Emergency Brake

[professor229]

I have a plan but thought I would run it by everyone first to see if I am missing anything or if there is an alternative... I bought a salvage titled Ranger with a host of problems to work on last winter; my project and the idea was to use this to pull my small boat trailer instead of using my Chevy work truck.... I was told that the shift lever was goofy by the gal who owned it and if it didn't start when I turned the key, to push the shift lever up into "P" a little firmer and it would work (neutral safety)... and that was an accurate statement. My concern was backing down the ramp at the lake with my boat trailer and getting out to launch/retrieve the boat.... would the Ranger stay in park? If I shut it off, would it stay in park? But to be sure, I wanted to be able to use the emergency/parking brake... I talked to the former owner and she said they never used it... ever... I know from experience over many years not to mess with E brakes if they have not been used.... they get stuck on and you are screwed.... So I talked to a local trusted mechanic about it and he said NOT to try it but bring it in and he would put it on the hoist, pull the back wheels and hubs, and then try it.... which I might still do but he, like everyone else, is swamped.... So I thought I really don't need a hoist and this is not rocket science... so why not jack up the rear, put it on jack stands, pull the rear wheels and hubs myself, and then follow his suggestion about pushing on the E brake one "notch" and releasing it... to see what happens... then repeat... pushing the E brake on two notches and releasing it... In other words, working it a little bit at a time.... and see what happens... If it does lock up and won't release, then the thinking is simply cutting the E brake wire at the wheel which would wreck the E brake and it would have to be replaced but at least, I could still put it back together and use it.... Does this sound plausible? Am I missing anything here? Has anybody replaced the cable/sheathe? Does the E brake sheath/cable go to a yoke in the middle? I am hoping I am being a little paranoid on this and I am hoping to just get lucky and the E brake works fine..... but I don't want to find out the hard way.... Ideas and suggestions welcome..... Have I got this thinking right?

 

[Bronco ii Man]

Sounds doable and yes it does split and go to each side individually. Follow the cable and you can see where it runs through the backside of the drum! When you remove the brake drums you can see where the brake cable hook’s.

 

[Bronco ii Man]

Just don’t panic and over think it. Fairly simple to replace and not expensive. Do a little looking on the tech library I’m sure it’s been covered somewhere on there! Not much that hasn’t been lol

 

[RonD]

I doubt there is any issue with them at all
The rear brakes self adjust when you back up and stop using the regular brake pedal, so the parts in the brake hub will be fine, unless you have NO rear brakes now, which you would notice by long pedal travel, which you don't mention

If you are worried about rusty cables getting stuck that's also a long shot and you would notice that when pushing the e-brake pedal DOWN to start with, not on releasing it
As mentioned if you look on the outside of drivers side frame rail you will see the 1 cable from e-brake pedal connecting to the two cables, one to each rear wheel, you can disconnect there to see if a cable is sticking

No, it will not slip out of Park
The NSS switch and actually being in Park are not related, they are not dependent on each other
Most likely a few screws are loose under the dash

Google: Ford Ranger loose shifter

Common issue on all Ford trucks with column shifters

 

[professor229]

Jus t an update as I goofed off a bit with the shift lever again.... and get nervous.... When you push the lever into Park, the first thing I do is to get out and immediately push on the door jamb to see if I can push the truck backwards, and with a boat trailer on a ramp, you can see the problem.... I was able to do this with the transmission seeming to slip a notch or two on each push... If you make a pretty good effort to put the shift lever in park a little harder, the transmission does lock in park and you are good.... but I still don't trust it... Now, in the old days when I was working on the linkage there was simply an adjustment on the lever by the tranny.... remove a cotter pin, take out the linkage, spin it a few times to lengthen the linkage and put it back together.... That was always on a Chevrolet (I worked at a Chevy dealership) .... Is it possible that the Ford Ranger has something similar down by the transmission? I could research it but thought I would save some time and see if someone here has every had a similar problem..... Thanks for any help/advice... I am heading for the lake to go fishing... but will take the Chevy today instead of the Ranger..... Have a good one!!!

 

[pjtoledo]

mounted to the tranny there is a plastic clip you slide to unlock the cable, adjust cable then slide clip back.

