1980 CJ-5 Emergency Brake Assembly

[LIVELY5R]

In doing my brakes today, I also tried to adjust the e brake. I can press down on the E brake pedal and if I keep it pressed down, it'll hold the brakes fine. However, if I press down on the Ebrake pedal and let off of my foot, the pedal pops back out half way & the brake no longer holds. When I press down on the e brake pedal you can hear it ratchet down but when I take my foot off, it pops up half way.
I saw where they sell new E brake assemblies but I was hoping there might be a quicker/cheaper fix. In looking up parts, am I correct to assume any 70-93 e brake assembly will work if I can find one in a junkyard that'll hold?
Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Hedgehog]

I would pull the old one first and find out what's wrong with the mechanism. Most of those parts are stamped metal. It might be nothing more than a little rust or some dirt keeping the pawl from catching the teeth properly.

To be proper, no I don't believe that all the pedals are the same...

 

[LIVELY5R]

My friend who is helping me (he actually does all the mechanical stuff while I watch & learn) said we'll try taking it apart &'cleaning it this weekend. I'll keep you posted how it goes, thank you!