Hello everyone,since I haven't found anything suitable here, I'd rather ask again. I have the FC Turbo II S4, and I can pull my handbrake lever all the way up. The cables are fine, meaning they just need to be adjusted. But where do I do that? Can anyone tell me where to adjust the handbrake cables or why they might be so loose? I've revived the car; it's been standing since 2000. There are so many things I just don't understand. Best, Moo

 

I was just working on this myself. Mine went all the way up, too.
There is one screw on the handle that holds together two pieces of plastic on the bottom. After that is removed, on the passenger side, there is a long(tall) nut for the cable. Tighten until 4 or 5 clicks of the hand brake is tight enough to hold on a hill.

There are cable adjusters on the back calipers too.I assume that they are there to even out the pressure between both sides. I got a little bit of adjustment there though.

Mine does not hold well at 4 to 5 clicks. I will bleed my brakes and try again. I am not sure that it will do anything though. I probably need new cables. hopefully just the two after the split.

 

Thanks for the answer.I just tried it. Now I can't pull the handbrake very far, as it should. The problem is that the brake still doesn't engage, no matter how hard I pull it. I think I need new cables. Is it worth replacing all of them at once?

 

the calipers are supposed to be self adjusting, and if they are stuck then the cable adjustment will never be right.
it would be pretty easy to see if the cables are good, its just a cable

 

I assumed that the rest of the system was checked and working properly. You know what happens when you assume. Sorry about that.

First verify that the rest of the braking system is in proper working order then, adjust the hand brake.

 

or one of them is disconnected at a caliper, have someone work the handbrake and see if both cables are moving the caliper pivots.

 

I found the problem. It's not the brake cables; I could have figured that out myself. The problem is with the brake calipers themselves. Unfortunately, I don't know how the adjustment works. On the right side, the pivot seems to be faulty. I can simply push the whole thing up and down by hand, until both stops.On the left side, the pivot was tight. Now it's loose again, but I don't know if it works, since I can't really apply the handbrake with just one brake cable. My first thought was to simply replace both calipers; that would be the easiest thing to do. But I can't find any spare parts anymore. Does anyone have any ideas what I can do?

 

If you can't push the lever in with a loose cable or removed. cable, it is likely stuck. You might need to work it back and forth some to loosen it.

It is likely you will need pads and rotors too after sitting for so long. The pads are fairly cheap, I don't really mess around there. I just replace them. If the rotors are rusty, you might be able to get them resurfaced. Just be sure the calipers aren't leaking, the pedal is firm and doesn't drop and the wheels stop with the brake depressed. Otherwise, more work will need done.

New or reman calipers are far and few between. You will need to rebuild the brakes or have someone do it for you. The rebuild kits are available. There are many threads here and videos available to look into as well.

There are at least two different types. Vented, like on a T2 or GXL and non vented. The vented ones have ribs that are cooling fins.

Working on brakes without experience has the potential to be dangerous when the car is returned to the road so, I am a bit hesitant to assist.

There are people here to help if you are willing to put in the work to learn some things before asking 1,000 questions.

However, if you don't feel comfortable learning to rebuild a caliper, please find someone that can.

With that being said, it is really easy to rebuild a caliper. As long as the pistons aren't rust fused and the e brake spindle isn't frozen in place, too. Just be patient and buy any necessary tools. Which is one tool beyond the basic stuff, I think?

Check for leaking brake lines too. This is super important. A tell tale sign is a pedal that sinks to the floor. That could also be a sign of a bad master cylinder, leaking seals or others, too. New fluid will be necessary with the car sitting so long as well.

Hopefully, most things will check out and be good to go. Otherwise, this can be quite the project. I hope you are ready.

And, don't forget about the front calipers.

 

weird, rockauto, auto zone, orielleys, etc all show they still have calipers on hand.

you sure a brake pad isn't missing? a really loosely fitted caliper will also cause this issue. i haven't personally seen the parking brake mechanism fail in one of these calipers but it certainly is possible. for example, if you swapped pads and never pump the pedal to clear the space after collapsing the piston the e-brake won't do much.

 

Good to know about the caliper being in stock. I looked for months a couple years ago for the vented rears and there was one that popped up and was gone fast.

Rock has four pot fronts too!!! WTH, I am in upside down world. I might buy some just to have spares. Thanks again!

Edit:
Boo, Rock only has one front four pot. Good news with the rears though, they have both.
I can't find anything at autozone, I suck at search, links maybe.
O'rileys might be able to order a set of four, I will know in a few days.
Advance is a no go on all four after calling.

Finding local would be best because of the return shipping for core. If I can trade in my four extra's and some cash for reman's, I am in! !

 

you might be right, some of the local auto parts stores like auto zone list them but mostly show not available for delivery, with the exception of single pot front calipers.

 

I took another close look at the whole thing and now I think it should work again. I took the caliper completely apart and put it back together. To be honest, I don't really know why it's working now. I turned the pivot in the right direction and now it works again. I just couldn't find a new one, no matter where I looked. I even contacted a Mazda repair shop, but they couldn't help me either.Since I live here in Germany, this is a lot more difficult. First of all, thank you for your help. I should be able to do it on my own now.

 

Congratulations son fixing the caliper. You are more capable at repair than you gave yourself credit for. I was a bit concerned.
Come back sometime and post up some pictures. We don't get much from Europe posted here. Best wishes and be safe out there with the new car!!