E brake with disc brakes

bigred · Sep 12, 2023

Can anyone actually lock up your rear wheels using the e brake? Mine will hold it to an extent on a incline but I've never had one with disc brakes that would stop it or lock the wheels up in an emergency.
My cables are fine as I had no problem pulling them out some when I put new calipers on. My handle goes up about a third of the way.
Thanks for any input!

ttocs · Sep 12, 2023

yes you should be able to lock up the brakes. Sounds like your handle might not be getting up far enough. If you have checked the cables then I would look at the handle and see if anything is limiting its movement.

Mustang5L5 · Sep 15, 2023

I purchased a 2003 GT brand new, and from day 1 it would never lock up the rear brakes if i pulled it from a roll. As a 20-something i tried. Now, it would hold the car fast on very steep inclines, as I used to park on steep grades and sometimes forget to put it in gear as well. But it you pulled the handle up at 20MPH the car would just slow down.

My foxbody has Cobra disk brakes. Even on a lighter chassis with more leverage due to the cobra brake disk, it won't lock them. It will slow the car down significantly however and hold on steep grades. Works very well as a parking brake however, which is all i really care about. A couple clicks up and it holds on any grade.

My 2000 GT that i have now will not lock them. Same as the others, will do great at holding on a steep grade.

bigred · Sep 15, 2023

ttocs said:
yes you should be able to lock up the brakes. Sounds like your handle might not be getting up far enough. If you have checked the cables then I would look at the handle and see if anything is limiting its movement.

Handle seems fine. I can pull it up a little farther but don't like to pull it to hard. Cables move fine and have been checked.

bigred · Sep 15, 2023

Mustang5L5 said:
I purchased a 2003 GT brand new, and from day 1 it would never lock up the rear brakes if i pulled it from a roll. As a 20-something i tried. Now, it would hold the car fast on very steep inclines, as I used to park on steep grades and sometimes forget to put it in gear as well. But it you pulled the handle up at 20MPH the car would just slow down.

My foxbody has Cobra disk brakes. Even on a lighter chassis with more leverage due to the cobra brake disk, it won't lock them. It will slow the car down significantly however and hold on steep grades. Works very well as a parking brake however, which is all i really care about. A couple clicks up and it holds on any grade.

My 2000 GT that i have now will not lock them. Same as the others, will do great at holding on a steep grade.

Same with mine. It will slow it down but not stop it when moving, got me.

Mustang5L5 · Sep 15, 2023

bigred said:
Same with mine. It will slow it down but not stop it when moving, got me.

I think that's all it should do normally. Some folks might be able to lock it (especially dependant on tires, brake materials/etc) but it's primary function was to just be a parking brake not a drift brake. Can it hold you on a 45* incline? Yes? Then it's working.

Most, if not all, drift brake type setups are hydraulic, which is why folk grab those dual caliper bracket setups and mount another set of SN95 or taurus 43mm calipers and connect to a hydraulic handle. Service brake operates one caliper and the handbrake does the other.

I don't know how the new '24 Mustang does it's drift brake. I can find out how it works, but nothing on the engineering of it yet.

bigred · Sep 15, 2023

Well then I guess they're working fine. Just don't like it if my brakes ever went out I wouldn't be able to stop fast, slow down yes. Have all new lines etc so it shouldn't be a problem but you never know. Anything I've ever owned with rear discs never would lock up the wheels, drum brakes yes.
Thanks!

ttocs · Sep 15, 2023

are ya taking your foot off of the gas when you pull up on the brake? Are we wanting to drift or just keep it stopped on a hill? I can't tell what we are going for here.

bigred · Sep 15, 2023

Duh yes I'm taking my foot off the gas, not drifting it will hold it on a incline. For just in case my brakes went out . It wouldn't stop it, slow it down some but not stop it.
Sorry for the duh but couldn't believe someone would ask that. Been driving for 58 years!

ttocs · Sep 15, 2023

I can only think of a couple of times I have ever pulled any parking brake while driving but it was on snow playing and obviously not in a mustang. I have never had a problem with it holding on a hill so I am not sure if I am helping or not

.

bigred · Sep 15, 2023

No really me neither, but playing in the snow yes but not with this car. Have worked on cars, trucks and motorcycles for as long as I've driven and still do.
Never did figure out the cruise but use to not having it by now, no big deal!

ttocs · Sep 15, 2023

I have only tried the parking brake while driving off of snow one time. Well I will say I was driving a car that the parking brake was pulled on, I did not pull it. One of the audio shops I worked at 20+yrs ago had an off-site install bay just around the corner we had to drive the customers car to. One time while driving a celica over the other installer who was a bit of a loose cannon to say the least pulled it up on me without telling me anything. It was in a celica/front wheel drive so the back wheels did start to lock up/squeel and I was about to flip out when he released it and started laughing his ass off. I wasn't happy about it even after he said he had talked to the guy and knew him and that he was trading this car in right after we swapped the decks out. He was just getting even with me for all the times I had him hiding behind the wood sheet holder as I shot the staples across the shop at him. Ah the good old days.

bigred · Sep 15, 2023

ttocs said:
I have only tried the parking brake while driving off of snow one time. Well I will say I was driving a car that the parking brake was pulled on, I did not pull it. One of the audio shops I worked at 20+yrs ago had an off-site install bay just around the corner we had to drive the customers car to. One time while driving a celica over the other installer who was a bit of a loose cannon to say the least pulled it up on me without telling me anything. It was in a celica/front wheel drive so the back wheels did start to lock up/squeel and I was about to flip out when he released it and started laughing his ass off. I wasn't happy about it even after he said he had talked to the guy and knew him and that he was trading this car in right after we swapped the decks out. He was just getting even with me for all the times I had him hiding behind the wood sheet holder as I shot the staples across the shop at him. Ah the good old days.

You got that right..lol The good old days!! Sure wish I had some of the vehicles I've owned over the years now, but you don't think about that at the time.

Mustang5L5 · Sep 15, 2023

Just tried it on my '00. 20MPH. Pull up hard and it just slows the car down to a stop at a leisurely pace. Nothing exciting.

bigred · Sep 15, 2023

Sounds familiar!

ttocs · Sep 15, 2023

I would think that is how they would want it to be in case yer kid or that jackass coworker decides to mess with you and pull it up one day while your driving. I know I was amazed at what it did the first time we tried it on snow now I can only imagine that happening to me because of the person next to me being curious for the first time.