loose ebrake

fsas_afi · Post by **fsas_afi** » November 24th, 2007, 12:02 am

hi, I need to pull my ebrake all the way backfor any effect at all, how do i tighten that sucker up?

umcamara · Post by **umcamara** » November 24th, 2007, 1:12 am

It's supposed to be self-adjusting, however, that doesn't always seem to help. Your rear brake shoes or pads (depending on model) could need to be replaced. There's also a yoke a couple feet back from the shift linkage under the car. This is where the cable coming from the e-brake splits into 2 cables. I believe you can somehow tighten it there.

Check the online shop manual.

94mx3precidia · Post by **94mx3precidia** » November 24th, 2007, 9:39 am

umcamara is right. right under the little capartment that you lean your elbow on there is a nut that attaces the ebrake to the ebrake lever. i think its a 12mm not sure. but all you really have to do is tighten that sucker up and it should work. keep in mind that once your do a brake job you really should adjust the cable.

If this doesnt work your casble might be stretched and ull need yo get new ones.

maine_mazda_bp · Post by **maine_mazda_bp** » November 24th, 2007, 4:48 pm

yea my ebrake is the same dam way but its a combo with me need new brakes in back and its streched

Post by **Mooneggs** » November 24th, 2007, 4:51 pm

my ebrake is a little loose but I had to loosen it cause I think one side is stretched and it grabs sooner than the other side... :\

wytbishop · Post by **wytbishop** » November 24th, 2007, 7:25 pm

Depending on disk or drum brakes, the "autoadjustment" is accomplished one of two ways.

On an RS the e-brake cable acts on item #11 in the picture above. As the drums and pads wear, the actuator (the circled part) expands one click at a time, so that when the brakes are released, the shoes only retract a short distance from the drum. Thus each time the brakes are applied, the shoes will only have to travel a very short distance to contact the drum.

On a GS the ebrake cable machanically actuates the piston from behind. As the piston (item #6) moves out it passes through the piston seal (item #7) a square o-ring. There is a spring which retracts the ebrake lever, but the only thing retracting the piston is the deflection of that square o-ring. It can be tough to visualize, but imagine when you apply the brake, either with the foot pedal or the e-brake lever, that piston slides past the seal, deforming it slightly. When you release the brake and hydraulic pressure is no longer applied to the piston, the seal wants to return to it's natural shape and drags the piston back maybe a half a mm. As the pads and rotors wear, the piston moves farther through the seal, adjusting its distance from the rotor. There must also be something in the piston assembly which tkaes up the slack to the e-brake lever, but I've never taken one apart, so I'm not sure exactly how is works.

The problem is that although the theory is good, these self adjusting brakes don't truly work for very long. If your e-brake is traveling too far, most likely your brakes are badly worn and the "adjusters" have stopped taking up the slack.

Time for a thorough brake inspection.