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Parking brake appears to be broke

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  • Parking brake appears to be broke

    So, was working with my son this weekend to get his GT finished up. We replaced his rear calipers and adjusted them. While doing so I sprayed silicon lube in the parking brake cables cause they felt like they kept getting stuck/hung up. Had my son pull the ebrake a few times while I would pull the cable back out after release.

    After this, put it all back together, pulled the cable. It was really tight then nothing. Felt like at least 1 cable broke. Maybe at the handle. Is this a correct assumption? Should the cables move easily?

    So, I am planning on just replacing everything cable wise. My main question is, what is the best way to do this? Seems like I will need to remove heat shields. Anything else? Anyone have any pics or links discussing the process?

  • #2
    The heat shield above the cat will have to come off for sure. You don't need to remove the exhaust, it might be a little tight though. The bolts that hold the heat shield on might break too, all of mine did.
    '97 PGT
    ATX
    Greddy SP2, ported and polished IM, pheno spacers, FAST front strut bar, Addco rear swaybar, Hankook Ventus HRII's

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    • #3
      That is a bit of a relief. Hoping I can remove the heat shield without breaking all the bolts lol.

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      • #4
        ha! this is the 2nd case of a broken cable I have heard of in my career and the 1st was my probe many years ago. Have fun.
        1993 Mercury tRacer :Vitara & mFactory: In progress 2020
        1994 Mercury TrAcer Wagon : '02 SPI swap : sold
        2014 Factory Five 818s: sold
        2000 Lotus esprit v8TT : 1st v8 on MS3x, ls1 coils,h20 injection
        1997 Nissan 200sx 1.6L : 35-39mpg the daily

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        • #5
          My cables had 200k+ miles on them and were all original up until this year. Quite a bit of stretch, but they worked!

          Make sure there's no binding, especially the main cable that comes from the e-brake handle before the block that retains the individual driver/passenger side caliper cables.

          I got my parts from Rock Auto and everything has been great since I got it. The retaining bracket bolt holes for the independent lines that run to each caliper had to be widened since they original bolts didn't fit through, but that was no big deal. The e-brake handle cable was plug and play. Again, make sure this piece isn't twisted around. You have a 50/50 shot of getting it right, if you go underneath and the splitter is twisted, simply uninstall the cable from the handle, rotate 90 degrees, and reinstall. The end of the cable is indexed by a square shape to hold it in place with the ebrake handle. It should make sense.

          The heat shields need to be unbolted, and this can be done easily. You don't need to do anything with the exhaust.

          All in all, should be a 1-2 hour project replacing the cables if it's your first time doing it.
          2005 C6 Z51 460 glorious WHP
          1997 Mazda MX6 LS Sold
          1993 Ford Probe SE Sold
          1985.5 Porsche 944 Sold
          1993 Mazda MX3 RS Sold

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          • #6
            Ive replaced a good 4-5 cables over the years. Here in the midwest they rust out pretty bad on most any Mazda.

            There are actually 3 cables. There the Y cable that goes from the Ebrake handle. Then that Y's off to each cable leading to each caliper. Which there is one for each side of the car.

            Typically, the most failure prone one is generally that Y cable.
            PaTricK
            ~ 92 PGT, 97 KL MTX 626, 05 Mazda6, 13 Mazda CX9, 09 Kia Sportage 4x4 v6 ~

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            • #7
              Originally posted by MonoxideChild View Post
              Ive replaced a good 4-5 cables over the years. Here in the midwest they rust out pretty bad on most any Mazda.

              There are actually 3 cables. There the Y cable that goes from the Ebrake handle. Then that Y's off to each cable leading to each caliper. Which there is one for each side of the car.

              Typically, the most failure prone one is generally that Y cable.
              Welcome to the midwest...I've stopped counting how many of them I changed. It's either you use the ebrake every day or never use it. There is not give/take in this area...thanks rust belt.

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              • #8
                I am guessing its the Y cable thats the issue since neither cable is working now. Also replacing the passenger side one since the driver side appears to be newer.

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                • #9
                  It probably is. Mine rusted out where the cable connects to the plate, that the two rear cables hook up to. If that makes sense. Lol
                  '97 PGT
                  ATX
                  Greddy SP2, ported and polished IM, pheno spacers, FAST front strut bar, Addco rear swaybar, Hankook Ventus HRII's

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                  • #10
                    my problem is that my left rear caliper is junk so only the right side locks up and the left side barely works
                    Silver 1994 PGT MTX DD
                    Black 1994 SE MTX Sold
                    Red 1991 Mazda RX7 N/A
                    1996 626 MTX sold

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                    • #11
                      Time for the 98+ 626 rear brake upgrade then.
                      PaTricK
                      ~ 92 PGT, 97 KL MTX 626, 05 Mazda6, 13 Mazda CX9, 09 Kia Sportage 4x4 v6 ~

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                      • #12
                        Hey guys, my black GT has the broken parking brake cable problem. Its the passenger side one that snapped. I was looking around for a Dorman replacement, but the two cables available are of different length.. One is Dorman C94493 and the other is Dorman C94495.

                        Which one of those is the passenger side??
                        DRIVE IT LIKE YOU BUILT IT!!
                        94 Probe GT..no engine!

                        96 Probe GT now with full-forged KLZE ..8psi untuned and buck wildCarDomain page

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