Parking Brake Won't Hold Car

[CaptainVictory]

Hey all. Before I get my '61 inspected, I want to make sure everything checks out. In checking the parking brake, I noticed that it won't hold the car when idling, when it's in Drive or Reverse.

Well, that's not entirely true. Sometimes if I let it roll forward a few yards while in Drive, the parking brake will eventually grab. I haven't been able to replicate this behavior in Reverse.

Before I launch into this repair, any ideas what this issue might be? Thanks in advance!

 

[tbird5866]

Have you tried to adjust the parking brake? Tighten up the cables?

 

[CaptainVictory]

Harley -- Thanks for the reply. I haven't gotten under the car yet to check the cable tension, but the judging from the pedal's feel, it sure seems tight. That is, there's no sign of slack when you push the pedal down.

That said, if I press the pedal hard enough, I can get it to go all the way to the floor.

Does any of this info mean anything?

Cheers.

PS -- I don't want to overtighten it because it can pull the shoes off their anchors. My understanding is you tighten just until there's no slack -- and that's it. Correct?

 

[tbird5866]

If it will go all the way to the floor, it may need to be tighter. I acn't imagine how the brake being too tight would pull the shoes off the anchors. Can you imagine how that could happen? Another thought: there may be too much friction between the cable and it's housing.

 

[CaptainVictory]

The "too tight" line comes from the repair manual (I have an original one for the '62 Bird).

I'll give the cable a thorough going over. Thanks again!