Bonehead careless me....

[RiverRat37]

I just drove home from my daughter's cheer practice 3.6 miles with my damn emergency brake on. I just put new rear shoes on both sides when I did my axle seals 2 months ago. When driving my arm blocked the brake light being on and didn't see it. You think I may have hurt anything badly? Thanks in advance...

 

[broncosi]

im not 100% but i think it would just wear them a little to the point of having to pull your e-brake back up a little higher. How tight was it on? you can always try and tighten the e-brake cable until you replace the shoes again which may be never. If you drive an automatic, why are you using your e-brake anyways?

 

[RiverRat37]

I've just always been in the habit of using it to keep pressure off the transmission... thanks for your reply

 

[Gerdo]

It probably wasn't on that tight if you could still drive. They probably got hot but not too bad. The "damage" was probably done when you got home and left the brake on. This can cause the shoes to transfer excessive material to the drums. (brakes work when the brake material is transferred to the drums/rotors) This excess material can be sanded off to minimize a pulsing and grabbing.

My rear brakes get tight when wheeling (mine is a manual and I use the hand brake to help on obstacles) I have driven from trails and when applying the brakes it would pulse like crazy. Mine was due to the drums being hot, so hot that I could smell them. Once I loosen the shoes, it brakes fine. I have sanded my drums to remove the glazing from the heat. They are still fine.

IF you really roasted, which you should have noticed that the vehicle didn't want to move, you could cause the shoes to crack and/or de-laminate from the steel backings.

 

[Baja Runner]

I'm sure you're fine. Guaranteed there are at least 10 million women driving with theirs engaged right as we speak. :biggrin2:

 

[Gerdo]

im not 100% but i think it would just wear them a little to the point of having to pull your e-brake back up a little higher. How tight was it on? you can always try and tighten the e-brake cable until you replace the shoes again which may be never. If you drive an automatic, why are you using your e-brake anyways?

DON'T adjust the cable. The brakes will adjust themselves (by using the hand brake) IF they wore at all.

"If you drive an automatic, why are you using your e-brake anyways?"
Don't get me started! Too Late!!!
Why?
*Because it keeps the rear brakes properly adjusted.
*And the big one. You would think that since the trans is locking the driveshaft from spinning you might think that the vehicle can't roll. Wrong! Because the rear diff is open, if one tire is on something slick like ice, the tire on ice will spin backward as the tire on on the dry will roll without resistance and the vehicle will roll downhill with ease. I have seen this happen a few times. Once in my driveway and into the street and another about 1/4 mile down the road and into a ditch.

USE YOUR PARKING BRAKE!

 

[cfranck1]

If you drive an automatic, why are you using your e-brake anyways?

The "parking pawl" in the transmission should "Never" be your sole means of making sure the vehicle is secure..

Just look at the picture, I'm sure you wouldn't like to trust "just the Pawl" in the slot of the cog to hold your vehicle. I know they do hold, but having pulled that ebrake before you put it into park is the correct thing to do. Even in the owners manual says to when parking on a hill, pull the ebrake first then put into park. So almost all the stress is on the rear brakes.

To get back to the OPer, you should be ok, it was only 3-4 miles. It's not like you took it on a 100 mile trip on the highway.

 

[TheDurk]

When theDurk, Jr. passed his written driver test about ten years ago, I let him drive home from the DMV. It was a good ten miles before I realized E-brake was on. I had to change shoes AND drums due to glazing and pulsing. It had another twenty miles to cool down so it was not due to transfer by being stopped when really hot. It still smelled when we got it home.

A great first ten miles in a driving career. He has done better since. Obviously, I was the one to blame here...I didn't even chew him out.

 

[RiverRat37]

Thanks guys

 

[Mellow77]

It may not be of much comfort but given how incredibly weak the rear drums get on these over time I'm guessing you really didn't hurt it at all. I had to completely rebuild mind after 115k miles left them rusted in the resting position so they wouldn't engage at all. Now that I've done so they work just fine but they aren't exactly "strong".

As previously mentioned, if they were engaged enough to cause damage you likely would've felt the drag while driving.

 

[broncosi]

It may not be of much comfort but given how incredibly weak the rear drums get on these over time I'm guessing you really didn't hurt it at all.

That's what I was thinking. My e-brake is too weak to do much at all. Everytime I have set it, I feel my tranny lock anyways. I rarely park on steep enough hills that I need to engage my e-brake.