Parking brake help

[John Nugent]

Help! my driver's side emergency brake is stuck. This is the second 914 I've owned, I recently purchased it and noticed that the parking brake indicator light is blinking. I looked under the car and noticed that the driver's side cable is stuck or really tight. The passenger side seems to be okay and the interior brake handle is in good condition as well as the cable connection. I think it's the cable from the firewall to the caliper. This cable is hanging under the heat exchangers. Does anybody have any suggestions on cable adjustments or are there any? Will I have to reset or do anything to the master cylinder? Haynes and Chilton manuals aren't of much help.

[This message has been edited by John Nugent.]

[JP Noonan]

My friend had a similar problem where both rear calipers refused to let go. The car sat for a week or so near the beach, so I guess corosion built up. The problem was the arm that comes out of the caliper was stuck. To release them he hit the little arm to free them up(lightly, I can't imagine how expensive it would be to fix them). First look at the caliper that is working, and then see if the stuck one it at the same angle. There are other possibilities like the venting clearence being off, or the cable rusted to the firewall. However try the arm first.

[Wayne 962]

Hmm, are you sure that the brake is really stuck? Put the car up in the air, and check to see if the parking brake lets go or not.

There are instructions for setting the parking brake in the Haynes manuals - they are pretty straight forward. The blinking red light doubles as a master cylinder warning light too, so you may be having problems with your hydraulic system - not your parking brake. That, or your parking brake switch may have broken.

There is a Q&A in our 914 section dealing with the blinking red light. Check it out there...

Thanks,

Wayne

[rich]

I agree with Wayne's Q&A on the red light with this addition. My experience included both the small lever for the emergency brake on the caliper and a stuck caliper at the same time. I purchased a set of (2)rear caliper rebuid kits from another supplier. (before I knew about pelican)I removed the calipers,fixed the lever,and attemped the refurb the caliper. (After disassembly I found a ring around the puck of hard dried junk causing the sticking.It cleaned off easy) After reinstall I attemped bleed the system. Apperantly the "O" rings were too small. When I pressed the pucks in the calipers I cut the "O" rings. When I attempted to bleed the system,What a mess! I heard a rumor that there were kits being sold that didn't work, so I was more upset with the mess than I was surprised. I was glad I saved the old "O" rings. By the way I did the front calipers at the same time. As I was bleeding the system the master failed! It doesn't pay to cut corners. The moral of this story is; Inspect as Wayne suggested, and repair with the correct parts sold by the knowlagable enthusists at Pelican Parts.