Parking brake (yes, another one!)

[S33k3r]

Is it possible you have a spot where the cable is binding, but not in sight? Also, could you have a bad pedal? Just grasping at straws...

 

[Larryjb]

The parking brake appears fine for now. I could probably force the pedal down more, but it holds just fine for now.

I think the first time I adjusted the parking brake, the shoes needed to be mated to the drums properly. As soon as I went back to it a couple of days later I was able to get the adjustment much better.

I replaced the entire parking brake mechanism a few years ago, but never got the parking brake adjusted properly. I think I've got it this time.

 

[Larryjb]

Well, the parking brake has worked well until we got a freeze, lows to -13°C for a few nights. I used the parking brake out of habit, and now the mechanism appears to be jammed on the right rear. In the picture you can see that the level has not returned to its completely released position. It has warmed up enough that ice shouldn't be the issue now, so I suspect that something shifted mechanically. Any ideas?

I will be pulling the parking brake shoes off next, and disassembling the adjuster next. I may have to pull the cable right out from the lever and reposition it, but I hope I don't have to go that far.

 

[Fless]

I agree that the lever on yours isn't fully returning.

Mine's an '04 so I don't know if the cables attach in a different orientation, but the few cable hooks I've seen (on the passenger side) hook from the bottom up. That has to do with the bracket orientation on that side. Confirm that the return spring isn't contacting the axle tube; your pic is a bit fuzzy so hard to tell.

If there's no tension on the cable those aren't usually very difficult to pull out of the lever.

Pic of mine:

 

[Fless]

To add, to get the hook out the cable needs to come out of the bracket.

 

[Larryjb]

@Fless thans for that, and the picture.

It seems that the lever that goes through the backing plate may have dislodged from the pill that connects to the adjuster and brake shoe. Perhaps when I last released the parking brake, the shoe didn't return as fast as the cable and that pill got lodged? Anyway, i've got it back together now and working. I lubed the heck out of the lever and inside the adjuster to try to prevent freezing again.

Big dilema now, if I am parked on a slope in the freezing weather do I use the parking brake or not? If you have ever locked your transmission without the parking brake you will know what that headache is like. And don't tell me to just yank harder on the shifter. My wife broke the column shifter doing that once. Even bigger headache!

 

[Larryjb]

To add, to get the hook out the cable needs to come out of the bracket.

Yup. Did that already, but I don't think I set the hook as you described because I'm reading this after I got it put together. But I'll remember to reposition it when I put my all seasons back on.

 

[Larryjb]

Well, the passenger side parking brake froze again. It seems to be a sluggish cable. I exercised the parking brake 20 times and it released finally. I think I replaced the intermediate and DS parking cables. I guess the PS is next.

 

[Fless]

Depending on age and rust, getting that intermediate cable disconnected from the front cable can be a bugger.

 

[Larryjb]

Depending on age and rust, getting that intermediate cable disconnected from the front cable can be a bugger.

I had that fight a few years ago. The passenger rear cable should be fairly easy. I can get it off the lever from the backing plate easily. It will mainly be feeding the cable through to the wheel.

I had trouble with the parking brake freezing a few years ago as well. I don't know why I didn't change out the rear right at the same time. Perhaps I had to fight so much with the intermediate cable, and replacing the rubber grommet through the backing plate was no fun either. I now have te 2-piece backing plates so removing that might make replacing the grommet easier if I choose to replace that.