(hand brake not catching

[cory marcus]

My hand brake is not catching. When I pull up doesnt catch and nothing happens

[ctaylor738]

Referencing the attached diagram.  The Pawl #347 and Toothed Element #353 engage and click when you pull the lever up, and release when you push the button.  What is probably happening is that the Pawl is stuck in the released position and not catching on the teeth of the Element, probably because really old grease is is causing it to stick.

The fix is to disconnect the cable by screwing the adjuster all the way out, remove the lever, dismantle the Pawl and Toothed Element, and clean and re-grease them.  NOTE:  the pivot bolt is left hand thread, so it's Rigthy-Loosey, Lefty-Tighty!

There is a small chance that the teeth have worn off the Pawl or Element.  This is what happened on my 230sl.

Good luck,

CT

[ctaylor738]

Also a possibility that the mechanism is so far out of adjustment that the teeth on the Pawl will not engage.  If so, you can remove slack by turning the adjustment wheel.

CT

[Benz Dr.]

Short cable could be broken. They rust to the point of separation.

[Cees Klumper]

cory markus (OP) asked this question also back in January but didn't follow up and apparently is still struggling with this issue. I hope the advice here will help resolve it.

BTW I never use the hand brake, with the 'P' function of the automatic transmission doing a very adequate job for me.