Intro and Parking Brake Assembly

[rchamart]

Hi Guys ! Just picked up a beautiful 98 GTS' 18K miles on Saturday, Viper Red, pics included of course. Unfortunately a couple hours after picking up, I pulled the parking brake and heard a twang. After that when I pulled the parking brake, the light would come up on the light pod, but it was like pulling a handle with no weight.

Long story short took it to a local dealer i'd seen Vipers at. They told me that I needed a entire new parking brake lever and assembly. I wanted to ask where you guys would recommend sourcing this part from. For the life of me I cannot seem to find it.

The runs like a top, and for now parking it in gear is working like a charm but i'd prefer to get this fixed. The dealer said they'd put the part in if I could find it. Thanks once again.

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[TexasViper35]

eBay. There are several Viper dismantlers on that site that are good for impossible to find bits. But there are at least two Viper parts specialists with websites to source new but discontinued parts, Google and you’ll find them.

I’m not sure about your car, but the Gen III has that brake but it’s not truly a ‘parking’ brake. I used to use it all the time but then learned what it’s true purpose was and that the tiny pads get worn down from using it as a parking brake so I stopped; it takes a while to break the habit. 1st gear is perfectly fine, the Reverse gear locks so that’s even better on an incline I suppose.

 

[ViperJeff]

Viperpartsrack.com would be the best place to start, if JonB doesn’t have one, he will know who does

Don Scharf Automotive is also a good place to start

 

[DJ'sviper]

ON MY GEN 1 SOMETIMES THE parking brake would go up all the way with no resistance. When I put it back down and gave it a couple of short pulls the racket catches and it works fine. Don't hang it. Try some short pulls first and it might adjust itself.

 

[InTheZoneAC]

May I ask how much you paid? Private or dealer?

If you cant find an exact replacement cable I'm sure you can have a shop fabricate one.

 

[NVViperTech]

If you are mechanically inclined you can remove the parking brake lever assembly. There is a spring-loaded locking lever, on the bottom, that becomes seized. It can cause cause the issue you described. Check that first before you replace the parking brake lever assembly.
Phil

 

[2002-GTS-FINAL-ED]

great looking car!

 

[Alex Naismith]

Hello when I bought my 2001 rt/10 it had the same issue. I would pull the handle all the way up and no pressure. All I did to fix it is remove the dust boot from the center council. Once inside, there is a locking lever that just needed a drop of oil. After that it started working like normal. This was 2 years ago and no issue since.

 

[Sennahnamrecken]

I never use a parking brake. With my automatic cars, I use "P" and with my Viper I use the 1. gear or reverse.
My experience with older cars is, that parking brakes are always problematic.

 

[GA- Viper]

Hello when I bought my 2001 rt/10 it had the same issue. I would pull the handle all the way up and no pressure. All I did to fix it is remove the dust boot from the center council. Once inside, there is a locking lever that just needed a drop of oil. After that it started working like normal. This was 2 years ago and no issue since.

Sorry to the original poster and don’t mean to hijack his thread.
But I’ve had the same issue without realizing it as Alex. Five minute fix. With most of that re shaping the thin metal boot cover to fit back securely. FYI when removing the boot cover push in from the sides, not the top or bottom to avoid bending the metal frame.

 

[rchamart]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I paid 45K for the car, its a CA car, and for being this clean I thought it was a fair deal. Also the dealer I bought it from is covering the repair so i'm having a dealer put in a new ebrake handle / lever, I actually found the part brand new NOS from https://www.viperpartsusa.com/ can't recommend high enough.

Got the car just a couple weeks ago, and only got to drive it a couple times before dropping it off last week. Should be picking it up sometime between Today and Saturday, can't wait to get back in the saddle again. I can't agree enough with Sennahnamrecken enough though, I think i'm going to just test the ebrake once and just keep parking it in gear.

 

[Banshee]

I just purchased a 2000 RT/10 with 2400 miles. The other day I ran into the same issue. I pulled on the parking brake quickly and it just gave way. Fortunately after I put it back down it begin working again.

I'm not happy about the idea of just using reverse as a brake. For instance if I'm in my driveway, there is no way to leave the car running if I need to get out for a moment.

Has anyone come up with another solution, if say there are no more wrecked Vipers to salvage from?

 

[Banshee]

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