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No ebrake after replacing front pads/rotors

P

PurpleMystique

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Nov 16, 2004
Messages
2,602
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Greater Des Moines Area
I just finished installing new front pads and rotors in my car last night when I noticed a puddle of liquid on the ground under my car. It appears that when I compressed the pistons on the front calipers, I made the brake fluid reservoir overflow. I removed enough fluid to put the level at "max," but noticed that the ebrake does almost nothing now. If I pull it all the way, it kind of grabs, but it's not enough to make a very noticeable difference while driving, but it still does a little bit.

What could have gone wrong? Should I bleed all of the brakes?
 
The front brakes dont have anything to do with the rear emergency brakes but it sounds like you got air in the system and need to let it bleed. Did you try pumping the brake pedal to push the caliper and pads back out to where they should be? The eBrake is cable operated so the fluid shouldnt have anything to do with it.
 
I bled all four corners and checked the cable connections, everything appears to be good. The brake does catch, but right at the end of pulling it. It will hold the car still when I park, but not much else. What else could it be?
 
Sounds like something didnt go back together correctly on the rear brakes. Didnt you say you had done them already?
 
Yes, I didn't touch the rear brakes at all while doing the fronts, but they suddenly didn't work. I checked yesterday, and both brakes actuate with the brake pedal, but only the driver's side actuates with the e-brake lever, the lever does nothing to the passenger's side. What's the cable look like under the car? What kind of part do I need to look for?
 
So you havent worked on the rear brakes or you did but they worked before you messed with the fronts? The cable will look like a thick shielded cable that splits to bolt or slide into a pivot point on each caliper.
 
I did the rears a few months back and haven't had problems until I did the fronts, then suddenly this happened. Is the cable one single piece from e-brake lever to both brakes? I'm just trying to figure out what I should be buying.
 
PurpleMystique said:
I did the rears a few months back and haven't had problems until I did the fronts, then suddenly this happened. Is the cable one single piece from e-brake lever to both brakes? I'm just trying to figure out what I should be buying.
Click to expand...
taken from the rear disc conversion how-to (modified slightly:D). IIRC they are sold individually. if you replace one you might as well replace the other while your there. they are the same for either side.

e-brakecable.jpg
 
The e-brake cables are ~$10 from Autozone, IIRC. I'm replacing mine tomorrow since the exhaust is being replaced by something a bit more... SVT.

But I believe there is a front cable, one that attaches to the e-brake lever. My local Ford dealer wanted $140 for it. There are several Contours at my local junkyard, I might be able to grab you one. I'd rather replace with a new part, but that's a wallet killer.
 
offthewallds said:
The e-brake cables are ~$10 from Autozone, IIRC. I'm replacing mine tomorrow since the exhaust is being replaced by something a bit more... SVT.

But I believe there is a front cable, one that attaches to the e-brake lever. My local Ford dealer wanted $140 for it. There are several Contours at my local junkyard, I might be able to grab you one. I'd rather replace with a new part, but that's a wallet killer.
Click to expand...

I'm assuming the front cable is good since the left brake works, I just need the front-to-right cable.
 
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