I was in the process of swapping my ebrake handle and when I unscrewed the push button the rod that it is threaded onto fell out of place. How do you get that rod back where it belongs so the ebrake will operate properly?

Details:
the rod slid down into the ebrake handle, past where it could be caught by the threads of the button or grabbed w/ needle noise pliers. To get the rod out it had to be pried out w/ a flathead screwdriver. In certain positions you can push/pull the rod and it will operate like normal, the problem is it is too loose, so sometimes it will engage and sometimes it won't. It seems as if there should be some kind of guide out channel for the rod to pass through so it maintains the proper spacing, but I can find no such apparatus.

The fsm is useless as it does not show the internal ebrake linkage.

 

i think you gotta use pliers somewhere further down the rod line just to hold it from staying up and in position. I dont know but i know what your talking about.

 

i had a similar problem when i was playing with my drift button on my fc. i was parked and was just playing with it and then my drift button came out and i couldnt get the threaded rod back out so i had to take of my ebrake covers now to set my ebrake. if you figure it out let me know please. i have to fix mine too.

 

have you tried to take the 3 bolts off the Ebrake mount so that the cable will come up the handle?(slack?).
you may have to remove the seat to get at the bolts though.

 

Figured it out !

Removing the ebrake or adjusting the slack of the cable won't help. The issue is/was that the orientation of the rod was changing as the ebrake went up and down and the button was pressed. This caused the rod to slip out and either not engage, or not disengage.

After reinstalling the rod several times trying to get it to operate properly, I noticed a few things:

A) there is a large amount of grease on the "elbow"of the actuator rod.

B) there is a glob of grease pushing out of the only opening on the spine of the ebrake lever.

C) when the rod is operating properly the innermost tip sits right between the ratcheting mechanism and the (unseen) release mechanism.

I couldn't figure out why when I had the rod I'm the right place (in terms off operation of the button) the elbow was no where near the corner where grease was coming out (when it seemed like it should be).... Then I remembered I had to pry the rod out of the ebrake handle to even be able to get ahold of the threads. Apparently in the process of getting the rod out it got bent.

The solution is so simple its painful!
I removed the rod out it in a vice and bent it a few degrees down (more acute). This forces the greasy elbow up into the corner of the ebrake handle where it belongs and once the button (drift or otherwise) is installed, it does not allow the rod to slip out of place.

It may take a little trial and error to get the angle right but its not am exact science, I only had to make one adjustment after the initial bend.

Wish had pics, but I didn't think about it until it was all back together and working.

 

^ could you make a simple ms paint diagram of what you mean? I have had my drift button in for over a year with no problem but I have really stiff PBM coilovers on shitty roads. now I have this problem, the rod hardly works, I have the cover off and I physically push the locking mechanism with a screw driver to lock it if needed. I can't see inside to see how it works and haynes and FSM are useless here. now, my rod I see has 2 separate bends near the end, which one do I bend more and do I want to bend it so it increases the angle (i.e. from say 90 to 95 degrees) or decrease the angle (i.e. from 90 to 85 degrees)?

I am aware that I am kinda reviving from the dead a little here, I searched though.

 

Someone enlighten me as to what a drift button is please.

 

basically a drift button (aka spin turn ****) is a button that replaces the stock button on your e brake. you remove the stock button and the spring behind it (thats what makes it pop back out when pressed in) and screw the drift button on. no spring so when you are drifting the button stays in and does not lock your e brake up or part way up when you yank it and go to put it down. when you need to use your e brake for parking or whatever, you lift the e brake and pull the button out to lock it.

I think I need to bend my rod that it screws onto though is all. I just want to know which way to bend it and at which bend to do it (as stated, I have 2 bends at the end of my rod where it meets the engage/release mechanism). I'll mess with it next weekend if nothing comes up about it I guess.

 

hahaha i just loosened it all the way, and then threaded it after it was on to create tension in the cable.. took me like 5 minutes hahaha