Parking brake handle died

97 XJ 4.0 5-speed.
My parking brake "button" exploded in my hand last night! Looks like the plastic "thumb" piece broke away from whatever holds it, leaving the conical spring to fly into the console.
I'm screwed, aren't I? Chiltons has no mention even (surprise, should have burned the $ spent on that for the btu's!) And I found no real mention here in the archives.
Anyone with a diagram or schematic on the handle's workings?
Any tricks? What years will work? etc.
Please, don't tell me to go to the dealer, I can almost smell the frustration and pain, let alone the endless $.
Thanks for the help.
Greg

Greg, yes, you're screwed, I had my Jeep in a tire shop and was leaving when I noticed the same thing you described. My parking brake was in bits and the tire shop wouldn't take responsibility. Eventually they did and had to get me an entire new one from the"dealer" and install it for me. Sorry, but I don't believe there's a fix other than replacement. I could be wrong and you'll here about it soon.

Dealer

They cost $80 installed. I kept my old one and made an aluminum button and epxoxyed it in. Keep the spring, it slides over a rod in there. That rod looks threaded but it's not, the 'threads' are concentric. What makes it a PIA is the hole is square. I took a piece of aluminum and started fileing it down to fit then blackened it. If the replacement one ever dies I'm all set.

The exact same thing happened to my 93. All it cost me to fix it though was some super glue. Just take the button and the spring and play with it so you know how it goes back in. Then put some super glue on the all-thread where the button slides on top of it, with the spring in place of course, and hold it while it dries.

Hasn't failed me again yet.

Dirk Funk said:

The exact same thing happened to my 93. All it cost me to fix it though was some super glue. Just take the button and the spring and play with it so you know how it goes back in. Then put some super glue on the all-thread where the button slides on top of it, with the spring in place of course, and hold it while it dries.

Hasn't failed me again yet.

Click to expand...

Best solution I've heard.

They ALL break eventually, and DC's only response is to reach under the counter, pull out a complete assembly and say "That'll be $64 + tax, please".

I tried the superglue thing but I use my EB alot as a kind of 'locker' in slippery condtions. The superglue fix worked for about 4 hours off roading before it hit the dashboard again. Epoxy might work but generally the base of the button splits which allows it to fly off. I did the aluminum replacement while watching TV one nite. Thinking about it I could have probably done up a mold and cast up a bunch of them out of hard lead [I cast my own bullets], just added a bit more antimony then normal, hindsight being 20/20......

The screwed guy replies

Thanks, guys!
I'm still kinda confused on how to get the thing apart. Do I need to pull the console out? Is there a way to remove the whole show? I like the superglue idea, if only for the minimal cost, but I'd like it to last a while.
Any pix of this from a Factory Manual?
Thanx 'gain!
greg

You don't really need to remove it if you are going to go the superglue or epoxy route. You can get the button and spring back on while sitting in the driver seat.
Whey they replaced it they removed my console but that included the whole assembly.
Quick fix is to figure out how to get the spring and button back on, then once you are proficient with that put some two part epoxy in there and put it back together, hold it temp in place with some duct tape. I would pretty much fill the whole button, just filling the hole which is cracked already will just cause the same problem again later on.

RichP said:

Thinking about it I could have probably done up a mold and cast up a bunch of them out of hard lead [I cast my own bullets], just added a bit more antimony then normal, hindsight being 20/20......

Click to expand...

Make up a bunch and offer them here and at the kindergarten (JU).

I'll pay $5 + mailing.







Besides, you know you want to cast some other household and Jeep stuff.

I just might, have to see if I have any sand left over. Have not done any free casting in a few years, all my bullets are from machined molds. Damn, quit giving me ideas, got enough to keep me busy just getting ready for winter