E-Brake- "Won't Hold"

So I just got back from a fun filled afternoon of waiting to get a safety sticker for the caprice. Turns out I need two ball joints, no biggie and the e-brake wont hold. Any idea how to tackle this one?

Cadet57 wrote:

So I just got back from a fun filled afternoon of waiting to get a safety sticker for the caprice. Turns out I need two ball joints, no biggie and the e-brake wont hold. Any idea how to tackle this one?

What do you mean by "won't hold"? If the problem is the pedal won't stay to the floor and just pops back up again after you take your foot off, the problem is likely the short cable for the T-handle to the mechanism. They can get frayed and it makes the handle stay out when you release it. On my car this happened, so I lubed the hell out of the little cable and got it moving again. However, I do have to push the T-handle IN after I pull out on it, otherwise the pedal just won't lock down.

Matt Trakker wrote:

Cadet57 wrote:

So I just got back from a fun filled afternoon of waiting to get a safety sticker for the caprice. Turns out I need two ball joints, no biggie and the e-brake wont hold. Any idea how to tackle this one?

What do you mean by "won't hold"? If the problem is the pedal won't stay to the floor and just pops back up again after you take your foot off, the problem is likely the short cable for the T-handle to the mechanism. They can get frayed and it makes the handle stay out when you release it. On my car this happened, so I lubed the hell out of the little cable and got it moving again. However, I do have to push the T-handle IN after I pull out on it, otherwise the pedal just won't lock down.

Idk, the guy at the inspection station said it "won't hold" I assume it just wont stay down when pushed. Other than the ball joints and that stupid horn the car was great. Looks like a couple new projects for mod day

Ok so the ebrake lever goes all the way down and locks, so I haven't a friggin clue what they mean by it won't hold.

Drum brakes? you might have to adjust them ,try backing up and applying
the e-brake a few times see if that does anything,if not then just adjust
the rear shoes, if there good then you will have to adjust the cable under the car

mean ss wrote:

Drum brakes? you might have to adjust them ,try backing up and applying
the e-brake a few times see if that does anything,if not then just adjust
the rear shoes, if there good then you will have to adjust the cable under the car

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What Bob said.

mean ss wrote:

Drum brakes? you might have to adjust them ,try backing up and applying
the e-brake a few times see if that does anything,if not then just adjust
the rear shoes, if there good then you will have to adjust the cable under the car

I'll be tackling this tomorrow after I do the ball joints. Is it possible the cable is old or snapped? I haven't looked under it yet. to check.

Cadet57 wrote:

....Is it possible the cable is old or snapped?

Old? most likely
Snapped? You should feel that when you apply the pedal if thats the case
Do yourself a favor & have someone with you when your ready to check it out
Its SO much easier when you can have someone repeatedly apply & release
the pedal while your under the car watching the operation.
When adjusting, some do 1 side with the other drum off so you get the feel for that side right.
Also watch for areas where the cable slides across the underbody, it can hang up there too.
(another reason its good to have 2 bodies) Good luck

sdstick wrote:

Cadet57 wrote:

....Is it possible the cable is old or snapped?

Old? most likely
Snapped? You should feel that when you apply the pedal if thats the case
Do yourself a favor & have someone with you when your ready to check it out
Its SO much easier when you can have someone repeatedly apply & release
the pedal while your under the car watching the operation.
When adjusting, some do 1 side with the other drum off so you get the feel for that side right.
Also watch for areas where the cable slides across the underbody, it can hang up there too.
(another reason its good to have 2 bodies) Good luck

Yeah, my father will be out with me as we'll be doing both lower ball joints, we're going to tackle this after. (Thanks MassDot!). If the cable is snapped (which I doubt as the pedal locks down and stays), is it a standard brake line or is it another type of cable entirely?

*Bump* After trying for about an hour to get one of the ball joints out, they won't budge. Even heated they wont move for us. Car is now going to the local Voc HS so they kids can bust their ass on it I'll take free labor any day. So they said they'd do the ball joints and adjust the drums. All I have to do is give them the car for the morning and buy the parts.

My caprice had this problem so it didn't pass a "saftey" inspection it slides a little when it's on an incline till the drums grab. After I adjusted the shoes it was good, as for ball joints I tried mine PIA straight up. let the kids do it

LandMaster wrote:

My caprice had this problem so it didn't pass a "saftey" inspection it slides a little when it's on an incline till the drums grab. After I adjusted the shoes it was good, as for ball joints I tried mine PIA straight up. let the kids do it

Yeah I got one of these plastered to my windshield right now:



Thankfully after the ball joints everything will be up to snuff.