E brake loose. How to Fix?
 

My E brake was loose a while ago, so I took off the center console and tightened the nuts by the E brake handle. It got loose again, so now it's tightened all the way. But now it's loose again. Now I'm able to pull up the handle all the way and it doesn't bite very well.
Is there another way to tighten up my E brake handle? How? Or where can I find this information?

Thanks

you can tighten it from the drum itself, BUT you shouldnt need to... there is something wrong with your cable, go get it checked out...

OR, you seem like the type of guy to do alot of ebrake stunts, so i bet you wore out your ebrake shoes...

again, take it to the dealer

yea i get the same thing once in a while i pull up the ebrake and it barely holds especially on tough hills...idk def have it checked out at the dealer

Thats not always the case. My driveway is on a long slant so I use my parking brake every single day. Over some time, mine has become a little wobbly when not in use, and is tight when it's up. I've never had the chance to tighten it from the drum since it doesn't bug me all that much. Anyhow, I don't think its right to assume that he's the 'type of guy' who does ebrake stunts, when that may not be the situation. :no:

its not a bad thing :P

but i meant "if you might be the type of guy..."

haha... u prolly mean that, but u said "you seem like the type of guy..."

:P


but back on topic, if you haven't tightened the cable from the drum, try that. if it still feels very loose/weak, then take it to the dealer and have em check it out.

Wait. So it's not good to pull the E-Brake at 75 mph?

No. 95 is much better. :silly:

read this

http://scionsmoke.com/viewtopic.php?t=402

About that article: That's exactly what I did. I tightened those nuts all the way. Does anybody know how to tighten the cable from the drum or know where to find the information? Drum brakes are alot more diffiult to fiddle with than disk.
Thanks alot guys for the help. That's why I like Scions, because the owners all stick together and help each other out. Greatly appreciated, because I hate dealing with the dealership.

The tC has rear disk brakes. Drum meaning the inside of the rotor where the parking brake is.

honestly, there should be no need to tighten the cable that much...

like i said, do you do any ebrake stunts?

you might need to replace your cable or even your ebrake shoes.

Adjust the drum first. When you tighten the nut it puts tension on the cable which could be causing it to loosen.

Adjusting the brake from the drum is pretty simple.

1. Raise the car
2. take off rear wheels
3. find the rubber plug thing, pull it out, and turn the wheel until it's at the bottom
4. get a flathead and a flashlight; look inside and you see something you can flick with the flathead.
5. with the e brake down, flick the adjuster up (or down.. I forgot) until the wheel can't spin anymore. Then flick it in the opposite direction two or three times.

Thanks for the tip. I'll try that tomorrow when I wake up. And no, I don't do any "e-brake stunts." I did use it alot right before I got rid of my stock tires. I had to have fun in them before I took them off to put new ones on. But it was in no way enough to wear anything out except the tread on those crappy stock tires.

Thanks for the tip. I'll try that tomorrow when I wake up. I'll let you know if it works or not. And no, I don't do any "e-brake stunts." I did use it alot right before I got rid of my stock tires. I had to have fun in them before I took them off to put new ones on. But it was in no way enough to wear anything out except the tread on those crappy stock tires.

Now, that there would be called a "lie"

didn't you just say you DON'T do it, and then you say you DID do it? hmmm :P

and then you say you KNOW there was NO WAY it could wear anything out.... and yet.... here you are having a problem with your e-brake cable being loose and/or brake shoes being worn down.... hmmmmm :lalala:

kungpaosamuraiii said it exactly right, adjust it at the drum till you can't free-spin the hub, then back it off a bit, there should be little to no tension on the hub, then do the same to the other side, then put the car on a slight hill and pull the E-brake till it stops the car, if you don't like where he handle is, THEN adjust the handle. ALWAYS start at the hub, because the brake pads (shoes) wear down, no matter what

I wouldn't consider that an e-brake stunt. E-brake stunts to me would be drifting using the e-brake, not doing a burnout!

But you're still using the parking brake to do burnouts...

Not sure about our Scions, havent had to do brakes yet, but on American cars, with rear drum brakes, the adjustment wheel has an adjustment lever that adjusted the rear brake shoes with every pull of the "parking brake". If anyone can confirm that our Scions have this then the problem is probably going to be a stretched brake cable. There also may be an adjustment nut where the cable "Y's" off to the rear wheels and connects to the brake handle's cable....older cars had an adjustment there for cable stretching. The wheel adjustment used only be done after installing new brake shoes and the auto adjustment lever would maintain adjustment by setting parking brake on a regular basis...

I CALLED IT! using the ebrake for any purpose other than parking or slowing down in an emergency (or hills for 5spd) is a STUNT and causes rapid wear of the shoes and can stretch the cable...

you wore out your e-brake man... dont just tighten it, leave it alone and take it to the dealer to get it replaced...