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No Emergency Brake

R

richie65

New CEG'er
Joined
Dec 14, 2006
Messages
23
I have a '95 Contour, automatic, 4 cyl, brake drums and shoes on the two rear wheels, disk brakes and pads on the two front wheels.

My emergency brake stopped working. For a while now, when I try to engage the emergency brake to park my car, the brake handle pulls up very easily without any resistance thru its full range. It seems as tho the cable, or what ever mechanism is used, has broken, or become unattached from the rear brake drum mechanism to allow setting of the emergency brake to prevent movement of the car.

Can anyone explain what might be wrong, and describe the procedure to be followed so that I can repair this problem?
 
The most common problem with the early 95 model with park brakes is the brake handle mechanism. You do need to look at your car to see what is happening, but if the cables are not broken, the ratcheting mechanism is the most likely problem.
 
Big Jim said:
The most common problem with the early 95 model with park brakes is the brake handle mechanism. You do need to look at your car to see what is happening, but if the cables are not broken, the ratcheting mechanism is the most likely problem.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply, Big Jim. I went out to the car and tried to cause the emergency brake to self-adjust, by pulling and releasing the emergency brake handle numerous times. Although it clicked thru its complete range, and released properly each time, it did not feel like any noticeable improvement occurred. Then I decided to see if the parking brake would hold the car from rolling. With the engine off, I set the emergency brake to the end of its range, placed the car in neutral, and tried to push-roll the car. The brake partially held the car from rolling. I then tried to further pull the emergency brake handle to make sure that it was at the end of its range. I was able to pull it back one more click. This time the emergency brake held, and I could not push-roll the car.

It doesn't seem possible to me, but could it be that my brake shoes are worn so thin that it will affect my emergency brake?
 
dyaballikl said:
is the cable still attached inside the rear drum? if you try the pull the cable from the ebrake handle, does it easily pull through?
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply dyaballikl,

I haven't yet looked at the rear drum mechanism, but I will be soon I guess. Trying to first understand what possibly might be the problem. But I don't think my cable has broken. See my reply to Big Jim about the elememtary test the I did. From the results I would not believe that my brake cable is broken, or detached from the rear brake mechanism.
 
At this point, I would pull the drums for inspection. You may need to replace worn shoes or you may just need to clean up and adjust the system, including cleaning the self adjusting mechanism.
 
not to disagree, but have you tried simply adjusting the cable? i haven't done it on my tour yet, but on my mercury tracer, it was very simple to pull the cable through and tighten the cable itself. cables stretch over time, that would certainly explain why you have to pull so far to get it to hold. make sure you don't tighten the cable too much, though. the car should hold still with you pushing on it when the handle is about halfway up.
 
dyaballikl said:
not to disagree, but have you tried simply adjusting the cable? i haven't done it on my tour yet, but on my mercury tracer, it was very simple to pull the cable through and tighten the cable itself. cables stretch over time, that would certainly explain why you have to pull so far to get it to hold. make sure you don't tighten the cable too much, though. the car should hold still with you pushing on it when the handle is about halfway up.
Click to expand...

Hello dyaballikl,

I think that the only way to adjust the cable is the apply and release the emergency brake numerous times to tighten up any slack. From what you describe, it seems that there is another way to perform the adjustment. But I don't have any idea how to perform such an adjustment. Care to explain further, or perhaps point me to a webpage that describes the procedure...
 
The fact the OEM setup is prone to failure and tension is nothing new. I had to replace my rear cables myself. The drum setup is not any different then the disc with the exception of the cable ends. You can do this job for under $100 and be happy with your results. Sorry but I only have the rear disc part numbers. (I.E. TSB kit) For Ref - Both sides use the same cable...
 
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