 

[RonD]

Another thing to consider is that E-brakes don't hold well in Reverse direction, i.e. holding on a boat ramp

Most have experienced this when backing up with e-brake on, and not noticing its on until you try to move forward after backing up and can't

 

[4x4prepper]

> Another thing to consider is that E-brakes don't hold well in Reverse direction, i.e. holding on a boat ramp

Every manual transmission B2 I have owned will slip and move when parked on a steep incline, even in REV with the parking brake on. The only solution has been to park it in REV in 4LO. If I was launching a heavy boat with a B2/Ranger on a steep ramp and wanted it to stay there, I would consider a manual brake lock on the front disc brakes or maybe the larger 10" drums or rear disc swap.

 

[Bronco ii Man]

4x4prepper never thought about doing that, but it makes perfect sense! With the Ranger and Bronco ii being lighter vehicle’s! Doing the brake upgrade would also help with stopping power while towing. I’m sure it’s been covered in the tech library somewhere! Need to do some research and then some honey do’s to make mama happy lol. Thanks for the information

 

[professor229]

Just an update.... I demounted some tires today that were shot for the Ranger.... and that went well so I had some time, put the rear on jack stands and removed the wheels and brake drums... so I could press slowly on the emergency brake... so what happened? The driver's side front brake shoe pad fell off..... geez... This is still a project and I will put in new shoes this winter when I have some time, but this time I got out the super strength epoxy and put the pad back in place.... Now, back to the original work.. the parking brake... Had my assistant press on the e brake one notch, release, then two notches, and release and then three...and saw nothing happening... but, the brake wire inside the sheath looked very good; no corrosion etc... pushed a little harder and "heard" the passenger side move but not the driver's side... and it did release... good news, so went a little harder yet and still no movement on the driver's side. So looked at the e brake sheath to where it joined together just in front of the driver's side rear wheel.... and it was apparent that someone had tried to put a vise grip on it to move it.... and it was loose... whatever... So now I am going to try to adjust it a bit or just wait and replace it when I do the new shoes.. I also went back to look at several videos of how to tighten the shift lever linkage to take the slop out of that, and know it is a T30 torx tool needed to tighten them... the problem is getting access to them and I guess I am missing something because all the comments said "ten minute job" and "easy".... hmmmm am I missing something? Laying on your back being a contortionist to even try to see the two screws that need to be tightened to tighten the bracket.... So I put the Ranger in PARK and shut it down... it stays in PARK just fine so that is what I am going to try again.... but I still don't like the slop in the shift lever.... So... a little progress... more learning and same old same old really.... a lot of plan B's.....

 

[Bronco ii Man]

Rome wasn’t built overnight lol!!

 

[RonD]

The part on the outside of driver's side frame rail where the one cable from pedal pulls on the 2 cables from rear brakes is called the "equalizer"

Ford used a few types
Google: ford bronco II parking brake equalizer images

Basically one of the cables, going to the rear, has an adjustment used to match the length of the other cable(no adjustment) going to rear

The one cable from the pedal can sometimes be adjusted, if it has stretched, by using a cable tightener, like this: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/rnb-03006?seid=srese1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIl-2hsaHl-AIVRQnnCh20Kw0ZEAsYBSABEgLOO_D_BwE

 

[professor229]

Thanks.... I just googled "equalizer" and came up with a couple of pictures... learning again.... on my assembly in front of the driver's side front wheel is the equalizer... but... and I need to double check this... there was NO spring like the diagram showed in the post I read about all this online.... and here are the two pictures that show it.... I am not surprised... Again, this will all wait until I get a rear brake job done on this... I talked to my mechanic, who does all the work I am getting too old to do (don't laugh... your day is coming!!!) and he said he would do all of it for $100 labor and parts.. I am not going to start doing this and guessing for that price.... Check out to the two attached pictures... Again... my Ranger has no springs at this location....

 

[RonD]

In the first pic you can see how it should be, the longer rear cable's end is IN the "clamp"
Second pic shows the longer cable has slipped out of the "clamp", so shorter cable will have no movement when pedal is pressed down

Yes, the spring helps pull up the pedal when its released

 

[Jazzer]

Some of this might be helpful….

Cable and Conduit 8212 Rear Removal and Installation PDF | PDF | Brake | Wheeled Vehicles

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-Jazzer