tightening the e-brake cable

[idrivemyself]

recently i've been finding that the e-brake just dosn't stay tight all the time. when parking on steep inclines i've found my car rested on someone elses... dosn't quite have the same snap when i handle corners... decide to pull 360s.... the usual reasons that a person with a FF car would want to tighten it.

i have a reason, i have the motivation, i just don't quite have the know how. any help is greatly appreciated as always. TIA

[Nick]

i dont' know about gen1, but pretty much every car i've seen there's an adjustment nut/bolt or system of locking nuts to adjust the ebrake, usually located in the console near the handbrake, so find some access panel or take off the console and play with the ebrake, see what's moving and if anythign can be adjusted

[Deuce]

I dunno if the two were/are connected, but when my e-brake was loose (needing to be pulled up to the center console pad to stop vehicle rollback), I went and got my front brakes done and now its real tight (barely going 1/4 the way up to stop rollback). But like I said, there may be no direct relationship between the two events in my case.

[kocho]

Before tightening the cable, you may want to adjust the rear drum brakes (if you have drums and if they are adjustable - not really familiar with your year Camry). Once they are adjusted, then tighten the brake cable if necessary. The idea is that the hand brake is using the same drum brake shoes as the foot brake in a drum setup, so if the shoes need to travel a lot due to wear or improper adjustment, then the hand brake won't be as effective as it can be.

If you still have issues, perhaps something else is loose or the cable housing has gone bad, thus causing the lack of grip...

[idrivemyself]

I dunno if the two were/are connected, but when my e-brake was loose (needing to be pulled up to the center console pad to stop vehicle rollback), I went and got my front brakes done and now its real tight (barely going 1/4 the way up to stop rollback). But like I said, there may be no direct relationship between the two events in my case.

i know for sure that the e-brake only affects the rear brakes, so servicing the front ones shouldn't make a difference in my case.

Before tightening the cable, you may want to adjust the rear drum brakes (if you have drums and if they are adjustable - not really familiar with your year Camry). Once they are adjusted, then tighten the brake cable if necessary. The idea is that the hand brake is using the same drum brake shoes as the foot brake in a drum setup, so if the shoes need to travel a lot due to wear or improper adjustment, then the hand brake won't be as effective as it can be.

the rear drums were worked on roughly two months ago (new pads, drums, etc.) so i wouldn't expect the drums themselves to be the problem. i hadn't thought about that though, good point.

i'll try to find some time tonight to mess with the e-brake console and find that nut/bolt, if there is one, to tighten the cable.

[kenratboy]

The Haynes book for my 97' gave detailed instructions on how to do it. I did it and it is good

Be careful you do not OVERthighten it, or you might drag your e-brake in normal driving. I would rather have it a bit loose than too tight.

[kocho]

Originally posted by idrivemyself


the rear drums were worked on roughly two months ago (new pads, drums, etc.) so i wouldn't expect the drums themselves to be the problem. i hadn't thought about that though, good point.

i'll try to find some time tonight to mess with the e-brake console and find that nut/bolt, if there is one, to tighten the cable.

The shoes and drums may be new, but still may need adjustment. Check that first: need to take the rear wheel off, remove the rubber plug on the drum and adjust with the adjuster bolt inside. Once this is done, the e-brake should start engaging on the 2-3 click (it will block the rear wheels a little so that you feel resistance when turning them by hand; should stop the car on most slopes on the 6-8 clicks; and should really bite if you further pull hard on it past the 8-th click. If it does not engage and have a good grip and resitance up to 6-8 clicks, then adjust the cable too.

As for adjusting the e-brake cable, mine ('00 LE) had two nuts on the cable - need to hold the bottom one with a craw-foot wrench 10mm and losen the top with a deep socket (also 10 mm). Then tighten the cable with the lower nut, then once adjusted, tighten the top one back to prevent the bottom one from moving or losening on its own. I was able to adjust my cable this way without removing the console, by reaching through the brake opening with the tools. Try not to lose the tools in there as I did (but luckily had a magnetic pick-up tool at hand)

[kenratboy]

Rear discs 0wn joo

j/k. I replaced the brakes on my car. On the rears, you undo one bolt, pull the old pads, put new ones in, put the bolt back in and your done. Says something about Japanese engineering

[Nick]

Originally posted by kenratboy
Rear discs 0wn joo

j/k. I replaced the brakes on my car. On the rears, you undo one bolt, pull the old pads, put new ones in, put the bolt back in and your done. Says something about Japanese engineering

good cuz i got to replace mine, last summer my mom decided to go do groceries with the ebrake on... no amount of adjusment is enough for that

[idrivemyself]

The shoes and drums may be new, but still may need adjustment. Check that first: need to take the rear wheel off, remove the rubber plug on the drum and adjust with the adjuster bolt inside. Once this is done, the e-brake should start engaging on the 2-3 click (it will block the rear wheels a little so that you feel resistance when turning them by hand; should stop the car on most slopes on the 6-8 clicks; and should really bite if you further pull hard on it past the 8-th click. If it does not engage and have a good grip and resitance up to 6-8 clicks, then adjust the cable too.

As for adjusting the e-brake cable, mine ('00 LE) had two nuts on the cable - need to hold the bottom one with a craw-foot wrench 10mm and losen the top with a deep socket (also 10 mm). Then tighten the cable with the lower nut, then once adjusted, tighten the top one back to prevent the bottom one from moving or losening on its own. I was able to adjust my cable this way without removing the console, by reaching through the brake opening with the tools. Try not to lose the tools in there as I did (but luckily had a magnetic pick-up tool at hand)

so i decided to open the beast up earlier this afternoon and give her a whirl, turns out that it does use a 10mm deepsocket as well. i tightened the lower nut down about 5-7 full rotations and the brake now begins to engage with the third click.

when the rear drums were serviced, my father took the liberty of doing this, it was taken in to the dealership for the full run-through. which would make myself think that they were properly adjusted at the time.

[kenratboy]

Originally posted by Oldman


good cuz i got to replace mine, last summer my mom decided to go do groceries with the ebrake on... no amount of adjusment is enough for that

The cool thing about my car being a stick is that my mom and brother can't drive it. Only my dad can and I trust him with my car more than I trust myself.

How hard is it to replace the e-brake drum brake?

[idrivemyself]

Originally posted by kenratboy
How hard is it to replace the e-brake drum brake?

it isn't terribly difficult to replace the pads, its just another hassle that should have been avoided in the first place. this is why paying attention when driving is so important.

[kenratboy]

Originally posted by idrivemyself


this is why paying attention when driving is so important.

My dad taught me well - but with a stick, you will probably have to be stoned to not notice the force of the e-brake still on.