Emergency brake pedal is stuck

[RodBarnes]

I have a 2002 Ranger SuperCab 4x4. Today, I stopped and put the emergency brake on* and then when I went to release it, the pedal would not release. It is stuck down and won't release. I'm going to investigate tomorrow morning but thought I'd post here to see if anyone has a known fix. To be clear, it is the pedal itself that won't come up when I pull the release. It's sitting in my heated shop tonight so, if it was a matter of the cold, maybe it will be okay in the morning.

(For context: IO bought the truck in 2007 when I lived in the Portland, Oregon area -- where it is wet, hilly, and not often cold. Since Jan 2019, I've lived in NE Washington (cold, snowy winters) and never had an issue with it.)

*For those who preach against using the emergency brake: I've always used my emergency brake -- for years; all the time. Only today was there an issue. Notably, I recently began experiencing an issue where it was very difficult to get it into park and haven't had time to get a look at that issue so, been using neutral and the emergency brake. Given that I've always used the emergency brake I certainly didn't expect any issue. But, today -- yep.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

It could be ice buildup.

It could be a stuck cable.

It could be a stuck mechanism.

You will be the first to know which.

 

[RodBarnes]

It could be ice buildup.

Pretty sure it isn't ice buildup as I wasn't in anything deep today.

It could be a stuck cable.

That's what I'm guessing.

It could be a stuck mechanism.

I assume you mean the mechanics inside the drum? If that were the case, I'd expect the pedal to come up and just the brake not release. (But maybe not on a Ranger?) When it didn't release the first time, I pushed on it a bit further with the release held open but it just ratcheted further. No effort to pull the release lever would release the pedal itself.

You will be the first to know which.

Yep -- and I'll report back for community benefit.

 

[RodBarnes]

@85_Ranger4x4 BTW: I checked out your Ranger Build -- very nice. Must be awesome having that 5.0 in there. Mine has the 4.0 V6 which works pretty well for most everything I do. But a V8; yeah, nice.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Pretty sure it isn't ice buildup as I wasn't in anything deep today.

That's what I'm guessing.

I assume you mean the mechanics inside the drum? If that were the case, I'd expect the pedal to come up and just the brake not release. (But maybe not on a Ranger?) When it didn't release the first time, I pushed on it a bit further with the release held open but it just ratcheted further. No effort to pull the release lever would release the pedal itself.

Yep -- and I'll report back for community benefit.

Did you rule out the actual release mechanism?

 

[RodBarnes]

Did you rule out the actual release mechanism?

No; have not. Since pushing the pedal further down ratcheted a couple additional teeth (based upon sound) that is the first thing I am going to look at is the pedal release itself. But most of the research I've read all spoke about the cable being stuck and such. Yet, again, since I use mine all the time, I wouldn't expect that. In any case, I'll report back! Thanks for the listen and suggestions. Hopefully, the warmth in the shop will magically make it work in the morning .

 

[scotts90ranger]

If it was the cable you "should" be able to pull up on the pedal while pulling the release

On my '90 when it stuck it was the Z bend in the release handle that was stretched and not letting me pull the release far enough, along with some rust on the pedal assembly. The pedal assembly on a '90 is different than an '02 though... haven't paid enough attention to my Explorers to know the difference though...

Fun fact, your 4.0L likely has the same horsepower as '85's 5.0L, in the sploders I think the 4.0L OHC was 215hp where the 5.0L was 220hp, the 4.0L had a 6k rpm rev limit where the 5.0L had a 5k rpm rev limit though so there's more room on the 5.0L with mods...

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Fun fact, your 4.0L likely has the same horsepower as '85's 5.0L, in the sploders I think the 4.0L OHC was 215hp where the 5.0L was 220hp, the 4.0L had a 6k rpm rev limit where the 5.0L had a 5k rpm rev limit though so there's more room on the 5.0L with mods...

OHV 4.0 was never more than like 160ish. SOHC was like 207.

Explorers have a rev limiter, mine has secondaries.

I do like the torque too, nice on a trail or with my camper.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Eh, memory is iffy at times, but there wasn't much difference between the SOHC (I missed the S above) 4.0L and the 5.0L in stock trim power wise...

Yeah, the 5.0L explorer rev limiter is kinda disappointing, but works fine in tractor pull mode, put the wife in my '00 and in 1st low it does like 12mph at the rev limiter, it'll do that all day , I have a video somewhere I should post if I figure out how... (I have pictures down, just never done a video). One of these days when I get to building the '00 I'll get a tuner and move the rev limiter up and get a cam and a couple other things...

 

[Northidahotrailblazer]

No; have not. Since pushing the pedal further down ratcheted a couple additional teeth (based upon sound) that is the first thing I am going to look at is the pedal release itself. But most of the research I've read all spoke about the cable being stuck and such. Yet, again, since I use mine all the time, I wouldn't expect that. In any case, I'll report back! Thanks for the listen and suggestions. Hopefully, the warmth in the shop will magically make it work in the morning .

its been warmer the last few days. i would think its something mechanical....we have got plenty of snow the last few days and its been freezing at night so it could be froze/iced up.

hello from priest river! nice to see another local!

 

[Josh B]

Good luck with the pedal

I have questions about relying on it though, UNless it is downhill going forward, otherwise it has limited effect.
As far as I am aware if it is downhill going backwards I rely on nothing less than a 4x4"x 12" wood chock to insure it doesn't go anywhere, and if it's steep enough one on both wheels, unless it's actually too steep to feel comfortable with, then I'll consider that a no parking zone. Anywhere non extreme the 1st gear is enough for me. And of course there's sometimes a curb for varied use

 

[RodBarnes]

OHV 4.0 was never more than like 160ish. SOHC was like 207.

According to my specs, the EFI-SOHC (which is what I have) is 205hp. And that works well; mashing the pedal, it just gets up and goes.

 

[CrabGuy]

When I bought my 04 the parking pedal was almost all the way down and would sometimes do the same as yours. I was lucky and was able to press the pedal while releasing the ratchet and mine would return. After I redid the rear brakes it never happened again so I always figured it was the pedal travel was now much less and it was on a bad tooth on the release mechanism. Hopefully it's something simple like that.

 

[RodBarnes]

Well, it's unstuck -- mostly. (I suspect the improvement came from sitting in the shop overnight which is heated right now). And I remember that I did plow through some deep snow yesterday (preparing for the next storm) so maybe some ice buildup.

But, it is still not fully there. The pedal is sluggish -- it releases (I can hear that) but doesn't come up all the way by itself -- like @CrabGuy described. I can raise it the rest of the way with my hand or foot. I've been moving it a bunch trying to loosen it but it doesn't seem to be improving any further. It's like it's catching on something that I have to manually pull it past.

The cable looks clean (photos) but I thought there was supposed to be a helper spring on the cable itself? I've seen that in photos of some Rangers but maybe they were added?

 

[RodBarnes]

FIXED! Partially ice buildup (I believe) and part dufus. There's a little connection box (part of my backup camera I installed) that had come loose yesterday. I noticed it hanging down but just moved it out of the way to finish my plowing. Well, moving it out of the way put it in the path of the release mechanism . Putting the box back where it belongs (up out of the way) let's everything work as it should.

Lesson learned? Don't be a dufus. Well, probably not learned that lesson yet.