Parking brake snapped
 

Is there a walkthrough anywhere for replacing a parking brake? Last Summer I pulled up on it and snapped the cable from what I can tell.

The FSM

I have a set of used cables BTW

It's a pain to change, but not the end of the world. You'll need to remove your center console and under trans and rear control arm pans. The toughest part will likely be disconnecting/connecting the bolt that secures the cables to the top of the differential.

I also have a used set of parking brake cables. PM me if you'd like a quote shipped to you.

Sounds like it's a bit over my head, the instructions in the FSM don't seem to hold your hand and I'm not very mechanically sound... I can do the basics but tearing the interior apart has me a bit worried. If there was a video I'd be fine.

I'll let you know about the cables, thanks guys.

Yes, it's not a you tube video, but you can generally can figure out the gaps.

Which cable did you snap? The front cable that is connected to the handbrake or one of the rears that connect to the rear calipers?

Center console removal will be the easiest part in your job - just be gentle when unhooking the clips then you can unplug few connectors under it to completely remove the center console. If your front cable is not damaged you'll not have to do this step.
Then it gets really tricky when you get under the car. You'll most like have to access the equalizer (the connector that hooks front cable with rear cables). At least you'll have to remove the midpipe out of your way. Some people may have unbolted/removed the driveshaft as well. But I managed to do the job without removing the driveshaft. It was a torture though.

Be a man and just figure it out unless you are one of the rich dudes who pays for all of his maintenance.
One must start at the bottom and work your way up to be a rotory mechanic.

Took the center console apart and I can't see if anything snapped. What is the outlined sleeve/part called? It looks like it may hold the front cable in place and be used as a track or something to put tension on and adjust the brake itself, but the cable does nothing when the lever is pulled up. Is it possible it slipped out and isn't broken? If I push on the front cable I can see the part that's fished up through that channel moving so I don't think there's a break there.


Attachment 751902

Sorry for the dumb questions but I'm a complete novice with this stuff.

#3 is the cable. Can you see whether the threaded section is visible? If it broke in the front it would likely be at the juncture between the cable and the threaded section. If the cable did not break there, then either it has unscrewed the nut (4) or it is broken in the back (under the car) and it's just loose in that channel, so nothing happens when you pull the handle (6).

If that #3 cable looks good, I would next check the connections at the rear calipers. Are they connected? Is there resistance? Then work your way forward. You may need to drop the drive shaft and exhaust. It's a pain, but not hard (just make sure you mark the driveshaft and diff flanges for reassembly). And as Smokey pointed out, there's a connection at the top of the diff.

berfles,

I'm rebuilding pretty much everything in my car right now including the e brake. I have everything but the differential and drive shaft out, Ill try and make a post about how to change the e brake line if I'm successful.

I can see it and I can grab the thread part and pull some cabling up that way. It stops after maybe a half an inch of slack is removed. Here's a bad video of what I'm working with in the center console:


Not sure, I'll try to find them. Have a rough idea of where they are from the FSM.


Sounds good, thanks.

Ok, I'm back. Is this the cable with the yellow paint on it?

Attachment 751874

I want to make sure before I start trying to trace it.

No that's the ABS line. Should be the other one

Parking brake line is circled.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...1177420beb.jpg

My guess is it's the front cable somewhere. Maybe where it connects to the rear cables. If that's the case, it will probably be a PITA job. If I recall, the front cable is on top of the transmission. Get the car on jack stands and see if you can see it from underneath. If you can't, you may have to pull off the exhaust and possibly the drive shaft. If you want to rule out the rear cables before getting into all of that, you could disconnect them at the calipers and pull the cable where it connects at the caliper. If the cable comes out of the sleeve (more than a couple of inches, there's your problem. But I still think it's your front cable, and it could be that it just popped off where it connects to the rear cables. I have a set off the car and will try to post some pics so you get an idea of what it looks like

and a pic of the cable where the front connects to the rear.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...aabadb55d8.jpg

The rear cables are clipped to the rear sub-frame cross members and the differential (below), but I forget if it's attached anywhere forward from there. You could try disconnecting the front cable from the e-brake handle and where it's connected at the rear and see if you can pull it out. If you can't, it's connected somewhere else

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...d4d0fb8dfa.jpg

and looking at P-34 in the FSM, it looks like the rear cables are clipped to the body where circled (just after the front cable connection), which is probably right above the transmission :(

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...7fbeebdcdd.jpg

I have the engine and transmission out of the FD right now and am working in the garage so I snapped a picture, hopefully it helps.

The cable "T" TomU posted connects to the car almost exactly right above where the catalytic converter bolts to the muffler on the passenger side. You may not be able to see it with the transmission in but maybe you can reach up and tug each cable and see if one or both pulls out. I guess if your cables are clipped in they wont pull out from the back but if somehow you can tug on the rubber accordion boot thing you should be able to tell if they are connected.

Also it looks like I'm missing one of the clips that holds them to the unibody... better fix that while the transmission is out.

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1489120727

Wow, this thread turned out great. Excellent contributions from everyone. I will be doing this job soon and I will make a video of it to add for future reference.

i meant to make a video......... and didnt =(

i will add some notes though:
make sure the ebrake is down and loosen the nut on the side of the handle a lot

to remove the the bracket that holds the cables to the top of the diff, go in from the passenger side and just reach up. a ratcheting closed end wrench is the best tool for this.

you CAN disconnect the ebrake cables from the bracket above the cat without removing the exhaust. i purposely did it this way just to see if it can be done.... and it can. i had a stock cat on and was able to remove both clips and cables.

if you are unsure about which end of the cable goes into the caliper and which end goes into the bracket above the cat then look for the end with the flat side. thats the one that goes in the caliper.

the ebrake cables can only be installed one way and they are left and right specific. the retaining bracket that attaches to the rear subframe has a tooth on it that goes into a small hole. if you put a left cable on the right side and vice versa, you wont be able to get that tooth into the hole and thread the bolt

the way i set default tension after swapping the cables was to wiggle the cable ends at the bracket above the cat for looseness, tighten the nut on the handle inside the car a little, wiggle the bracket and repeat until the tension felt right. then i cycled the ebrake quite a few times to settle the cables and stretch them a little and i did the process with the nut again. once i felt i had it right, i put the ebrake down and spun the rear wheel to make sure i didnt overtighten and the brakes were dragging.

im sure in a few weeks or something, i will need to make another adjustment.

Thanks for doing that description! In my inspection, the inspector told me the parking brake was loose, and that I maybe needed a new parking brake shoe. Naturally, he's not an option to work on the car, so this job in on my radar. Thanks again!

no problem... also want to note. yesterday, my ebrake handle got super loose. the cables are worn in now. i tightened the nut and now it works great.

Thanks a bunch for the descriptions and pictures all. Life happened and I haven't had time to look at it, currently figuring out if I even have the tools to get it off the ground far enough to work on or just take it to Speed1 and get a full checkup done anyway. Seems like without lifting it clear off the ground it would make it even more difficult.

You can definitely do it by just lifting the rear and removing one wheel at a time. You can even just lift one corner if you wanted. This will make the job a little more difficult but it can definitely be done. I would allocate a few hours if you want to do it in this method. Just be mindful of the information in this thread. Once you get in there, it's not all that hard. It's just a lot of reaching. You may want to wear some safety glasses or something while under there. Dust and dirt falls off while you're working and get in your eyes. Then life sucks....

You need at least one jack stand to be safe. If you don't have any, you may as well buy 4. They are not that expensive, esp if there is a HF near you.

Or you could pay someone to do it