Emergency Brake questions • The Dodge Challenger Message Board

by **Doug444UT** » 31 Mar 2004 15:24

Still working on my '74 and now I've got an emergency brake problem: I can't get hardly ANY movement on the pedal. Maybe 1/2". So I climb under the car and start trying to dis-assemble the E-brake cables, but things don't look right. I've got a Plymouth service manual for the 1970 Barracuda, etc., and what I've got under my Challenger doesn't look at all like what's shown in this manual. Anyone got a service manual for the '72-'74 years? If so, can you scan in the E-brake diagram? If not, I'll describe what I've got so maybe we can determine if it's a stock set-up or someone's fabrication:

Short cable, maybe 24-30" that connects to the E-brake pedal and goes through the firewall and back under the car to just in front of the driver's seat. This attaches to a yoke of some sort that captures the "main" cable. This "main" cable goes straight back to a coupler (no threads) on the driver's side, which then goes to the brake drum. It also travels straight accross the car to the passenger side, 90 degree turn at another yoke (this one is where the adjustment is, I think), then back to a coupler (again, no threads or nut) and then on to the brake drum on the passenger's side. This design doesn't seem particularly efficient, which is why I'm wondering if it's original. My guess is that the short cable from the pedal to the first yoke is frozen. Any help would be appreciated.

by **dave-r** » 31 Mar 2004 18:32

That sounds like the 1971-up system to me. Didn't we have a photo that showed this in someones thread? I am sure we did. Didn't Christer question a photo showing this? Or have I been dreaming again? :roll:

by **dave-r** » 31 Mar 2004 18:42

No. THIS is a 1971 version. I cannot find a later version in my files and I don't know if they are the same or different. SORRY!

by **Doug444UT** » 31 Mar 2004 19:18

Yup, that looks pretty much like it. OK, at least I'm working on a "stock" system. Time to get dirty.

Thanks!

by **Christer** » 31 Mar 2004 22:07

dave-r wrote:That sounds like the 1971-up system to me. Didn't we have a photo that showed this in someones thread? I am sure we did. Didn't Christer question a photo showing this? Or have I been dreaming again?

nope, you haven´t been dreaming, Dave. Here is the thread.
http://challenger.mpoli.fi/phpbb/viewto ... 4388#14388

(Note that the cable that goes between the left side of the car to the right side has a different routing in the two pic´s.)

by **dave-r** » 31 Mar 2004 22:13

Thanks Christer.

The one I posted above is a "reference restoration" (note the factory type bad paint spraying) so it should be correct.

by **Christer** » 03 Apr 2004 14:19

I have learned that the reason why people get problems with sticking parking brakes is that they use it too seldom :!:

Don´t hesitate to use it once in a while, and your parking brake won´t have any chance to get sticky. (I guess these kind of problems are far more common on cars with automatic transmission since they have a parking mode.)