Advice requested for adjusting parking brake for rear drums

[warriorwagner]

My parking brake goes all the way up too, but it does stop the car from moving if in drive. I had the dealership inspect the entire car after I bought it two weeks ago and they said the back brakes were good.

I'll try the parking brake "multiple pull trick" tomorrow and see what happens.

This forum rocks.

 

[TheDurk]

Interesting.

I need to do the rear brakes on mine and I noticed that the parking brake doesn't do anything. At first I thought the cable was busted, but when I move it up and down I can hear ticking from the rear wheels, so I do think it's connected.

But there's no resistance at all, and no matter how many times I work it up and down nothing changes. What does that mean? Brakes are completely shot, or the adjuster is busted, or something else?

No way to know over the internet, but a good guess for someone in PA (salt belt) are frozen bellcranks, the little pivot lever on the back of the drum that the cable connects to. Lie under the truck and watch while someone works the handle and see if the cable and the pivot move. If it does move, then you have to pull the drum and see what's what. If it doesn't move but the cable tenses up, search on bellcranks for the fix. If the cable stays slack, then the problem is up the line in the cable.

 

[azcat90]

That's it???

When I have serviced my rear brakes and need to adjust them properly, I sit in the driver seat and move the lever up and down while keeping the thumb button depressed. I listen carefully for the adjuster clicking during each up stroke. When the clicking stops, it's done. When both sides are good, I then check the parking brake lever for correct adjustment. So with both sides and the lever adjusted, it's road test time.

AWESOME... That was the easiest thing ever.

 

[azcat90]

No way to know over the internet, but a good guess for someone in PA (salt belt) are frozen bellcranks, the little pivot lever on the back of the drum that the cable connects to. Lie under the truck and watch while someone works the handle and see if the cable and the pivot move. If it does move, then you have to pull the drum and see what's what. If it doesn't move but the cable tenses up, search on bellcranks for the fix...

That's what mine was - I replaced them and thanks to Techno they are now adjusted and they work...

 

[bch12]

When I have serviced my rear brakes and need to adjust them properly, I sit in the driver seat and move the lever up and down while keeping the thumb button depressed. I listen carefully for the adjuster clicking during each up stroke. When the clicking stops, it's done. When both sides are good, I then check the parking brake lever for correct adjustment. So with both sides and the lever adjusted, it's road test time.

This was the one thing that I of course tried last after hours but thank you so much. Worked perfectly.


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[cchantzis]

Subject: How I changed the "faulty"design/functionality of a Bellcrank into a
non-frozen one

Symptom:
The hand/parking/e - brake mechanism typically freezes/rusts after a
few years of use, especially in areas that are either near the sea or
its roads get heavily salted in the winter.

Root Cause:
The bellcrank's area near the 3/10" x 1.25" (OD x L) Pivot Pin is faulty:
a. There is NOT enough clearance between the bellcrank Arm and
bellcrank Base Block.
b. There is NOT enough clearance between and Pivot Pin and bellcrank Base Block.
c. The original design has NO washers between the bellcrank Arm and
bellcrank Base Block at the Pivot Pin location to reduce
drag/friction.

My Solution:
Note:
*** Please review what is contained in this post and use same at your
OWN risk ***

1. Increased the bellcrank's Base Block opening near the Pivot Pin to
the same as that in its opposite end or around 9 mm using a hand metal
file.
2. Increased the bellcrank Base Block's hole diameter where the Pivot
Pin is located to about 9 mm.
3. Reduced the thickness of the bellcrank Arm near the hole of the
Pivot Pin to be about 4.5 mm using a hand grinder.
4. Made plastic washers from the caps of 1 gallon water bottles: OD =
~ 20 mm, Thickness = 0.026". Also, made its hole for the Pivot Pin to
be about 7 mm. Used two (2) plastic washers per each bellcrank
assembly
5. Painted 2x all surfaces with rust prevention primer.
6. Re-assembled the bellcrank assembly, then applied silicone grease
around the Pivot Pin area.
7. I plan on re-inspecting the bellcrank's area for rust, etc. near
the Pivot Pin every time I would replace the rear brakes and
re-cleaning that area as required with a small screwdriver/pick or the
equivalent and then applying silicone grease again.

Effectiveness Check:
1. Time Zero - Hand/Park/e - brake works properly.
2. 2 yrs from initial fix - Not done yet
3. 10 yrs from initial fix - Not done yet.

Final thought:
When you adjust the already installed brake drums through the backside
"peepslot" ! (it is located inside the top back side of each rear
wheel) with a flat head screw driver, keep in mind that you also must
use another smaller screwdriver to make sure the lockspring does not
prevent you from turning the small teethed wheel either clock or
counterclock- wise for increasing/ decreasing, respectively, the
overall diameter of the drum brakes.

Sorry - I got no photos. Good luck.