2000 S70 Parking Brake Cable Anchors

[tjmartin317]

Hi All!

My 2000 S70 has had a barely functioning parking brake since I bought it. Its a 340k mile heap, but I'm planning on taking it to Vermont in a few weeks. So, because I'd like to not worry about any hilly parking in a reasonably hilly place, I have all the bits and bobs necessary to complete the job... but there are some oddities in the cabin.

IMG_7234.JPG (422.48 KiB) Viewed 283 times

IMG_7235.JPG (292.9 KiB) Viewed 283 times

For starters, yes, there's some kind of fluid on the driver's side. No clue what it is. It corroded the coins that somehow found their way under the carpet, but I'm not terribly concerned about that. The three parking brake anchors were detached from the cable when I pulled the carpet. I clipped them back together and pulled the lever to see if that would magically fix my problem, and it did not (wah waaah). But I do have dumb questions about them such as, is there really two on the driver's side and only one on the passenger's side? Also, if they popped off in the first place, does that mean they need to be replaced? I'm less worried about cost and more about getting them from my dealer in a reasonable amount of time, because while the trip isn't until the 23rd, I really only have until next Monday the 19th to get this done.

Anything else I should be wary of as I dig around and replace my parking brake systems? Robert DIY's video will be gospel as I go about fixing this, but any advice or help I can get would be much appreciated as I tackle this bit by bit in the coming days.

[scot850]

I've just replaced a cable on an 850 sedan last week. Robert's video is a good guide.

The fluid is likely coolant from a leaking heater core that eventually runs to the back footwell. Does it have a kind of greasy/oily feel to it?
That is what I found on the 850. It apparently had a leaking heater core which has recently been replaced but clearly no one bothered to clean up the floor in the rear. Hopefully it is not leaking again (I'll check on the next visit).

First thing. Soak the T30 Torx screw that holds the cable to the bracket just forward of the rear wheel by the jacking point with a good quality penetrating oil like Kroil, PB Blaster or the like (just not WD-40). Those bolts are NLA. They have a screw thread and not a bolt thread. Soaking them a couple of times the day before may well help them break loose. I had to use a stubby 1/4" T30 socked and a long1/4" ratchet wrench to break it loose. But before doing that I used a pick to try to remove as much of the crap/rust out of the T30 hole to try to get the best it from my socket.

The 2nd thin I did is disassemble the parking brakes, and having removed the center console, removed the cable end at the parking brake end. This allows you to try to pull the cable out enough to remove the expander from the wheel end. If you can't you may have to cut the cable near the rear wheel to be able to pull the cable out of the rear hub enough to remove the expander.

Finally soak the inside of the cable end plastic boot at the rear hub from both sides and again allow it to ferment for a while before trying to remove the cable end from the outside of the hub.

If your car is like the 850 and it has the plastic white or gray splash shield behind the dust shield, I recommend drilling out the rivet and removing it. That will give you a lot more room to get a pair of channel locks onto the cable end plastic cone to be able to rotate is and try to wiggle it out of the hub. It may fight you but all that is keeping it in place is rust and a rubber 'O'-ring which is in a channel just inside the hub.

Once the cable is out of the hub and car, I used a metal scraper and a narrow wire brush attachment on a drill to clean and remove the brake dust and rust from the hub channel.

As to the 3 cable lock downs, are there 3 metal stubs for them to fit onto? If the coolant has been in there a while it may have eaten the threaded subs they sit on so the clips can't stay tight. You may then need new ones. They may well have come off when someone was wrenching on the parking brake lever and the cable was seized which popped them off.

I think you will likely find the parking brake cable is seized just behind the bracket with the T30 bolt and the outer cable has broken and sometimes the inner one can too.

Neil.

[tjmartin317]

First of, what an excellent slew of information, thank you for the great response!

The heater core is a damn good guess, as I think I've been fighting a slow leak with it for a while. I actually already have it exposed (panels removed) and almost replaced it a while ago, but it didn't warrant enough concern so I never followed through. May do that at some point, an Autozone replacement was cheap enough.

Are you saying you pulled your cable through the interior and towards the front of the car? Because, if memory serves, the video suggested pushing the cable out the back through that little hole under the seats.

I do know some bits are riveted on, which I actually forgot about and don't have the proper tools to remove or reinstall. One more stop to wally world or harbor freight will take care of that.

As for the anchors, are you saying I need the new threaded supports, or are you saying I need the clips? It looked like the subs were part of the floor. This a problem some loctite could fix?

[wizechatmgr]

If it's anything like the V70 I did my cables on, you really need to rivet the parking brake cable to the control arm or they'll rub on the tire until one or the other goes. If there is already a rivet there, drill it out to remove it.

I snaked my cables into the passenger compartment from the outside. I don't think this can really be done any other way unless you have extra time and want to fart around with it.

The really "fun" part is getting everything adjusted properly again.

[scot850]

Sorry, I was not clear. I did pull the cable out through the hole in the floor as you mention.

You are also correct the threaded stubs on the rear floor are welded to the floor. The corrosion may have reduced their threaded effectiveness, but only you may see that. If they have been pulled off by applying the parking brake with a frozen cable they may no longer grip as the clips are only plastic and hold in place by a plastic internal barb system. You can try re-fitting then and trying to carefully pry then off again and see if they resist. If they do not grip you may want to replace them.

To remove the rivets just use a drill bit larger than the width of the rivet shaft. It will remove the head allowing removal.

You will need a rivet gun as wizechatmgr mentioned to re-install the rivet on the trailing arm. Chances are it and the plastic loop tieback are broken and long gone. You need to wire brush or sand the face of the trailing arm to find the outline of the old rivet and either drill it out or use a punch. I can't recall the drill size or rivet size I used. The rivets are just wide head aluminum and maybe 4mm shafts or whatever the imperial measurement equivalent is. If you are going to Harbor Freight, see if they have any of those metal cable hold down loops with the rubber or plastic liner. If not I have used white plastic cable loops from the like of Home Depot.

Neil.

[tjmartin317]

If it's anything like the V70 I did my cables on, you really need to rivet the parking brake cable to the control arm or they'll rub on the tire until one or the other goes.

Well, here's the good news, the rivets are already removed! As they were never there in the first place! The holes are there, but no rivets or brackets. All has been ordered from my local Volvo dealer, so that will get replaced.

[scot850]

They may have been there but the rivets are aluminum and corrode away to nothing. The plastic hoop that the rivet goes through also cracks and falls off as the plastic ages.

Good luck!

Neil.