frozen emergency brake

[roger sumpter]

what is the best way to free up a frozen emergency brake. and were is the spot that it freezes up at.

["Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364]

Roger,
How about a clue as to what year and model we are talking about?
Greg.

[roger sumpter]

the car is a 1984 cadillac fleetwood broughm. rear wheel drive 4 door. ht4100 engine that the emergency brake is frozen up.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

G'day Roger,

I think you will find it is rusted inside, wherever it is a cable running through an outer sleeve.  That is, from the Pedal Assembly through the floor, and at the rear, where the lines go to the brakes on each side of the Diff to the Backing Plates.

The best way to find the offending part is to put the car up on Jack Stands, and under the car, manually pull down on the front to rear cable, and see if the rear cables are moving inside their corresponding covers.  If the rears are moving, then it is the front one, where it goes through the floor, to the Parking Brake actuator.

The only way to free it up is to remove the complete cable, then simply soak the offending piece/s in a Penetrant, and with a solid rubber mallet, strike the parts whilst they are on a flat solid surface, to "Shock" the rust into breaking down, then simply start "working" the cable backwards and forwards.

I had a problem with the Closer Cable in the trunk of my '72 Eldo, and it eventually took 4 days to free it.   But, it had to be done.

Bruce.

[35-709]

I thought I remembered something about these emergency brakes but could not be sure, found this posting on another forum posted by "Carnut".

"..... The rear brakes adjust for normal pad wear by religious use of the parking brake every time the car is parked. As the park brake is pushed, it will rotatethe caliperpiston, ratcheting out to make up wear clearance. On a car this old, usually from lack of use, the rear caliper adjusters seize and require two rebuilt calipers be installed. At the inboard side of the caliper, the parking brake cables attach to an arm. As the arm rotates forward with park brake application the piston rotates within the caliper. If its seized it will not allow the piston to stay out taking up the clearance. SO, verify, verify and then replace rear calipers, flush the brake fluid and adjust the park brake by the factory manual."

It is indeed important with this type of system that the emergency/parking brake be used on a regular basis or what you are experiencing will most likely occur.  
Geoff N.

[TJ Hopland]

That thing about adjusting the brake was for rear disc cars which I think in the early 80's would have only been Eldorado and Seville.   I think his Fleetwood would most likely have regular old GM drums on the back.   Most likely place for those to be stuck would be where the exposed cables go into their housings to go into the rear drums.  Great location to pick up crap from the road.    Good thing is I bet those cables are not exclusive to Cadillac so getting new ones should not be a big deal. 

["Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364]

Roger,
Have you tried the manual release under the dash?
Greg

[roger sumpter]

when i went to apply the emergancy brake i could not get it to move. i read some where that if you don't use it there is some valve that does not return to the center position and you get low brake peddel.

[Jim Skelly, CLC #15958]

If you live in the rust belt like I do, I had the following occur:

'73 Caprice - chassis crossmember rusted out that the emergency brake cable attached to under the floorpan
'01 Monte Carlo - metal tubes collapsed from rusting out where the cables enter the rear wheel assemblies