Like many, my parking brake would not hold the car. The handle would pull all the way up with little resistance.

New rear calipers, pads, rotors. Fairly new brake cables - OE right rear was sticking so I replaced all three. The plastic piece that holds the front cable to the adjuster did break previously; the handle is a replacement and the mechanism in good condition.

I spent hours tonight knocking a big hole in the wall with my head trying to figure it out - studied the FSM cartoon, searched every corvette board I could find, google, bing, etc. The searches turned up lots of results with similar problems but no one ever followed up with solutions. I figured I'd post up my solution hoping to spare someone else some grief.

I finally retrieved the old set of cables I had kept lying around. Compared the length of the original rear cables left and right, both the same length. Compared an original rear cable to the rear replacements I installed - same length. Next, I removed the replacement front cable from the car and compared it to the old, stock cable. Different lengths!!!

I assumed.....



Since the OE front cable was still operational, I put it back on the car. Parking brake works great.

I don't recall which Corvette vendor I purchased the cables from - either Ecklers or Midamerica - and it probably doesn't matter. This is not, and should not be taken as, a slam against either vendor. I've had great luck and service from both. Ecklers in particular over-nighted a part I was in dire need of that got me out of a tight spot. I'd suspect both source the part from the same manufacturer. The message is, no matter the source, be sure to check your replacements against the OE to make sure they are the correct length before you install them.

Good catch! I bet this has tripped up many guys who just left it rather than diagnosing it more in depth.

Matthew

Most of the time the part we are taking off is either shredded, mangled or just generally useless to compare. You were lucky you had the old one still. Aftermarket parts just dont seem to fit right no matter who you get them from. Almost always it will take some work to get the new one in place and function properly. Thats one of the biggest problems with our 15+ year old cars is the OEM stuff is drying up and when you find it, the price will eat you up.