Update:

I jacked up the rear end again this morning, crawled underneath, and loosened the 13mm center cable adjusting nut by 5 or 6 turns. I then felt the slack in the cables to ensure that there was a sufficient margin, probably between a quarter-inch and a half-inch. Lowered the rear end, fired up the engine, and took a 6-mile test run. Came home, stepped out of the drivers seat and immediately put my hand on the drivers-side rear wheel. Cool to the touch, and so was the passenger-side rear wheel. Thanks again to everyone here who contributed to this thread and schooled me on what to look for and what to do as a result. This forum remains by far the most valuable tool in my toolbox....

And good news regarding Mom. Turns out she was extremely dehydrated from being sick with some sort of stomach bug a few days earlier. The severe dehydration caused her heart to go into a-fib. They pumped her full of IVs in the hospital, stabilized her electrolytes back to where they need to be, and she was released to go back home to her Independent Living facility yesterday afternoon. I advised her to drink something every hour for the next couple of days even if it causes the inconvenience of numerous trips to the bathroom throughout the day. We also asked the on-site nursing staff to check on her more frequently for the next week or so. Lesson learned: If you have elderly / feeble parents, make sure they drink a little something throughout the day, especially when they are sick....

I truly appreciate the concern expressed here on the forum - I told Mom that she had get-well wishes from all over the world. I think that made her feel better as much as the IVs did....

 

Jon,

Glad to hear everything is well again.

If you really want to test the e Brake now, here’s what I did. On a straight CLEAR road, no-one around front and rear, do about 30mph and then pull hard on the e Brake with no pedal. The car should stop in a straight line. If not, you’ll need to do another adjustment as the RHS and LHS brake drums are not engaging equally.

Admittedly this is a bit over kill... but hell we own a X100 so we must be a bit nutty. Also if you really need to do this, in the real world, you’re in a whole lot of pain already. Uneven mechanical braking would probably the least of your worries. LOL!

 

David,

While I appreciate your suggestion, I do not want to put that much stress on the e-brake system. I just want to keep it in sufficient adjustment to be able to pass the mandatory annual state safety inspection....