Sticky E-brake..
- Thread starter eric70412
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
TheDurk
Elite Member
I had this, too. They are called bellcranks. Mine (passenger side) froze in the off position. I took the opportunity to rebuild both the whole rear brakes (no new parts, just break it down, clean, lube and adjust. Had to put the bellcrank to the bench grinder with wire wheel on it.
Now e-brake works great and regular braking is much improved. Only 50% wear on the original shoes over 130K leads me to believe the rears weren't doing their share, even though the original front pads went 90K.
LINY4Runner
New member
exactly.
If you don't use the e-brake frequently, the bellcranks freeze up. If you look at the back of your drum, you'll see a lever that the e-brake cable runs to. That's your bellcrank.
It requires taking apart the rear brakes to fix. Disassemble the bellcrank and hit it with a wire wheel or sanding disc to cean it up and grease the sh!t out of it. Reinstall, adjust rear brakes and you're good to go!
4runsport
New member
I had this problem as well but it actually turned out to be the rear axle seals leaking into the passenger side drum. The fluid was causing the brake to stick to the inside of the drum especially overnight. In the morning it was a ***** to get the truck unstuck until I fixed the problem. :dammit:
eric70412
New member
PB Blaster??
When I bought it I drove it through the back alley and I tried the brake there and it stuck pretty good on me. Told the dealer that and he took it too his mechanic right then and there and was back in a 45min. Well they got it unstuck and lubed it up. He said that all they did was take some pb blaster with a lil red straw and spray through that lil rubber boot on that Bellcrank and then I guess they worked it back and fourth or something. I was thinking about just trying to do that myself. Do you think there would be a chance of spraying that blaster onto the drum and brake pads by spraying it through there? I dont want no over spray to get on the drum by accident!!
Do you think this is a good idea??? How hard is it to take those Bellcranks off???
Thanks!!
When I bought it I drove it through the back alley and I tried the brake there and it stuck pretty good on me. Told the dealer that and he took it too his mechanic right then and there and was back in a 45min. Well they got it unstuck and lubed it up. He said that all they did was take some pb blaster with a lil red straw and spray through that lil rubber boot on that Bellcrank and then I guess they worked it back and fourth or something. I was thinking about just trying to do that myself. Do you think there would be a chance of spraying that blaster onto the drum and brake pads by spraying it through there? I dont want no over spray to get on the drum by accident!!
Do you think this is a good idea??? How hard is it to take those Bellcranks off???
Thanks!!
Removing the bell cranks is fairly straightfoward and easy.
Remove the drum, remove the shoes (you may be able to get by without removing the shoes) Then you will see four bolts, 14mm I think, holding the bellcrank on.
Remove the cotterpin and retaining pin from the ebrake cable that runs along the rear end, remove the line from the bell crank.
Loosen those up the four bolts holding the bellcrank on from inside the drum.
Remove ebrake line attached to the bellcrank inside the drum.
Remove the four bolts attaching the bellcrank to the drum and slide 'r out from the back!
Hope this helps, if I missed anything guys feel free to chime in.
Remove the drum, remove the shoes (you may be able to get by without removing the shoes) Then you will see four bolts, 14mm I think, holding the bellcrank on.
Remove the cotterpin and retaining pin from the ebrake cable that runs along the rear end, remove the line from the bell crank.
Loosen those up the four bolts holding the bellcrank on from inside the drum.
Remove ebrake line attached to the bellcrank inside the drum.
Remove the four bolts attaching the bellcrank to the drum and slide 'r out from the back!
Hope this helps, if I missed anything guys feel free to chime in.
TheDurk
Elite Member
That's it, except you forgot the bellcrank spring also has to be removed in back to get the bellcrank out.
The PB blaster in the boot thing is probably a temporary fix. It will keep seizing up unless you get that pivot pin out and clean and grease it all up. It would be very hard for any overspray to get through to the shoes/drum, however. It would have to make it out the other side of the boot, sneak through in to the drum, and then find its way to somewhere it could cause harm.
shawnstcyr
New member
Typically, depending on your driving style, you can expect to replace 2 or 3sets of front pads before you will need to replace one set of rear shoes. Your front brakes provide roughly 75% of your stopping power.
eric70412
New member
Thanks!!
Hey guys thanks alot for the info!! This is a great site. You all have been very helpful! When I get some free time i think I might try and take those things off and clean em up. I hardley ever use the e-brake (which that is probably why they are freezing up) but there are times when I park on a hill and I dont wanna put all that stress on the tranny in park to hold it there. Thanks again!!
Hey guys thanks alot for the info!! This is a great site. You all have been very helpful! When I get some free time i think I might try and take those things off and clean em up. I hardley ever use the e-brake (which that is probably why they are freezing up) but there are times when I park on a hill and I dont wanna put all that stress on the tranny in park to hold it there. Thanks again!!
bigtimeweb
New member
Ahh yes. Thanks for catching that! And to the o.p, good luck! Doing this yourself is definitely better than the $240 the dealer will charge to replace one side!!!:barf:
