Parking Brake Repair: A How to Guide

Parking brake repair is something that must be done as part of any routing maintenance on a braking system. The parking brake is actually a very important aspect to the safety of the vehicle. The repair of a parking brake is very easy for any do it yourself mechanic.

Tools and Materials You Will Need

• Lubricant
• Service Manual
• Diagnostic Tool

Step 1 - Make Minor Adjustments

The first thing you will want to do is make some small adjustments. With time, parking brake systems tend to wear. A parking brake system is made with a bunch of pulleys and cables. These cables will and do stretch over time. First, check your service manual to make sure you are making the adjustments correctly. When you make the adjustments, you will tighten the cable, or remove the additional 'slack'.

Step 2 - Apply Lubricant

Sometimes you will find that a parking brake will stick. It sometimes does not release as easily as it should and other times it wont pull or push back to the off position. It makes life difficult and the driver becomes frustrated. Generally, when a parking brake begins to stick, you should take out a bottle of lubricant and grease in between the sliding mechanisms. In addition, apply additional lubricant to the actuator levers. The levers are found on the rear brake callipers. Even after you have applied the lubricant, you may find that the parking brake is still sticking. In this case, you will need to remove the rear brakes and review the entire parking brake mechanism to identify the sticking problem. This is a little more time consuming but certainly worth it.

Step 3 - Replace Broken Cable

Replacing a broken cable is a fairly easy and straight forward process for any slightly skilled person.

Put the car up in the air using jacks and a jack stand. Pull a part the braking system to expose the end of the brake cable. Remove all the mounting hardware so that you can get to the individual cable. Then, lightly free the cable from the calliper. Remove the existing cable from all the attachment points on the interior of the vehicle. This is not a difficult process but can require a little patience and moving things around from side to side.

Once you have the path of the cable fully traced, disassemble any trim necessary. This will give you an ability to get access to the bottom of the parking brake handle. Remove the interior parts of the cable. Pull the cable out from underneat the car.

Following the same process, you can add the new cable. Trace your path in reverse and add the trim back, as needed.

Step 4 - Use a Diagnostic Tool

Some new vehicles feature electric parking brakes. These brakes work in the same fashion as cable-operated systems, but use electric motors instead of physical effort to apply the brake. Electric parking brakes may require use of a factory scan tool to place them into a service mode before repairs are made. Backyard mechanics may find this frustrating, as performing a rear brake job is impossible without first electronically releasing the brakes.

A properly maintained parking brake will not only help your car pass required safety inspections.