I rerouted my e-brake cables as part of my lift install and now I can't pull enough slack out of the cable housing to reattach the cables to the brake. I pulled the console apart and it's clear that there is some kind of slack cable take-up mechanism on the drum that the cable wraps around. Anyone know how to release the take-up mechanism?

 

There is adjustment in the drum itself. Inside the rotor, I don't know about any others personally..

 

I'm talking about the automatic adjuster that's a part of the actual e-brake handle. If you remove the console there is a mechanism that takes up any cable slack as the cables stretch (and the shoes wear, I assume). There are 2 wound springs, one on each side of the grooved wheel that the cable rides in, one of which is the tensioner for the handle and the other winds the e-brake cable around the grooved wheel as the cables stretch. What I need to know is how to release the ratchet mechanism inside the handle that keeps the cable tight.

 

Well I figured it out myself after a looking at it in the daylight. On the left side of the lever arm is a black coiled spring that has a straight tail sticking straight down from the coil. All you have to do is push that tail towards the front of the Jeep and the ratchet mechanism releases the cable. The "release tail" can be accessed without dismantling the console by using a coat hanger with a small hook on the end. Lift the brake lever a few clicks and look through the hole where lever normally sits and you can see the black tail of the spring sticking down. Just hook it with the hanger and lightly pull forward to release the cable. At the same time you're pulling the release, someone needs to pull the slack out of the cables at the brake end and hook them up properly. I suppose you could do it by yourself using some tape to hold the hanger to the brake lever. When everything is hooked up properly just release the spring tail and pull up on and release the e-brake lever a couple of times and you can feel the cable self adjust.
The best way to avoid all of this is to only release and reroute one e-brake cable at a time from the brake calipers.

 

Pics would be great for posterity.