'99 Windstar Parking Brake Cable

[terence123cars]

Hi Folks:

My parking brake is not working too well, so I pulled the drums. The shoes and cylinders are in great shape but I didn't want to disconnect the whole assembly without checking with you guys first. What should I know before disassembling the rear brakes? Is it a big job to change the cable?

[12Ounce]

Take a good look at the park brake control itself ... I ended up replacing mine because the plastic plunger rod had gotten bent out of shape. On the replacement unit the rod had been upgraded to steel.

But of even more importance is the control "anchorage". By design its not too strong and lasting ... especially if you use the park brake a good deal. In fact, my controller had gotten loose because the darn floor pan was breaking loose!! I ended up having to make a pair of reinforcing plates to go underneath the pan to spread the force ... and then bolting "through".

If this is your problem, I might can come up with some photos of the plates I constructed.

[terence123cars]

Thanks for the info. I had read your thread on the handle mounting problem but I dont think that is my problem. The brake operational lever in the cockpit seems to be solid in the floor and the cable appears to be operating, however when I park the van on the driveway (fairly steep) I notice that the van is not being held securly by the application of the parking brake. When I am driving the vehicle, the front and rear brakes appear to be operating OK, it's only a problem when i'm on a steeply sloping driveway.The parking brake won't hold the van. The next time I use the van, I'll start the engine and shift from park to reverse, now I am worried because the transmission parking pawl is now jammed in tight and makes an alarming mechanical noise as it is released, as the transmission parking pawl is now being heavily loaded by the van's weight. I'm afraid if I don't fix the parking brake, i'll soon be having problems with a damaged transmission pawl. I also notice that when I apply the parking brake when I'm moving, the braking is pretty minimal.
I think the cable is probably semi-seized. What do you think?

[12Ounce]

You may be correct about the cable being siezed, it needs to slide easily inside the cable cover ... maybe you can get some lube in there. I also suspect that the auto adjust feature inside the drum is not working well ... not that it's the best of designs .... infact I have often had to "help" mine by making manual adjustments on both rear drums. Lift the dust boot inside the cab and oil up the controller.

You may need to do a jam-up job of lubricating inside the drums ... all contact points between the shoes and the backing plates, adjusting screws, etc. I would buy new return springs. Getting the shoes to fully "return" is very important.

You are right about the damage you can do to the tranny if the brakes aren't holding. Keep working til the brakes are rock solid ... but don't ever expect them to stop the moving vehicle very well.

[LeSabre97mint]

Originally Posted by terence123cars

Hi Folks:

My parking brake is not working too well, so I pulled the drums. The shoes and cylinders are in great shape but I didn't want to disconnect the whole assembly without checking with you guys first. What should I know before disassembling the rear brakes? Is it a big job to change the cable?

Terence

It sounds like 12oz said your rear shoes aren't adjusting like they should. How much pedal travel do you have? I'm thinking if it's more than a couple of inches your rear brakes should be taken apart, cleaned up, lubed, (make sure you use synthetic grease for brakes) and adjusted so you just feel a slight drag on the drum. While you adjust the shoes, put a couple of lug nuts on to hold the drum inplace. Then step on the brake pedal let up and recheck your adjustment. Most of the time I can turn the adjuster a bit more after doing this.

Do one side at a time so you know how they go together!

Regards

Dan

[stanman77]

Originally Posted by terence123cars

Thanks for the info. I had read your thread on the handle mounting problem but I dont think that is my problem. The brake operational lever in the cockpit seems to be solid in the floor and the cable appears to be operating, however when I park the van on the driveway (fairly steep) I notice that the van is not being held securly by the application of the parking brake. When I am driving the vehicle, the front and rear brakes appear to be operating OK, it's only a problem when i'm on a steeply sloping driveway.The parking brake won't hold the van. The next time I use the van, I'll start the engine and shift from park to reverse, now I am worried because the transmission parking pawl is now jammed in tight and makes an alarming mechanical noise as it is released, as the transmission parking pawl is now being heavily loaded by the van's weight. I'm afraid if I don't fix the parking brake, i'll soon be having problems with a damaged transmission pawl. I also notice that when I apply the parking brake when I'm moving, the braking is pretty minimal.
I think the cable is probably semi-seized. What do you think?

I think my cable is seized on just one side. I can see it operating on the passenger side, but it does not move at all on the driver side. I have tried to lubricate the cable as it enters the sleeve under the car and after it splits off of the single cable from the lever. Any suggestions on how to get lubrication into that cable after it splits and on into the brake drum?

[12Ounce]

Cables usally sieze on one side... then all the cable "movement" shifts to the other wheel. This condition can lead to the car spinning out of control when driving over patches of ice, etc ... as one wheel is dragging slightly and the other side is not.

Use a great deal of penetrating oil ... but, in the end, you may be better off replacing the cable.