hey all

 

the parking brake is for doo, now. adjusted all the way and still won't do any good on hills....even the mildest of. i learned there is a front and a rear cable trying to find a replacement. so, my questions are is one more typical of needing replacement than the other, and how should i go about deducing which if not both actually are at fault? nothing is visually apparent to me. i've got a friend who could help me with this, but he's gone for another whole week on business and....well...i live in the hills. i believe it is the rear that is much more costly than the front (?) and i'd rather not buy unnecessarily, you see. help would be appreciated!

 

thanks!

 

oh, and guidance on best sourcing for parts in this matter would be great, too. i'm looking at local auto or online right now

on a '94, the cables are most likely seized up and do no good, regardless of adjustment.

 

replacement cables can be found here:

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/subaru,1994,legacy,2.2l+h4,1430385,brake+&+wheel+hub,parking+brake+cable,1696

 

You may also want to check into the parking brake shoes - if your car has rear disc brakes, they are located in the back side of the rear disc - kind of like a drum shoe... not cheap, either. (those can also be found @ rockauto)

Edited August 22, 20178 yr by heartless

thanks! yeah,i hadn't considered the cable/s might be seizing. the brake works a little, so i know there's atleast some movement, though

 

i'd forgotten about the parking brake shoes. it was years ago since i've looked at them. will check on that, too

I would try adjusting your cable that connects to the handle first. Sure it might be old but worth a shot. 

you need to adjust the parking brake shoes.  there is no automatic adjustment so you must do it manually through the oval access holes in the backing plates.

 

there is an adjusting tool in the factory tool bag if you still have it.  Or you can buy an adjuster tool, looks like a bent screwdriver.

 

there is a starwheel in there you catch with the tip and pry upwards.  (wheel goes up, adjuster tool handle goes down)

i'd tried adjusting at the handle when i first tried to make the brake work. had it maxed and still wouldn't do anything

 

i have a screwdriver i bent for starwheel adjustments i made a long time ago. i'll be looking at the P brake assembly tomorrow.....including pads. just finished putting in new motor mounts last night. funny thing....it's a '94 model, but it has the '95 mounts. which meant i had to go back and get the right ones...the square ones. the first ones they gave me were the round style.

Edited August 25, 20178 yr by thook44

i'd tried adjusting at the handle when i first tried to make the brake work. had it maxed and still wouldn't do anything [/qoute]

 

yeah, you really have to adjust at the wheel for pad wear.  the handle adjustment really just compensates for a bit of cable stretch.

 

i have a screwdriver i bent for starwheel adjustments i made a long time ago. i'll be looking at the P brake assembly tomorrow.....including pads. just finished putting in new motor mounts last night. funny thing....it's a '94 model, but it has the '95 mounts. which meant i had to go back and get the right ones...the square ones. the first ones they gave me were the round style.

 

Any of the motor mounts would work.  all EJ mounts will interchange.

yeah, you really have to adjust at the wheel for pad wear.  the handle adjustment really just compensates for a bit of cable stretch.

 

Any of the motor mounts would work.  all EJ mounts will interchange.

 

the bolt pattern did not match up on the round style mounts to my original mounts....being the square style. iow's, the two bolts that insert through the mounting bracket were not of the same distance apart. plus, the round mounts were thicker. perhaps they were 2.5L mounts? seems unlikely o'reilly would screw up that bad on parts matching, though. no matter. the deed's done and no more motor jiggle. nice and smooth. my friend that helped could actually squeeze/flex my old mounts a bit by hand.

ooops...wrong thread

Edited August 25, 20178 yr by thook44

parking brake cable and drums are operational. i could see the cables move and hear the drums working today. gonna need some lube for sure. all squeaky like old bed springs. i haven't actually taken things apart to look, though. hopefully i can do that next week. i want to see if the shoes need replacing before bothering to adjust

parking brake cable and drums are operational. i could see the cables move and hear the drums working today. gonna need some lube for sure. all squeaky like old bed springs. i haven't actually taken things apart to look, though. hopefully i can do that next week. i want to see if the shoes need replacing before bothering to adjust

 

they won't need replacing.  just adjust them.  its just a parking brake

 

all EJ engine mounts interchange.  EJ18/20/22/25 all of em.

