E-brake prob...
 

when i got my car, the e brake worked, but not to well, i had to tighten it alot
now it doesnt work WHATSOEVER, and when i tried to lubricate the little arm that works it, (i thought that was the problem) the arm doesnt engage the brake
how does the ebrake mechanism work, how would i fix it
or do i need a new caliper?

You or you'll need someone to climb under the car and look while you pull the hand brake to see if the cable is pulling correctly.

May be just a broken cable.

the e-brake is not complicated at all.. the lever you pull up on is connected onto a disc with teeth and when you pull up on it the teeth will rotate tightening the brake line that is connected by a very strong spring and brake cable. not the best description and i dont have time to draw it out but im sure you get the picture, check the spring also it might be broken or like icemark said could be the brake line, youll obviously see it dangling under the car if it is completly broken, if it is the spring though you might be in for a bit of a mess. i cant remember exactly right but hopefully the e-brake comes apart inside the cab otherwise you might have to drop the tranny to get under there, im sure it comes apart in the cab cause that would make better sense. good luck finding the problem. :)
christopher

the problem isnt with anything BUT the caliper, as far as i can tell, because i can move the little arm on the caliper, and i can also move that arm by pulling on the lever, moving the cable...and so on
the problem(i think) is inside the caliper itself, because the arm that activates it will move, but the pads wont squeeze the rotor
the rear brakes work fine, just the ebrake

thanx for replys

If you apply brakes, do the rear pads extend and stop the rotor. Just wanted to be sure the pistons aren't hung up, and are adjusting properly.

If you apply brakes, do the rear pads extend and stop the rotor. Just wanted to be sure the pistons aren't hung up, and are adjusting properly.
Server is slow, hope not a double post...But check pad movement, clamping, on both rear calipers/rotors.

the pads extend with all 4 other brakes
they wont extend for ebrake
haynes says they are actuated by "screw type clamping devices" or something
could these be stripped/broken?

What follows is to best of my (limited) knowledge:

you have to take the wheels off and see if, when you pull on the e-brake lever, the cable end (has a "lead" kinda thing like a fishing line) is pulling the lever on the caliper.

IF there's a lot of play there, then your e-brake won't work well. I don't think it's adjustable at the caliper. You have to adjust it at the e-brake lever inside the car.

There is a T-kinda thing (very hard to get to but you can see it around the diff above the drive line) that transmits the e-brake lever action to the 2 rear calipers, so that the 2 calipers are actuated with the same "force" even if you have looseness (a little but not too much) at the caliper lever

Hugues -

DO'H
i guess im not being specific enough
thanks for all the help, but i have already checked everything having to do with the cable, lever in the cockpit(i like refering to my fc as a fighter plane :D) and everything up to the caliper

the lever that Hugues was refering to moves like it should by that i mean that it is moving, but the brake pads ARENT moving and clamping......i was wonding if that can be fixed without replacing the whole caliper

On both sides ?? weird.

My vote is to replace the calipers. Unless they have been changed recently, the pistons are probably sticking anyway.

Hugues -