E Brake keeps getting stuck

[thegipper]

So the other morning it was zero degree's out and I had my ebrake on. I released the ebrake and went to move and I couldn't. Tried going in reverse/drive/reverse ect and it wouldn't budge.

I had to put it in 4lo to get it to move and finally it released.

Zero signs of axle seal leakage. I'm assuming its the bell cranks that are binding up (or something else with the ebrake).

What weird is yesterday I did not have the ebrake on and when I went in reverse, it bound up again.

I have a weekend long ice fishing trip planned and zero time to disassemble the ebrake for further inspection if it takes awhile.

Can the bell cranks be lubed without taking everything apart. How hard are they to remove and does the drum need to be taken off?

Would a sticking cylinder cause the same issue?

Again, drums are bone dry from everything I can see. I inspected for leakage also a few months ago through the abs hole and it was fine.

One last thing, the ebrake for the last few months would occasionally stick. It would also "pop" loose the second I would give it gas. Only until now does it seem to be really sticking and not wanting to come loose.

Thoughts?

 

[TheDurk]

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/attachments/3rd-gen-t4rs/102497d1384491163-bell-cranks-38092d1231601230-sticking-parking-brake-bellcranks-toyota-truck-park-brake-bellcrank-repair.pdf

You can try pulling the rubber boot from the back and working the pivot and lubing it from there. Would not have worked in my case. To do it right, drums have to come off and so do shoes to access the bolts that hold it on. Above .pdf is very good.

I can't figure how bellcranks are the issue, though, if it locked up without the e-brake being on. I think you need some diagnostic work.

When it is locked up, jack up the rear and see which side is locking up. With e-brake off, try and work the bellcranks from the back of the drum. You can tell if they are frozen. If they both pivot, yet a wheel is locked up, it's another problem. If so. then do whatever you have to do to free it up because you will never pull that drum while it is locked up. Then pull it apart and see what you have.

Odds are you are due for a full service on them anyway.

 

[ajordan1975]

i just don't use my parking brake in the winter.....

 

[rkntoy]

You don't say what kind of weather you are driving in. If there is slush, snow, water combined with low temps you can get that up in your drums and if your drums are not hot enough to burn enough of it off it will freeze your shoes to the drum. Then you have to break them loose when you start out.

 

[tarsun]

you could release the e brake lever in the car while in park and get out of the car and look to see if both cranks are disengaging. when the e brake is "off", the bell cranks should be touching the back of the drums.

i had one that was sticking.

 

[thegipper]

you could release the e brake lever in the car while in park and get out of the car and look to see if both cranks are disengaging. when the e brake is "off", the bell cranks should be touching the back of the drums.

i had one that was sticking.

I'm going to check that when I get home

 

[sockeyesalmon]

take the drum off and do a visual inspection.
wheel cylinder,brake shoe etc.

 

[SodiumFlouride]

take the drum off and do a visual inspection.
wheel cylinder,brake shoe etc.

Two hints I learned for the OP about removing the drums if they're tight, which is to back off the adjuster a few clicks and use two 2-inch long M8x1.25 bolts if they're still too tight to pull off by hand.

From watching the Timmy-the-Toolman rear-brake R&R video, the right-hand rule will tell you which direction to spin the toothed adjuster without error.

Put your right hand in the hitchhiking position and point your thumb horizontally in the direction you want the shoes to go ... toward the rear for loosening the shoes from the drum, or toward the front for tightening the shoes toward the drum. Your four fingers will curl in the direction that the toothed adjuster needs to be spun.

If you still need the bolts, here's a picture of the bolts in action, where I caution you that you may need all two inches, like I did (because I hadn't seen the video beforehand).

 

[thegipper]

I was able to pull the drums off last night to see whats going on. Thankfully, both sides were bone dry so no axle seal leakage.

The passenger side drum came off super easy and the bell crank seemed to move pretty freely. The driver side drum would not come off and I had to use the bolts to push it off.

The drivers side bell crank was a little frozen up. I cleaned everything up and lubed everything the best I could while it was still assembled. I also backed off the adjuster on the drivers side so I could get the drum back on.

I am happy to report that it does not seem to be binding up any more and the parking brake still holds the truck in drive/reverse.

Everything is pretty rusty and worn related to the bell cranks. In spring, I'll plan on just replacing them on both sides.

For now, it appears to fixed. Thanks fellas

 

[JackFromColorado]

After replacing my bell cranks, and adjusting everything; I was still having my parking brake stick. In this thread or another, it was mentioned the cable would not move (but looks completely fine). The joyful part of replacing the cable is that clamp in the middle... I grinded mine, pried mine, destroyed it - with the intention to replace it with a 3inch or 4inch hose clamp around the frame. Once it was in (no clamps or anything in place yet) the parking brake worked flawlessly.

Cheers

 

[I_bRAD]

After replacing my bell cranks, and adjusting everything; I was still having my parking brake stick. In this thread or another, it was mentioned the cable would not move (but looks completely fine). The joyful part of replacing the cable is that clamp in the middle... I grinded mine, pried mine, destroyed it - with the intention to replace it with a 3inch or 4inch hose clamp around the frame. Once it was in (no clamps or anything in place yet) the parking brake worked flawlessly.

Cheers

Which clamp are you referring to? I'm probably going to replace my parking brake cable this weekend, but so far I've only disconnected it from the axle. Are you talking the mount just ahead of the differential?