 

you either got a part for a different car entirely, or you measured wrong.

i did not measure wrong, for sure. i compared side to side. they were not compatible. so, an o'reilly screw up. not the first time it's happened. in fact, friday i had to go back yet again because they gave the wrong exhaust gasket that goes before the muffler. it was too small. and, i have a subaru oem exhaust set up.

anyhow, thank you much for all the input. i'll be looking at the P brake cable towards the middle/end of this week coming. i've got a leak in the top of the fuel tank, too. engh...lots of things to repair...lol! the rear end links are bad, too

Sounds like your car is from a rust belt area,any history as to where it is from?

Sounds like your car is from a rust belt area,any history as to where it is from?

 

 

i had most if not all of it's records, but. tossed what was irrelevant...which was most. it was originally from somerset, ma. from there, it went to a couple of other places up in the northeast and eventually down here wherein my neighbor bought it, beat it for a little while, and then sold it to me for $800. it's got some rust on the body....like around a couple of fenders, some of the window trim, and spots on the hood,  but underneath it's been pretty clean....surprisingly. i'll be addressing that pretty soon, though. the roads aren't salted very much here since it's costly and we don't normally see a lot of snow, but the climate is still hard on steel. hence my '86 4runner is no longer road worthy.

this is what monabea....my lego...would look like were the paint not faded and had no rust and holes. i don't have the dents like this'n, but everything is the same down to the wheels. the AM rack is nearly the same, too...lol

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3022/2971059994_4baccaf774.jpg

yeah, almost a month later, finally able to get to this project. 

 

turns out there is no padding left on the shoes!!! none! only some powder left inside the drum and two metal backing plates. so, gotta get new shoes. plus, the bolt tightening the caliper to the mounting bracket on driver's side broke off. so, gotta fix that. pffth..

 

and, discovered there's actually quite a bit of rust/deterioration in the crossmember for the rearend. ewww! all the dirt has been hiding it from mine eyes!!

Edited September 9, 20178 yr by thook44

I replaced my emergency brake shoes in the rear, along with all the hardware, but I still don't have e brake, the cable is adjusted all the way out at the handle.

 

I guess my cables are stretched.   There is one short cable from the handle, that quickly changes to 2 cables. 

 

Any fix for this?  Or is this a full on cable replacement?

proper adjustment is the star wheels - behind rubber plug on back plates - adjust UP to tighten.

 

might be different on very old models though.

proper adjustment is the star wheels - behind rubber plug on back plates - adjust UP to tighten.

 

might be different on very old models though.

 

I thought I did the right way when I did the brakes.  Maybe not.   Mine is  a 1996 legacy wagon 2.2 eat

our 03 OBW even has very faint UP arrows embossed on the back plates.

I suppose there are plenty of ways things could be bad, or were assembled incorrectly by a prev. owner.



look near the oval hole;

Edited September 14, 20178 yr by 1 Lucky Texan

on my '94 it is up for adjustment

 

i found i didn't need to do anything once everything was reassembled. i had the star wheel turned just slightly from dead stop. it was just enough to be able to get the rotor back on. and, on my test drive everything worked perfect. i was able to stay put on a fairly steep incline at a RR crossing in neutral. the handle only traveled 2/3 maybe 3/4 of what it had when there was no parking brakes....(because the shoes were toast).

 

you sure you got the cable end reinstalled on the lever of the shoe assembly?

I have never adjusted the handle on eoiher of my cars. I have the rear up on stands, I set the brake handle to the first click, I adjust each side until I 'jjuuuusssttt' can't spin the tire with one hand. Then, when I release the handle - it's free, but locks pretty good with just a few clicks.

i'll have to try that. thanks!

how did it go?