Resolved 2g stuck parking brake

[slowmotiongeniu]

Hey all-
I have a 95 RS, standard trans, rear drums (they are very rusty)...and my parking brake seems to be locked up on the rear drivers side.

I've read previous posts saying to give it an abrupt start in both directions a few times, you'll hear a loud bang, and then presto it'll loosen up. Thing is, my car used to do that after sitting for a bit. Now the tire just drags.

Any advice on how to loosen this up? I don't know how to get to the cable to pull on it, to try to get this thing to loosen up.

Any advice on what I can do here?
Thanks a ton.

 

[Tim Melton]

If you know what side is locked up try banging it with a mallot a couple of times mabey that will loosen it up.But you should get new brakes soon or quite possibaly now.

 

[slowmotiongeniu]

No luck banging with a rubber mallet...

I've loosened the nut inside the car to give the e-brake plenty of slack...

Is there anything else I can do under the car? Is there any physical access to the cable that I can try? Is there something else I should be considering?

 

[lo_boost]

have you thought about just doing the rear disc convertion??? just a thought.

 

[slowmotiongeniu]

Haven't thought about it really. it's potentially out of the price range on what I want to put into this car...not sure.

As of now, I just need to get this parking brake unstuck so I can move/drive this car!!!
Any more tips/ideas guys?

Is there access to the cable inside the car???

 

[kris_stewart10]

just drive that beast down the street it will loosen up it may screech a little bit but so much friction and THEN PRESTO

 

[slowmotiongeniu]

I've rocked it a bit, first gear and reverse. Heavy acceleration, and light rocking...nothing from that.

Drove it probably 70-100 feet...that tire dragged the whole way.

Would this still be parking brake? Has to be right? Should I drive it further? I don't want to damage that tire too much...

 

[Jeff99GS]

Soak the brake drum and cable with PB Blaster

 

[->PrOjEcTGS<-]

^ Yes, I'm guessing your E-brake cable is the culprit on this one. If you've banged on it and it hasn't let loose then I'm thinking your cable has rusted to the casing it's in. Find one at a junk yard or dealer and replace it along with the brake shoes and drums and hardware. If I use the E-brake on mine it locks up the driver's side also. But the caliper on mine is rusted to the point where it just won't retract. Now, if I hit it with a rubber mallot it lets loose and I don't have any more problems till someone else drives the car and lifts up on the E-brake. Of course, that's after I have already told them not to!!

 

[kris_stewart10]

well then what those guys said

 

[slowmotiongeniu]

Any advice where specifically I should be banging for the best result? Should I jack the car up when I hit this with the mallet?

Where specifically should I spray the pb blaster? I don't want to get too much lubrication spray up in the brakes right??? Where do you spray the cable for best results, to let the penetration spray do it's job?

 

[Jeff99GS]

I would spray it on the back of the drum where the cable goes in. Also there is a Rubber plug on the back of the drum. Pull that plug out and spray a little pb blaster on the self adjuster wheel.

 

[Defiant]

Good lord, don't use a lubricant on it. You might try some Brakleen in through the adjuster slot, but the usual way is the rocking. You could also pull the wheel and try torching the drum. Remember there's a gas tank nearby, and don't go nuts on the heat.
The shoes on drum brakes tend to adhere to the drum when they're left long enough, especially if they were put on tight when last parked.

 

[Jeff99GS]

He is going to have to replace the shoes/cable anyway.
GOOD LORD ??? Watch out using a TORCH on your brakes?!?!?! Unless you want to buy new wheel cylinders along with your new shoes and drums
There is rubber seals inside the wheels cylinders. If you heat them up you can say BYE BYE to the seals.

Use the PB blaster and a metal hammer to tap the drum all the way around....and then Use BRAKE CLEANER to wash it all off when you're done. Its not going to hurnt anything unless you leave it all over your brakes and dont clean it off. Obviously you can't drive the car with the way it is now.

 

[slowmotiongeniu]

Got it going...Perfect advice guys! Thanks Defiant, used some brake cleaner inside the drum (by removing the rubber plug as Jeff99GS suggested) to get things loosened up in there. Then while i had it up on stands banged away on the drum and rim...

Set it back down, started up, and away I went.
Thanks again!

 

[Defiant]

He is going to have to replace the shoes/cable anyway.
GOOD LORD ??? Watch out using a TORCH on your brakes?!?!?! Unless you want to buy new wheel cylinders along with your new shoes and drums
There is rubber seals inside the wheels cylinders. If you heat them up you can say BYE BYE to the seals.

I hope they don't notice that when you're using the brakes.

 

[mentalTSiAWD]

I hope they don't notice that when you're using the brakes.

I agree Defiant;
Your brake system including the seals is engineered to handle a lot more heat than some would think.
I sure do like to smack em with the BFH first though.

 

[Jeff99GS]

I have seen someone ruin their Wheel Cylinders from heating the brake drum TOO HOT. I SAW it with my own two eyes. Fluid came seeping out of the ends. Im just warning people too be careful NOT to get it TOO hot!!!

 

[Defiant]

The heating you'd do to get the shoes unbonded from the drums shouldn't get applied anywhere near where the slave cylinder is. And by heating the drum from the outside, it would take a massive amount of heat to get enough of it to the cylinder to induce any damage to it.

But I often make the mistake of allowing that others may have that much of a clue.