Useless Parking Brake

[Chance]

Originally Posted by rockbender

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Perhaps looking into a driveline e-brake would be the best solution? Perhaps not the cheapest, but effective!



There may be kits available depending on what TC you have.
cheers,
josh

That brake looks a little small to me to hold compared to normal wheel disc brakes. Even when allowing for roughly 4:1 rear end ratio.

[JWA]

Having read this tread since it first appeared I wonder in what situations does the stock parking brake etc not work as designed or intended? I park on a rather steeply sloped driveway and mine works just fine, daily driver weight @ 7,500# 2003 E250 EB.

Between the proper adjustment of the cables and shoes in good condition the factory systems should be more than up to the task. Not too sure adding a lot of extra parts is really worth the effort and cost, not when compared to simply maintaining the existing system. IMHO anyway.

[ANZAC]

On an E350 (at least my year 2002) there are really only 2 adjustments.

1) the parking brake shoes
2) the pedal self adjuster (which compensates for cable stretch)

The procedure is in the shop manual, but to accurately adjust the parking brake you need to remove the rear rotors, and adjust the shoes to the correct measurement, which is 0.x mm less than the inside dia of the rotor hat. (you need a drum brake measuring tool for that)

The adjusters can be accessed through the backing plate with the rotors and wheels on but you have no reference point.

Most important thing is to check for any damage or sticking of the cables.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by ANZAC

On an E350 (at least my year 2002) there are really only 2 adjustments.

1) the parking brake shoes
2) the pedal self adjuster (which compensates for cable stretch)

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Can you elaborate more on the "pedal self adjuster"? When I searched online I only found information on adjusting the drum brakes, which I found difficult to do right unless I removed the rotors. The passenger side wasn't too bad but the driver side was tough. Was easier to pull tire and rotor off.

The pedal adjuster interest me now. My pedal doesn't bottom out when drums are adjusted but I guess it's possible the leverage may not work right if cable travel is off. Does the "self" adjuster require adjustment at some point? If so, what's involved?

[ANZAC]

The self adjuster adjusts itself, it cannot be adjusted manually.

Basically it balances a certain amount of tension when the pedal is out, and it is locked when it pushes in. Sort of like a pre-tensioner. There is a way to lock it off to work on the cables (insert 4mm drill bit in hole) but the instructions in the shop manual aren't really helpful.

You can actually feel the spring in it with the pedal released if you pull sideways on any of the cables, you're then pulled against the self adjuster (or tensioner).

Anyway, there's nothing to adjust there. Main thing is check the cables freely slide, and that the park brake shoes are adjusted correctly. I have some new shoes and a hardware kit I need to throw in, I'll get around to it...

[carringb]

Chance, when you did your shoes, did you replace or recondition the rotors? glazing transfers to the drums as well, and has to be removed when doing the shoes. Is use red scotch brite discs for reach reconditioning rotors/drums I don't want to have turned.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by carringb

Chance, when you did your shoes, did you replace or recondition the rotors? glazing transfers to the drums as well, and has to be removed when doing the shoes. Is use red scotch brite discs for reach reconditioning rotors/drums I don't want to have turned.

I replaced the rear rotors a while back during normal brake maintenance. I adjusted parking brake at that time and it worked a little better but not much. A few years later my parking brake got worse due to seals leaking, and I had a shop replace the seals and shoes. They were suppose to clean drum of all oil but I don't know to what extent they actually cleaned it or if they resurfaced the drum. I've never driven with parking brake on so it's unlikely they glazed unless they adjusted them too tight and therefore caused enough friction to heat up.

I just got it inspected yesterday (apparently parking brake not a high priority) so I'm going to look into it myself to do it right. I want to confirm everything is oil free and then have rotors/drums turned. I may replace the shoes while apart since they are inexpensive.

[Chance]

carringb, which shoes do you recommend to minimize chance of glazing? I'd trade a little initial stopping power if it means they will not lose more stopping effectiveness in future.

[ANZAC]

Originally Posted by Chance

I replaced the rear rotors a while back during normal brake maintenance. I adjusted parking brake at that time and it worked a little better but not much.

Did you measure them to adjust them? I've always adjusted parking brake shoes by drag on the drum/rotor but I am told the measurement on these is the way to go.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by ANZAC

Did you measure them to adjust them? I've always adjusted parking brake shoes by drag on the drum/rotor but I am told the measurement on these is the way to go.

No, I did not measure. Not only had I not heard of that procedure, I'm not sure what it accomplishes if I'm totally honest.

I simply adjusted the shoes out until the rotor was tight to get on and without too much drag -- all by feel. When both wheels were adjusted the pedal felt about right. Not tight at top and won't bottom out. Even so I could set the brake and it wouldn't hold on driveway slope with engine idling and in gear. My minivan holds under same conditions and I expect at least that much.