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Thread: Sticking e Brake Spring

  1. #1
    Senior Member cv2065's Avatar
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    Sticking e Brake Spring

    Finally got my brakes working! Pedal is nice and tight. Had to switch out my calipers (1988 T-Bird variety) and the new ones are working nicely. Pressure bled the rear about 3 times each side to get all the air out.

    Only issue I’m running into with these new calipers is the e brake spring mechanism is sticking on both sides when the e brake is pulled. I can get it to release the last inch or so by hand at the caliper but anyone run into this? I’ve read about a spring mod. I’ve attempted to loosen through the spring bolt but that has no effect.

    By the way, my spring is covered with a grey coating which I’m thinking is some kind of zinc anti rust coating. I took the spring off of my old caliper but after it expanded I could not get it back on by hand so was reluctant to take it off the new one. What’s the best way to get these back on? Was thinking maybe it just needs to be cleaned up.
    Last edited by cv2065; 12-09-2018 at 10:23 PM.
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  2. #2
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    Not sure if it’s the same mechanism, I have the 94-95 cobra rears and they look similar. Mine often stick after you release the parking brake, only seem to on the pass side but could be wrong. When I push the brake pedal they release, you can hear the click of them letting go. Not sure what causes it and no one has been able to tell me, but a push of the pedal releases it every time.

  3. #3
    Senior Member cv2065's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Murd View Post
    Not sure if it’s the same mechanism, I have the 94-95 cobra rears and they look similar. Mine often stick after you release the parking brake, only seem to on the pass side but could be wrong. When I push the brake pedal they release, you can hear the click of them letting go. Not sure what causes it and no one has been able to tell me, but a push of the pedal releases it every time.
    That's exactly what happens on this end Murd. It's only on the passenger side that sticks maybe about an inch of motion. Are you saying that when you hit the brake pedal it releases the parking brake? I'll give it a try. Mine look like this:

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    Senior Member phileas_fogg's Avatar
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    Lots of folks, myself included, add a compression spring between the bracket that captures the end of the cable and the bracket that captures the end of the sheath. A 3-1/4" length, 7/16" O.D., .062 wire gauge (Hillman Item # 540120, #40) spring was recommended, so I got the local hardware store to order me a pair. My brakes are Wilwood's but you get the idea, and at less than $1 cost it's worth a shot.


    John

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    https://www.ffcars.com/threads/phile.../#post-4776313

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    Yes mine look very similar if not the same. Hopefully a ped push pops it open.

  7. #6
    Senior Member CraigS's Avatar
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    John's spring is the usual fix. And then you get the fun of putting it on the cable and putting the cable into the lever arm. This is fairly common on street cars too because their life is so long that they start to get sticky.
    FFR MkII, 408W, Tremec TKO 500, 2015 IRS, DA QA1s, Forte front bar, APE hardtop.

  8. #7
    Senior Member phileas_fogg's Avatar
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    Putting these particular springs on isn't that bad; you can compress the spring by hand. Stiffer springs would definitely be a challenge.


    John
    MK IV Roadster #8631
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    https://www.ffcars.com/threads/phile.../#post-4776313

  9. #8
    Senior Member cv2065's Avatar
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    Thought I'd follow up here. Bought a couple of options and found one that worked perfectly. Thanks for the idea. I did have to grind the end of the e brake fitting down just a tad so that the spring would install over it.



    I was planning on buying the Hillman spring and just cutting it down, as I don't need that length with the stock IRS braking calipers, but it was hard to source without special ordering somewhere so I found a music wire compression spring that is the exact same OD and thickness, just in a 1.5" length and its available on Amazon in case anyone needs to get one. You can find it here:

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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  10. #9
    Senior Member Norm B's Avatar
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    That's good news. Looking at your picture, you seem to be missing the C clip that holds the cable in the brake calliper. See Johns' picture above.

    Norm

  11. #10
    Senior Member cv2065's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Norm B View Post
    That's good news. Looking at your picture, you seem to be missing the C clip that holds the cable in the brake calliper. See Johns' picture above.

    Norm
    Thanks Norm! Just haven’t had a chance to pick up a couple yet, but I’ll get em in there
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