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Emergency brake wont hold

C

contourgl95

CEG'er
Joined
Jul 7, 2008
Messages
255
Location
Edmonton, Alberta
Hey guys.. with my new svt i bought.. i noticed my ebrake doesnt really do its job.. i have to have it fully engaged up .. like ALL the way up for it to hold. and when its up there it wont hold.. the car will slowly slide down :nonono:
does anyone know what i have to do ?? in terms of adjusting? im probally gonna take it to a shop but before they rip me off i want to atleast know what it takes to make it work again.. thanks it just snowed today and my svt is dirty and salty and everything not what you would expect an SVT to roll in :cry: but i need my ebrake to park my car on my driveway lol.. any help is appreciated!
 
Have a helper pull the handle up while you look at the parking cable ends at the calipers. I think you will find one cable or both a siezed. on my car the cable on the lever in the car had came off the cam and wedged in the lever when the cables siezed and i needed the cables and a new lever. The lever assembly of a drum brake car should be the same.
 
chance are you need new rear cables and or new brake pads. also the cable could have pulled out of the handle and now doesn't pull enough to engage the parking brake.
 
Or someone used a C clamp to push the piston in and wrecked the parking brake threads. If this is the case you will need to rebuild/replace the caliper.
 
It might just be that your cables are stretched out. Or you need to adjust them from where the 1 from the E-brake handle meets the other 2. In that case all you need to do is tighten up i believe 2 nuts on the bracket. I do not know where they meet up but it's not to hard to track the cable down.
 
Could be one side isn't hooked up, i was too lazy to hook one side up, didn't notice a difference until i parked on a steep driveway and leaned on the hood...
 
The parking brake seems to be a common problem area on the Contour. The cables and/or calipers may be seized. If you don't feel like forking $ for a repair right now, you could always leave your car parked in 1st gear. I do that with mine and my driveway is on a bit of an incline. Car hasn't gone anywhere.
 
Gerald said:
The parking brake seems to be a common problem area on the Contour. The cables and/or calipers may be seized. If you don't feel like forking $ for a repair right now, you could always leave your car parked in 1st gear. I do that with mine and my driveway is on a bit of an incline. Car hasn't gone anywhere.
Click to expand...

Thats what i''ve been doing for a while now.. its just funny cuz my friends laugh at my horrible E-Brake.
 
I had a similar issue and it was the result of seized cables. Had them replaced though, and it still doesn't hold very well. Calipers rotors and pads are new(ish) also. I'm guessing it has more to do with an adjustment near the handle than the caliper/brake assembly.

Let me know if you find out how to adjust it.

Thanks.
 
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