set up is the cables point up into the air. this allows water to easily get down into the cable and then it collects. this was fixed with adding rubber boots to the end of the cable. but if those get damaged water will get it and eventually rust the cables.
 
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