Re: No Parking Brake

[greglinstad <greglinstad@xxxx>]

Payne (#2975) and List,
As Payne mentioned (and others have previously) about the inability to get the parking brake to hold firmly, I discovered last week why mine never worked very well either. Missing pads is sometimes the problem, but mine were new. I decided to totally remove the support bracket that holds the hand brake assembly in place to see if I could find out why no matter how much adjustment I made to the brake units at the wheels the handle would feel OK, but not hold well. After removing the handle from the mounting bracket, it became quite obvious immediately what the problem was. The support bracket had cracked in two places and a spotweld had broken loose. This caused the fixed surface the brake cables start to pull from to be bent back slightly each time the handle was pulled, and was now about 2 inches ( 5.08 cm ) awayfrom its' original position. This was not at all obvious until removal. I straightened the bracket, had it re-welded, and after some minor slotting of holes put it back in place. Then some adjusting of the brake at the wheels (remove that Cotter pin and turn the large slotted screw) and I now have a totally functioning hand brake! Payne said "but I really had to yank it hard" and "I can pull the handle up as hard as I can..." and this is what I used to do, and what probably worsened my problem so be careful when pulling that brake handle. After removing my bracket I noticed that the way it was mounted to the floor and sidewall could put a lot of extra stress on the bracket as the body flexed, and could have been a contributing factor to the cracking. Remove the seat first (only 4 nuts from below) for easy access.I now feel qualified as a Concours Judge of the parking brake assembly (LOL).
FYI, YMMV

Greg Linstad
Pacific Northwest DeLorean Club
VIN# 3507 120,000+ miles
Washington plate "RUSTLSS"
pndc.org