Hi, I had a scary moment tonight at my house. The driveway I park on is pretty steep. I heard someone honking their horn outside my house for awhile and when I looked outside I noticed my car was in the middle of the street blocking traffic. I was just thankful it didn't hit anybody or any other car. My question is, how do I tighten the parking brake ? It's a manual and even sometimes when i put my car in first, it stills start rolling. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Turn your wheels so you roll into the curb and not into traffic if it happens again.

 

in order ot tighten it, turn the screw right beneath the handle. If you tighten that screw but the brake still doesnt hold, it could be frozen at the rear of the vehicle.

 

thats a common problem on 4th gens, before i bought mine, i made sure the deal replaced the parking break cable completely, they ordered one from the dealer

 

Thanks ! Stupid question though....should the break handle be up or down when i tighten the bolt ?

 

Pull the handle up. Undo the cover. Youll notice a nut on the inside I think it a 10mm. Just turn it clockwise until desired tightness is reached You want about 10-11 clicks when you pull the e-brake up to lock the wheels.

 

tighten it while the handle is down.

 

Which way is it ? up or down ? or does it not matter ?

 

tighten it while down. dont tighten it too much. then pull it up to see how effective it is. but again, make sure it is holding in the back when you pull it up. if the cable isnt working properly in the rear no amount of tightening will work and you may snap the cable.

 

Just make sure that when its all the way down, its not squeezing the rotor...then youll get constant wear. :P

 

thanks guys, that same thing is happening with my maxima too. just wanted to let you guys know that.


thanks for the lean on.

 

I assume that all who had this problem 9 or 10 months ago have solved it, but for the sake of those who come to this thread with another issue, the one I had, remember that the pistons on the rear brakes have four groves spaced every 90 degrees on the surface that pushes against the pad and one of those grooves should fit over the nub that is on the back of the brake pad, and that could be your issue. When a groove is not over the nub, and the piston rests on top of it, that put's slack in the parking brake cables and you run out of rotation on the handle before the tension is high enough to hold the car.

 

 

If the brake lever doesn't feel pressure while pulling on it, I would adjust the cable. If you feel pressure pulling on the level but the car still slips, the parking brake bolt might be frozen in the piston.

 

thats hilarious/sucks that happened

luckily theres no hills in delaware

too bad i have a POS automatic
(i kinda wanna ruin my tranny to give my dad a reason to help fund a manual swap)

 

yeah, just tighten when down......and keep testing it and make sure the ones at the back are actually not "sticking"

 

Ima have to try this since mine stop holding.

 

 

I'm having this problem now. First time owning a 96, where do I look for the cables under the car? Should I be able to see the cable move while pulling the lever? Also, how should I know what to adjust the cable to?

The lever gets tight at 10 clicks with the adjustment nut in it's current position, but if I put it in gear is rolls as if the brake isnt engaged at all. Also, the brake light is on. I don't know if that's because of lack of brake fluid but will be checking this afternoon.