E brake cable on a 124
 

I haven't had this much fun since the evaporator,,, what a PITA.

I haven't touched mine for five years. I'm afraid to exercise it. What if it seizes?

I use mine about every time I park, just for that reason. Mine rusted and broke right in front of the junction that goes to the rear wheels. Plan on pulling LF kick panel, LF rugs, Gas pedal, Lower part of left dash, center console, radio, temp controls, and then you need some imagination to get the rest of the debris out of the way, or attended to. Plan on spending some time getting the adjuster and pivot points freed up at the divider to the rear wheels. :)

The frozen "expander" at the wheel end of the cable will also eat a wee bit of your time:D

I can't wait.:rolleyes:

Well, I just did this a few months back and I was able replace the front cable without pulling the console.

I removed the carpet, panels and I think the drivers seat (can't remember), and then just removed the screws on the console. With the console loose I was able to pull it up enough to get the old cable out and the new one in. It did slightly crease the console vinyl at the transition point next to the ash tray but no one would ever notice it. If you have a show car this may not be for you, but for my driver wagon it was fine.

John

I'm actually stuck on this right now. Do you have any pointers for getting it loose? One of the expander knuckles is loose, but the one closest to where the cable connects seems to be frozen solid. I've shot it with penetrating fluid, even unbolted the cable and jammed a couple of wrenches between the bracket and the back of the brake and then set the parking brake to try to force it to break free...

Short of pulling the axle shaft, however that is done, I don't have a clue how to proceed now. Any pointers you've got for me would be very greatly appreciated.

Good and bad news...

Got the expander free and it's moving smoothly now. However, I still can't get the rotor over the assembled shoes. It's close, but it just doesn't want to fit. The adjuster is spun down all the way, the expander is compressed. What else could it be? I can't see anything at all keeping the shoes out. It's as if the pad is too thick or the rotor is too small...

Did you try moving the shoes up and or down a bit... (as they can float off center or askew from each other) And tapping the disk drum on with a hammer?

Move them, slide them, speak softly to them... also make absolutely sure that all the notches and slides are fully inserted (I had the same issue). Didn't take more that 3/32" movement for new shoes to not fit.

What exactly are you referring to as 'notches and slides'? Just the ends of each shoe where they hit the expander and adjuster?

Thanks.

I tried moving them up and down a bit, but I haven't tried tapping. I'll try again this evening. I've got to get to the dealer to try to replace one of the springs - finally broke it while taking the shoe off for the nth time.

I broke down and bought a hook with a handle at the parts store designed for removing and replacing those springs the second time I did the job and it was well worth the over-price I paid for it.

Oh... while I'm thinking of it... make sure the ebrake is OFF when you reassemble... Iv'e done that before too.

Yeah, I've got one of the generic brake plier combo tools (although I really didn't find it very useful on these). I actually broke one of the springs holding a shoe to the backing plate, not one of the shoe-shoe springs.
E-brake is definitely off.