Matthew Currie
NAXJA Member #760
- Location
- Vermont, land of big clay
Recently I've noticed that the parking brake on my 95 was getting a little weak, and figured I ought to do something about it. Since it's a stick shift, I actually use the hand brake a lot. Today I yanked on the handle and heard a kind of "pop" and the handle went a good deal further up. Time to look down there I guess.
What I found was that the brackets that hold the brake cable sheath had started to pull away from the floor pan. On one side, there was a big crack in the pan, and the bracket was nearly off. These things are rather poorly spot welded to the pan, and not reinforced. It was easy to fix. On the good side I just drilled two holes and put quarter inch bolts through (heads down so as not to interfere with the cable). On the bad side I added a reinforcing plate on the inside of the floor.
Anyway I figure it's something you should be aware of and watch for if your handbrake is getting spongy.
What I found was that the brackets that hold the brake cable sheath had started to pull away from the floor pan. On one side, there was a big crack in the pan, and the bracket was nearly off. These things are rather poorly spot welded to the pan, and not reinforced. It was easy to fix. On the good side I just drilled two holes and put quarter inch bolts through (heads down so as not to interfere with the cable). On the bad side I added a reinforcing plate on the inside of the floor.
Anyway I figure it's something you should be aware of and watch for if your handbrake is getting spongy.
