Parking Brake Adjustment advice?

gman72

gman72

New member
I've been 5 years without a decent parking brake, wouldn't hold whatsoever. It was brake time anyway so I just installed new rotors in the rear, new pads and new parking brake shoes.

Adjusted the parking brake per the Toyota procedure (tighten via the screwdriver/adjuster hole in the rotor) 'til it holds, then back off a bit 'til wheel spins freely. Well, it didn't do much, pedal still easily went to the floor. So I took out the center console and adjusted the cable. Pedal is much more stiff now and seems within the 5-7 click specs or so ... but it just seems to me that the brake is still very weak.

i.e. If I put the truck in gear it just rolls away with the brake on, I would think the parking brake should be able to hold at idle no? Anybody else with a V-8 can test theirs and let me know?
 
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If I put mine in gear, it would go with it on. I have tested it on a big hill, in neutral, and it held just fine, meaning it wouldn't budge at all.
 
Dominic said:
If I put mine in gear, it would go with it on. I have tested it on a big hill, in neutral, and it held just fine, meaning it wouldn't budge at all.
Click to expand...

I just had mine adjusted at the dealer, it's so strong that I really have to give it some gas if I want to move with it engaged.
 
Unless they are all the way adjusted and you still can't get it to hold, then maybe the cables were stretched and you would have to adjust the cables. Not very common though
 
Thanks guys. I'll try just adjusting at the rotor a bit more. Tested a bit ago on a slight incline / driveway and it didn't hold much at all. I have the center console apart and nuts adjusted as far as they can go with the cable. I checked all cables and everything seems fine, would sure like to have at least some parking brake. Only thing I haven't replaced is the cables themselves, but they look good as new to me.... On a ~10deg driveway I'd think the truck shouldn't roll any.
 
Here's what I did:

I pulled the rear brake calipers off, and removed the drums. This will allow you to spray everything with brake cleaner and clean up the inside of the drums and visually inspect everything. It only takes 30 minutes to do both sides.

Then you can very easily adjust the shoes until the drums fit snug going back on. Like Lobsta said...they'll wear in.

Then bolt everything back up and it works great for a long time to come. No adjustment needed to the cables (in most cases).

If you want, everytime you do your tire rotation you can follow this method while the rear tires are off.
 
i've never noticed the park brake ever holding the vehicle since i bought it new in 2004... i did ask the dealer to adjust it when i was getting the cat replaced under warranty but didn't notice any change after they did. you have a link to the doc showing how to adjust the cable in the center console?
 
My 2003 parking brake is a joke. I've never tested it on a hill, but I normally put it all the way to the floor (way more clicks than 5-7) when I have my car on jacks and one time I forgot to release it when I drove it around the block. I couldn't even feel the brake on until I noticed the dash light was on.

I need to adjust it, but many other higher priority projects on the agenda.
 
V8Limited4wd said:
i've never noticed the park brake ever holding the vehicle since i bought it new in 2004... i did ask the dealer to adjust it when i was getting the cat replaced under warranty but didn't notice any change after they did. you have a link to the doc showing how to adjust the cable in the center console?
Click to expand...

Sure, here's pics from the service manual. You have to remove the whole center console to get in there and be able to get wrenches on the adjustment screws, but it doesn't take that long..... Plus you get to find all your spilled coins and French fries once removed :)
 

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Someone else mentioned removing the caliper -- if you don't want to do this for whatever reason, use a C-clamp or large screwdriver to compress both calipers, allowing the wheel to spin freely.

My parking brake was pretty useless as well -- I don't think it was ever adjusted since new. When I adjusted mine, I turned the clickwheel just until I could not spin the drum/rotor with my hand. Then I backed it off one click at a time, I think it was 3-4 clicks, until it spun with no "drag" noise. Set & release the brake and give it another spin to make sure. Repeat for the other side.

I did this about a month ago and the brake is working quite well. My driveway is on a rather steep incline and there have been no complaints.
 
gman72 said:
Sure, here's pics from the service manual. You have to remove the whole center console to get in there and be able to get wrenches on the adjustment screws, but it doesn't take that long..... Plus you get to find all your spilled coins and French fries once removed :)
Click to expand...


Now how to remove complete center console
 
asanelli said:
Now how to remove complete center console
Click to expand...

do the star adjuster at the rear brake first. with the parking brake off, adjust till the rotor dont move, then back off a few clicks like 4 or 5, now the parking brake should be good. you have to do it a few times, after the adjust, try the pedal and make sure its good.
 
It seems like a rather stupid design if you have to take off wheels to adjust parking brake and the put them back on to try again. I’d imagine the screw adjuster under the console is an easier trail and error process plus likely better fine tuning.
 
I'm gonna give that a shot when I do my front brakes and bleed all of them. I replaced my rotor and disc pads a few months ago (shoes looked like new). My e-brake seems to just barely hold at all.

I think I backed mine off 8 notches as was indicated in the manual. I'll have to re-adjust and see how it goes.
 
Mine's never worked enough to use. Dealer and I have been not successul in fixing it. Some things are not worth the effort.
 
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