320 Rear drums - now no e-brake?

[Mike87]

I did the hard part, removed the hubs, stock brakes and installed the new rear kit (250mm drum) from Ireland. No problem so far, but when I went to put the drum on, I had to slacken the e-brake cable so far that it dropped out of the adjuster inside the car. Did I do something wrong or am I missing a step? It seems that the cable is just too short.

The cable ends have not been cut, they are stock length. Will this fit or do I need to get new cables from a donor 320? Anyone ever run into this problem before?

Thanks,

Mike

[Guest Anonymous]

Generally the stock cable will fit as they have been stretched over time. If they are still short you will need to get a set of cables for an 02 turbo as they are longer in stock form. I did the turbo cables on my car with no problems.

[winstontj]

Put the nuts on the e-brake cables like two threads worth, so they won't drop in but so they are not tight. Grind down your E21 shoes a little bit with an angle grinder or cutting tool. Look at how the cable attaches to the shoe (brake) and understand the loads before you start grinding away. It will be tight until things break in but usually you can make it work. Just don't grind off too much or it will be a real saftey issue. Adjust your drums and then your parking brake. You probably will be somewhat short of the ideal 4-clicks but you'll have better stopping.

HTH,

TJW

[ClayW]

http://www.autohausaz.com/search/productx.aspx?gkw=BMW+2002+Turbo+Parking+Brake+Cable&gad=CPvVo5gCEgiM5kBgtQXq4Rjtn_T8AyCXvNMT&makeid=800003@BMW&modelid=1010800@2002%20Turbo&year=1974&cid=14@Brake%20&%20Wheel%20Hub&gid=1696@Parking%20Brake%20Cable

https://www.rockauto.com/dbphp/mak,BMW,1974

I seem to remember paying more for them, but either way, the Turbo brake cables are the way to go. Turbo cars came with the same 250mm rear brakes that BMW later put on the 320i cars. Mine went in easily (except for wrestling the old cables loose from rust - use a small torch), with NO fabrication.

It might help to get a new set of brake shoes if you haven't already. My car's PO (or the guy he paid to do it) did a really shitty job installing them and bent the hardware all to shit. One side didn't even have the rusty parking brake cable attached! Though the shoes had plenty of meat on them, they didn't work with the brake cables until I got new shoes.

Good luck!

[Mike87]

Thanks for the info. I wish this info was in the FAQ! All it says in there is that you have to loosen the cables, nothing about them being too short! An update would be nice!

Thanks again,

Mike

PS. All the parts used in this conversion are new! I will not cut new pads to fit.

I will probably have to get the Turbo cables and be done with it.

[jmiller]

One way to go is to cut the tubes where they come out of the body. I just did the upgrade to my car, using a kit from Aardvarc, and his advice was to cut 1 cm. from the end of the tubes. I did exactly that and the fit is perfect. PURFECTO!

It saves the trouble of looking for turbo cables, but then the car would be pretty much stuck with the big drum conversion forever. Not a problem for me, because I think these are the brakes that the car should have come with originally.

Jeff