TorchedGT

This is driving me crazy! I went to park at my friends house on his steep driveway the other day, and even with my crappy parking brake AND the clutch I was still drifting downhill slowly, so I had to park it on the street.

I've been through all the drama with this thing - frozen up in the winter, dragged for a few miles, been stuck at work with halogen work lights to thaw it out so I could go home, etc (that worked, by the way )

But the parking brake itself has never worked very well.

Today I followed the procedures in the workshop manual for cable adjustment, and got all the slack out of the line (it grabs very low now, with just a tiny bit of slack at the bottom like it should) BUT STILL NO GRAB! It just slides downhill, maybe 30% effective - almost like nothing is there. The cable DOES get tight when I engage the brake (aka, it feels normal in the car).


What I'm thinking is that when ONE of the lines froze (since I remember feeling one side being hot..) that the other line is now the only one grabbing when I engage the parking brake. Just from the creeking sounds the car makes on one side as it drifts downhill with the parking brake on, I'm thinking this is the issue - but what would cause it, and how would I fix it?

It wouldn't concern me except for the fact that the clutch apparently isn't always strong enough to hold the car on a VERY steep incline, since it's pure clamping-force and not really what the clutch was designed for (the car only has 45k miles on it, the clutch is basically new so don't say it's fried!)

Alec

My parking brake has froze a couple times and then once it lost all it's tension, it would basically pull straight up like it was loose. I popped off that little door thing in the console and tightened the line and it has been fine since then. But it looks like you did that and it didn't work...

socalwrench

Well, you can use you transmission to keep the car from rolling. Just put it in the opposite gear (IE put it in 1st to prevent it from rolling backward).

I would also check that the rear portion of the lines isn't cut or binding on anything. I've seen many aftermarket wheels rub the lines raw, and eventually cut into them.

incorrigible

I hope you're not putting the trans in anything other than 1st or reverse. There is no way the clutch should *not* hold the car on just about any hill unless it is slipping due to wear or poor adjustment. If it was bad enough not to hold the car, then it would be basically undrivable anyway.

Make sure it's in first or reverse. It should hold even w/o the parking brake. Sounds like the clutch is holding but the engine is turning over due to too high of a gear selection.

2005Redfire6

Thats odd that the clutch isn't holding because my E-Brake is worthless aswell, I always keep it in gear. When I park on the road in front of my house its a downward slope and it holds in reverse even without the E-brake. It scares me though cause idk how tight that will hold and if it could randomnly pop out or stop holding! I need to try to adjust mine, I've never attempted it.