Hey guys! Car's running great as far as I can tell. Went to take it for its first test drive last night but I think the parking brake is stuck . When I release the brake there is a loop of cable to comes out of the top of the parking lever assembly under the dash. The cable under the car doesn't move. Is this a common thing? I can go into more detail if it's not.. Been screwing with it all morning lol. Oh! Got the cops called on me the first day the car was running!! hahaha Thanks for the help guys~!
I don't know if it's common...but it happen on my Mav. I never could free the cable and ended up replacing the cable. This was one of the hardest part on a Maverick to replace. Give me another wiper motor to replace before tackling the parking brake cable again.
Yep...I would say locked up. It could be several things. Front cable could be seized up. Rear axle cables could be seized up. Maybe everything is seized up. Need to get uder the car and take a look.
Cables are EASY . I just pulled the front cable out of a 1970 Maverick yesterday. Took about a half hour. I would much rather do a brake cable than a wiper motor.
Can I just remove the parking brake cable or components from the brake drums? When i release the brake lever nothing happens under the car. Tried releasing the equalizer lever with no effect. Then I loosened the adjustment nut out almost all the way with no effect. If I pull on the cable near the rear of the car the closest brake shoe will jiggle. If I pull hard on it both shoes will jiggle. There is plenty of slack on the cables under the car too. Makes me think that maybe something is stuck in the drum brake assembly itself, but I'm new to this.. If I don't have a parking brake temporarily, I'm kewl with that. But the car won't move now - not kewl. Thanks for the info guys! This thing's almost there! clap:
That makes me feel alil better... This thread makes me feel worse haha http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=66551&highlight=removing+parking+brake&page=2
Ok. The link spring for the parking brake assembly didn't look seated right. Could this cause the problem? Looks too small to reek so much havoc, but figure it's worth asking...
Sounds like a stuck cable to me. Need to figure out which ones. Yes....you can operate the car without a parking brake set-up...but it is also an EMERGENCY brake in the event you have total hydraulic fluid failure.
I ripped my entire factory assembly out and replaced it with a hand brake on the tunnel. I used a handle from a pinto with a little fabrication and a Lokar cable kit. About the same amount of work as swapping a new Mav one in, but waaaaay more functional.
When I lived in Michigan, we would not used the parking/emergency brake on old cars with the style of cable we have on the Mavs/Comets. The cables would rust and be fine till someone pulled the brake on. If the spring under the car is still there, make sure its pulling the lever so as to RELEASE the brake. Then, with the brake handle in, get under the car and move the cables all around. Don't be gentle with them. If the brake was only recently applied, it will probably free up.
Yeah, it took me about that long to remove the front cable and handle assembly also. Now go see how long it takes to put the cable back on the car. The hair pin clip is very difficult to get back on the end of the cable at the firewall with the engine and steering in the way. I’m giving up until I pull the engine
I will give you that....the pin is the hardest part of the whole job. Especially no fun with a V-8. I have small hands and arms.
you guys should open a business together, one does the park brakes, the other, the wiper motors!!!:Handshake
