crappy parking break

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Chris - 15 Jul 2005 00:32 GMT

Hope that got someone's attention. My 97 ranger has a parking break that
pretty much goes to the floor, and doesn't always do the job of locking the
wheels (on a hill it could still roll).

To my understanding, there are no adjustments to this, and perhaps after all
these years the cables have stretched.

Rather than buying new cables lacking the stretch, is there another way to
may this all tighter?

My old VW was great, I could adjust the cables easily. But this is a real
pain.

C.

ps. My rear brakes are not worn out and have plenty of years left in them..
just changed last summer.

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JimV - 15 Jul 2005 01:24 GMT

> Hope that got someone's attention. My 97 ranger has a parking break that
> pretty much goes to the floor, and doesn't always do the job of locking the
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> ps. My rear brakes are not worn out and have plenty of years left in them..
> just changed last summer.

Do you have rear disks or drums?

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Chris - 22 Jul 2005 00:59 GMT

drums

>> Hope that got someone's attention. My 97 ranger has a parking break that
>> pretty much goes to the floor, and doesn't always do the job of locking
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>>
> Do you have rear disks or drums?

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SC Tom - 15 Jul 2005 02:23 GMT

J.C. Whitney used to sell a little gimmick that would take the slack out of
stretched cables. IIRC, it was kind of 'Z' shaped and snapped on to the
cable. Don't know if they still carry it, or if maybe AutoZone or Discount
auto parts carries them.
Good luck!
SC Tom

> Hope that got someone's attention. My 97 ranger has a parking break that
> pretty much goes to the floor, and doesn't always do the job of locking
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> ps. My rear brakes are not worn out and have plenty of years left in
> them.. just changed last summer.

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Spdloader - 15 Jul 2005 03:49 GMT

Your rear brakes are probably way out of adjustment.

Spdloader

> J.C. Whitney used to sell a little gimmick that would take the slack out
> of stretched cables. IIRC, it was kind of 'Z' shaped and snapped on to
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
>> ps. My rear brakes are not worn out and have plenty of years left in
>> them.. just changed last summer.

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Derrick Hudson - 15 Jul 2005 15:30 GMT

> Hope that got someone's attention. My 97 ranger has a parking break that
> pretty much goes to the floor, and doesn't always do the job of locking the
> wheels (on a hill it could still roll).

Don't let the clutch wear out and keep it in gear when you park.

My '91 Escort would wear out the parking brake frequently leaving only
the clutch to prevent it from rolling. The parking brake on my '90
BII also had difficulty holding the vehicle on a hill and I had to
push the pedal as far as it would go to pull the cable enough. My '93
F-150 has no problems, though. I don't know of any other solutions.

-D

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nobody - 16 Jul 2005 22:19 GMT

>>Hope that got someone's attention. My 97 ranger has a parking break that
>>pretty much goes to the floor, and doesn't always do the job of locking the
>>wheels (on a hill it could still roll).
>
> Don't let the clutch wear out and keep it in gear when you park.

That works; but it's not a real good idea.

> My '91 Escort would wear out the parking brake frequently leaving only
> the clutch to prevent it from rolling. The parking brake on my '90
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> -D

There is no separate "parking brake" on about 95% of vehicles;
*especially* a '91 Escort or a '90 BII. The "PB" is nothing more than
levers and cables to apply the rear shoes on rear drum brakes. I know
there have been various methods used on rear disc brakes.

As for the 5% or so with real parking brakes; it's a separate disc or
drum assembly mounted to the driveshaft ( anyone else remember the
stench of burnt out ebrakes on deuce'n a halfs on convoy stops ?)

Disc brakes have spoiled folks about using the "self-adjusters" on drum
brakes (or the need to have them manually adjusted) . A loose parking
brake should be a indication to do either.

For those uninitiated; "self adjusters" work by "ratcheting" when
applying the brakes in reverse.Unfortunately; it takes a little extra
force on the brakes that isn't applied by some drivers(for whatever
reason). That's the reason for the quote marks aound the name.

Sometimes it's just from never having the brakes slammed hard enough in
reverse.

Sometimes they get rusty or otherwise stuck; that can often be cured
temporarily by getting a little speed up (5-10MPH) and slamming on the
brakes . You may have to repeat this a couple of times. Unless
something is seriously broken; you can't overdo this. The arm that does
the "ratcheting" has to move a certain amount. When the rear shoes are
pushed back out to the correct range; said arm can't move far enough to
click again. You'd be amazed at how much "pedal rise" you can get out
of this. I've seen both the parking brake and the regular brake pedal go
from "on the floor" to almost new position with 4 "backup 'n mash it"s

If the above doesn't work; your rear drum brakes *don't* have self
adjusters or they are frozen/busted. This calls for a manual brake
adjustment. It's not a hard job; but it could get complicated if there
are other problems . RTFM or a Haynes or Clymer book.

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Derrick Hudson - 20 Jul 2005 05:00 GMT

>>>Hope that got someone's attention. My 97 ranger has a parking break that
>>>pretty much goes to the floor, and doesn't always do the job of locking the
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> That works; but it's not a real good idea.

Yeah. I wouldn't say the clutch is a good replacement for a brake,
but it is good to have in addition to a working brake.

>> My '91 Escort would wear out the parking brake frequently leaving only
>> the clutch to prevent it from rolling. The parking brake on my '90
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> *especially* a '91 Escort or a '90 BII. The "PB" is nothing more than
> levers and cables to apply the rear shoes on rear drum brakes.

This is correct too. I didn't really work on the Escort, but I did
see the whole arrangement on the BII.

> I know there have been various methods used on rear disc brakes.

I'd be interested in knowing how this is done. I've never had (or
seen up-close) rear disc brakes.

> As for the 5% or so with real parking brakes; it's a separate disc or
> drum assembly mounted to the driveshaft ( anyone else remember the
> stench of burnt out ebrakes on deuce'n a halfs on convoy stops ?)

I did not know this.

-D

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Chris - 22 Jul 2005 01:02 GMT

I'll try readjusting the rear brakes and see if that helps a bit. doubt it
though as I've had this problem for quite a while....

>>>>Hope that got someone's attention. My 97 ranger has a parking break
>>>>that
[quoted text clipped - 34 lines]
>
> -D

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nobody - 23 Jul 2005 09:36 GMT

> I'll try readjusting the rear brakes and see if that helps a bit. doubt it
> though as I've had this problem for quite a while....

Remember what I said about "stuck and/or frozen" adjusters? If the
adjusters were frozen; they couldn't work . They probably stuck about
5-20,000 miles before you noticed the problem.

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