parking brake problem

[Dave Morton]

Yet again, my poor 94 Acura integra has another failure. Now that my clutch is fixed, I had a neighbor come by the house yesterday and tell me my car was in the middle of the street. Sure enough, my car was in the street and the parking brake was on, as usual. But when I put the parking brake down, there was no resistance. I pulled it up and I had to get it as high as possible to feel any sort of tension.
Thus, is this a problem that I can fix easily? I have a feeling that after 155k miles, this this is going to start nickle and diming me to death. Perhaps it's time to get a new car.
------------------
------ Dave ------
------------------
MY HT

 

[Jay H]

Cable stretch? Not that I'm an expert but if the car has that many miles on it and the p-brake is used so much, it's conceivable that the cable actuated brakeline could have stretched that you have to pull more to get the brake to grab.
Just an idea anyway...
Jay
------------------
HUGGBEES!
Certified HTF bike nut and mayor of
Obscuria.

 

[Bill Catherall]

It sounds to me like it's a cable problem as well, but I'm no mechanic. In the future it might be a good idea to always leave your car in 1st gear when you turn it off. That way it won't roll away if your parking break fails.
------------------
Bill

 

[KyleS]

This is pretty normal actuall and often happens a lot sooner then 155K. Heck my 88 RX7 GTU needs to have the parking break line tightened as well I just havnt had time to take it in to a mechanic lately. The more often you use your E-brake the more likely you are going to have to get it tightened over time.
It shouldnt be expensive at all to have your E-brake line tightened (Assuming that is your problem) say around $50 bucks and would take a mechanic less then 30 minutes to do.
As stated above make sure that you always put your car in first gear and if you live on a hill and are parking against the curb then turn your tires against the curb to keep your car from rolling. Just make sure to get this taken care of ASAP so next time your car doesnt end up hitting another car or hurting someone.
KyleS

 

[Dave Morton]

Thanks, I now put it in 1st gear and use what little bit of parking brake I have. $50 bucks sounds pretty good. I can definitely deal with that.
Thanks for the replies and comments.
------------------
------ Dave ------
------------------
MY HT