Busted E-brake Cable

[theragtopguy]

Originally Posted by Rock-It Man

It does seem odd that this hefty cable broke so cleanly. There's no sign of corrosion or stretching, just a clean break, and there are no sharp edges in the vicinity.

What is the car's history?

I ordered it in March 2015, delivered April 10, daily driver for a couple of years, now I have a Trailblazer for DD so it sits in my driveway most of the time.

Never had an issue with the E-brake, it just up and broke.

[camguynj]

Originally Posted by 1911 1LE

Mine broke just like that back in October.

What was required to fix it?

[1911 1LE]

I'm not sure. The car was going in for a check up and weld in roll bar after the Texas Mile. I let them do it.

[camguynj]

Obviously there has to be a cause for the cable to snap all of a sudden at that specific location on cars that are only a few years old.

Is there more torque on the cable there than at any other location ? If excess torque is the cause does parking on an incline increase torque ? Or is that part of the cable exposed to the elements more than any other location? Maybe even in absence of noticeable rust there is internal corrosion? Wonder if applying a corrosion inhibitor might or might not help without doing any harm?

[oldman14ss]

crimp on cable might have been too tight and pinched the cable strands in the fitting.

[0stones0]

Originally Posted by oldman14ss

crimp on cable might have been too tight and pinched the cable strands in the fitting.

Tend to agree with this scenario. We “swage” cables regularly and get gigged from inspectors when the strands look like they’re getting cut from too much pressure used on the tool.

[camguynj]

Originally Posted by oldman14ss

crimp on cable might have been too tight and pinched the cable strands in the fitting.

Makes sense. Wonder if crimp is done by hand or machine?

[theragtopguy]

Maybe it was just a factory defect, the crimp scenario above sounds right.


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[mikeman]

Originally Posted by camguynj

Makes sense. Wonder if crimp is done by hand or machine?

Probably done by some machine down in Mexico or China.

[camguynj]

Originally Posted by mikeman

Probably done by some machine down in Mexico or China.

Yea probably by machine so consistent pressure is applied. Guess in the couple of hundred thousand 5th gens made a very small number could have a bad crimp. If by hand you would think the cabling snapping would be a prevalent problem that would have resulted in a TIB or recall.

[Mhoward08]

I recently had mine fail in the same exact spot on my 2010 SS and replaced it myself.
There are some wrongful assumptions in this thread I would like to clear up for anyone that comes across it in the future.

The right side cable is perfectly fine and goes to the driver side rear drum and on the other side (view blocked by driveshaft) is another one that goes to the passenger side drum. You can not remove these without cutting them because of the way they crimped the ends on. That bar is what's used to connect the lever's cable to the two drum cables.

The broken cable on the left did not snap. You can see the wires are kind of flared out and that's because they press and crimp a steel ball onto the end of it. That ball slots into the middle of the bar on the right.

The crimp deformed and allowed the cable to slip out on mine from, I assume, pulling it too hard one too many times. 22747943 is the part number for the lever assembly since you have to replace the whole assembly if the ball comes off the end.

1: It can be replaced by removing the trim on the right side of the center console and removing the two nuts that hold the lever assembly in place.

2: Go under the car so you can unbolt the heatshield and slide it back (you don't have to pull it out). You'll need a small 10mm wrench or small socket wrench to remove the nut that holds that bracket you see at the top left of the OP's photo. Slide the bracket off and set it aside for now.

3: Go back into the car and tilt the lever away from the center console so you can remove the electrical connector on the driver side of the lever assembly. Now you can pull the whole assembly out and be sure to save the rubber grommet that seals the opening.

4: Take your replacement assembly and place it somewhere that you can pull the cable without the lever moving/clicking (you may need to use your feet to hold it down while you pull). Pull the cable out and look for the toothed gear on the left (driver side) that rotates when you do. Pull it until the end passes the slidable spring above it and push that spring down behind it before slowly releasing the cable. That spring will hold it in an extended position so you have enough slack to slot it into the bar with the other two cables. It will automatically release when you pull the lever all the way up later on.

5: Put the rubber grommet back into the opening before feeding the cable through it. Go ahead and reconnect the electrical connector before fully seating the lever assembly on the bolts.

6: Go back under the car and slot the ball into the middle of the bar with the two other cables (my broken ball was still stuck inside so make sure it's clear). Take that bracket from earlier and slide its opening over the cable then slide it back onto the end of the steel cable guide. You can go ahead and fully refasten the bracket.

7: Go into the car and pull the lever to disengage that little spring from earlier. You can now function check the lever by testing for tension. If it's back to normal then you can go ahead and bolt it down and reinstall your trim plus heatshield. You're done!

You don't have to but you can remove the exhaust to create a little more working room. I do get reply notification emails so feel free to reply to this post if you have questions.