Emergency Brake feels weak?

[RJMacReady]

My emergency break feels pretty weak. It can't hold the truck on very much of an incline. Putting it in gear increases the grip a little but not a whole lot.

If I'm pointed uphill, it basically can't handle any incline at all and will roll away backwards even in gear.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

You might need to adjust them tighter.

Which gear does it roll in? You may have bigger issues than the parking brakes...

 

[RJMacReady]

I usually just put it in 1st gear.

I'm intending to make a general 'how's my transmission doing?' thread in the other forum and ask about doing a full diagnostic on it so I can see how much life it's got left. I've had a friend whose daily for 5 or 6 years is her manual 80s toyota drive it and she didn't see anything worrying about about how it was working.

I do hear some rattling that I think is the throwout bearing though. Anyway I'll make a thread in the proper place for that.

 

[Bgunner]

If you haven't in a while Pull the rear drums and inspect the shoes and make sure the self adjuster ( that does not always self adjust) is working freely. If all is good put the drum back on and adjust the breaks shoes to the proper tension and retest the the e-brake. If it still rolls then adjust the e-brake cable itself till the vehicle holds itself still.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

And if it moves in first you need to either:

1. Quit parking on cliffs
or
2. Think about replacing the clutch

 

[Uncle Gump]

And if it moves in first you need to either:

1. Quit parking on cliffs
or
2. Think about replacing the clutch

3. The engine is tired and has no compression

 

[RJMacReady]

Well I've never done this since I've only been messing with cars for about 9 months, but I will give it a shot!

I can hear my throwout bearing rattling so I was going to buy a clutch kit and see if I could put it in. But yeah. There are broader transmission questions I have. Making a thread.

 

[MikeG]

Rear brakes need adjusting, or parking brake cable badly stretched. Or both.

 

[RonD]

Hold out the parking brake release handle and then pump the parking brake pedal, that adjusts the shoes, you can't over tighten it

If you don't feel the pedal coming up and engaging at a higher place, then shoes are worn out or one side has failed

Pull a back wheel and drum and have a look, if the shoes look OK then might be a stretched cable
You can buy units like this that in effect, shorten the cable: https://res.cloudinary.com/powerreviews/image/upload/c_fill,d_portal-no-product-image_ttlfpi.svg,f_auto,g_auto,h_400,q_auto,w_auto,z_0.5/d_portal-no-product-image_ttlfpi.svg/prod/lt8npa0xzns22zeuxfzr

Parking brakes on ANY vehicle don't hold that well facing up hill, thats why you can often back out of a park spot without realizing parking brake is on, its only when you try to go forward and can't that you realizes parking brake is on
Its just the mechanics of how they work
So if rear shoes were getting thin then you would notice it FIRST when parking uphill

 

[RJMacReady]

Mine is 4 gears + Overdrive + Reverse btw

 

[MikeG]

Hold out the parking brake release handle and then pump the parking brake pedal, that adjusts the shoes, you can't over tighten it

If you don't feel the pedal coming up and engaging at a higher place, then shoes are worn out or one side has failed

Pull a back wheel and drum and have a look, if the shoes look OK then might be a stretched cable
You can buy units like this that in effect, shorten the cable: https://res.cloudinary.com/powerreviews/image/upload/c_fill,d_portal-no-product-image_ttlfpi.svg,f_auto,g_auto,h_400,q_auto,w_auto,z_0.5/d_portal-no-product-image_ttlfpi.svg/prod/lt8npa0xzns22zeuxfzr

Parking brakes on ANY vehicle don't hold that well facing up hill, thats why you can often back out of a park spot without realizing parking brake is on, its only when you try to go forward and can't that you realizes parking brake is on
Its just the mechanics of how they work
So if rear shoes were getting thin then you would notice it FIRST when parking uphill

Damn, never knew that. Beats the heck out of crawling under one and dorking with the adjuster wheel thingy........

 

[Uncle Gump]

Damn, never knew that. Beats the heck out of crawling under one and dorking with the adjuster wheel thingy........

In theory it works... but so does just backing up the vehicle and applying the brakes. Afterall... drum brakes are self adjusting. The reality is that it doesn't work well... the star wheel seizes and the adjusting lever can't turn the star wheel.

 

[RonD]

Yes, backing up and using regular brake pedal does the same thing, to keep park brake adjusted and tight
But if you park on the street alot then you often don't back up enough to keep rear shoes tight

And using the parking brake all the time also does the adjustment every time parking brake pedal is pressed down, same a pumping the pedal does

This is not just for parking brakes, rear brake shoes need this adjustment to stay working using regular brake pedal, if shoes are not tight against the drum then brake pedal travel goes up as it takes more brake fluid to push shoes out against the drums