Hanging on to the Ebrake - Troubleshooting - VWDiesel.net The IDI, TDI, and mTDI source.

• Hanging on to the Ebrake by ORCoaster on 19 Nov, 2017 21:57
• I have been working on rebuilding the stub axles and repairing the rear brakes on my 81 Caddy and I was wondering if there are supposed to be clips or retainers on the end of the outside part of the cable that would keep it solid up against the backing plate of the drum?  The previous owner had new brakes and cables installed but I see no way to keep the end of the ebrake inside the wheel housing other than spring tension. 
  
  The Bentley service guide has a one liner about a nut that needs to be removed in order to get the cable out but the replacement cables have no threads on them.  There might be a retainer clip that could go on in a groove at the very end of the cable but there presently is no such thing. 
  
  Anyone care to inform me of what is or is not missing?  Seems without something there the adjuster nuts at the handle are the only thing pushing the exterior of the cable into the backing plate. 
  
• #1 by RustyCaddy on 20 Nov, 2017 10:50
• That is the same deal as with my truck.  i have the cables zip tied so their angle and tension holds the end of the outer sheathing more or less against the backing plate.
• #2 by ORCoaster on 20 Nov, 2017 20:03
• I was hoping to get a more secure connection and use the backing plate as the anchor and the tension of the spring to hold it in place.  I am going to measure the slot in the end of the outer cable and see what the hardware store has in the way of a C clip or something like it.
• #3 by RustyCaddy on 20 Nov, 2017 22:12
• Sounds like a good idea.
  
  Please let us know how it goes.
  
  Zip ties are the poor mans duct tape.
• #4 by ORCoaster on 21 Nov, 2017 00:50
• I was pressed for time this weekend but I now see that I should have taken a few minutes to measure the cable and the backing plate.  Without a garage and 4 days of rain predicted I could have been hanging out in the hardware store, staying dry and figuring this out.  I now need to pull a wheel off in the rain to get the measurements. 
  
  Maybe there will be a break in the clouds for a half an hour and I can do that.  If not, maybe by next weekend. 
  
  
• #5 by fatmobile on 21 Nov, 2017 15:02
• Got a pic?
   It sounds like you are missing the little bracket that holds them closer to the backing plate
• #6 by ORCoaster on 21 Nov, 2017 21:30
• If you go here and look at the Wagner one https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=906746&cc=1367737&jsn=402 you will get a good look at the end I am dealing with.
  
  https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/volkswagen,1981,rabbit+pickup,1.6l+l4+diesel,1367737,brake+&+wheel+hub,parking+brake+cable,1696
  
  I did manage to crawl underneath the truck today and view the end of the cable.  I just released the tension on the ebrake handle and that allowed enough slack to pull the outer cable far enough out of the backing plate to see what I had. 
  
  I was thinking, yeah I am missing a clip for that.  But not so, there is not enough of a groove on the end to allow anything to attach to it.  I was looking at that and pondering the zip tie idea.  If I used a wider, say 8 mm or 10 mm wide tie it would bite on the amount of collar on the exterior of the cable that would be inside the backing plate and then the cable couldn't pull out.   Well not real easily. 
  
  But my hopes for a clip are not going to happen as the collar narrows some but it is not very deep and not angled sharply so just a rolled groove there.  Not sure where the aftermarket cables came from as they were purchased many years ago by the guy fixing up the truck back then.  He had to put it down for the last 8 years and finally decided to get out from underneath it and sold it to me.
  
  I should have gone through the entire brake system long ago but they seemed to be working.  Not as well as my Rabbit but still stopped well enough.  I spent the day servicing the rotors up front.  Both outside pads on the rotors were stuck solid.  Only using half the rotor to stop.  I am going for new rotors and cylinder kits and make it a proper stopper.  Letting any truck set for that length of time is going to set up the brakes I think.  The two cylinders in back were stuck on the one side as well.  Still not convinced I have those fix even with new cylinders in place.  The adjuster is hanging up I think. More rust on rusty parts perhaps.
  
  Thanks for all the input on this one.  I might look at some sites to see if there are pictures associated with their cables but for now I am just going to let it be until the rotors come in and I will zip tie those ends inside the backing plate. 
  
  
  
• #7 by fatmobile on 27 Nov, 2017 17:46
•  Just looking for a pic like this?
  bronzelrearbrake by vwfatmobile, on Flickr
  
  See the ebrake cable holder-downer bracket?
   Is that what you are talking about?
• #8 by ORCoaster on 27 Nov, 2017 22:15
• Thanks for the picture Fatmobile and I do see the ebrake cable and spring being held down by the clamp with the two bolts on the backing plate.  But what we need to see is behind the brake shoe on the left.  How is the ebrake held into the backing plate hole that it comes through?  That is the question.  I have seen a universal kit on CarParts or RockAuto that shows a threaded end right there and the cable is secured with a thin nut, likely a 10 mm.  The cables I have are crimped on and do not really have a way to connect to the backing plate.  No solid anchor of outside cable to backing plate. 
  
  I find it weird and was hoping for a way to secure it thusly but have given up the chase until I need to do something with the brakes again.  I might just try to put a die on the end I have and make it threaded.  Then I could put a washer and nut on the inside of the backing plate and have no worries.
  
  Can you sneak the brake out of the way and pop another pic?  Or are you in the same boat with the rest of us and just have it resting up against the back of the backing plate? 
  
  Later
• #9 by damac on 30 Nov, 2017 16:53
• i have done a bunch of these brake jobs and don't understand what we are talking about?
  
  i always just got replacement cables.  there is like a chunk of metal on the end and you feed the wire into a slot on the left side arm on back of shoe so it won't pop out when you have the slack.  when you take the slack out it shouldn't jump out and that little finger i guess keeps it inline.
• #10 by ORCoaster on 30 Nov, 2017 19:08
• Got all that damac,  That is not what I am talking about.  The end that is on the outer cable with the inner cable feeding through the spring is what I am having a difficult time with.  Some cables like that in the past have had either a clip or a nut that secures the outer part of the cable to the backing plate.  That way if you get in some brushy situations, like we have here in the woods, the cable will not get pulled or a limb jam in it and engage the Ebrake on that side.
  
  With me? 
  
  The cable I have does not have any means to secure it so it sort of pulls out if you try.  I was hoping to have it secured. 
  
  I took a few pictures but I will need to find a photo service that doesn't charge like our beloved PhotoBucket. 
  
  I don't fear the cable coming off the ebrake lever inside the housing.  I fear it getting engaged going uphill with a wiener engine and stalling out.   
• #11 by fatmobile on 04 Dec, 2017 16:34
• Oh, it just plugs into the backing plate,... with nothing securing it.
  I suppose you could make a groove for a clip.
• #12 by ORCoaster on 04 Dec, 2017 22:31
• Like I said there is enough of it to actually thread it and put a washer and nut on it.  Just need time to do all that.  Busy catching up on other work delayed by the rains.  Need to make repairs to leaky roofs while the rain has taken a vacation this week.