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Parking Brake Adjustment?

brtt485

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brtt485 Enthusiast

brtt485

Posted
Posted

I have a 2006 1500 LT Ext Cab 4x4 with rear drum brakes. I replaced the shoes yesterday and all is well except the parking brake lever seems to have much more travel than it did before. Rear brakes are adjusted fine, parking brake seems to work fine, pedal just goes almost all the way to the floor which is didnt do before.

 

I jacked up the rear of the truck and engaged the parking brake to make sure the cable was connected at both rear wheels and it they were both engaged.

 

I would like to have the same resistance on the parking brake pedal as I did before so I know if I am on a really steep incline or something I am fully enagaged. I checked my manual and it said the parking brake is self adjusting and a search on here seemed limited to disc brakes in the rear.

 

Any ideas?

the hammer Enthusiast

the hammer

Posted
Posted

1. make sure your e-brake splitter, the metal piece under the driver's side cab area is not twisted funny or angled. make sure the cables going from the splitter are in the correct place and not angled funny either.

 

2. You could have stretched the cables a bit if you changed the shoes without unhooking the right and left e-brake cable from the e-brake splitter.

 

3. If the cables seem normal, then your cable adjustment is probably good but you haven't adjusted the shoes correctly. They can be tricky sometimes.

 

Remember, it will take a few hundred miles for the shoes to mesh well with the drum....but you shouldn't have excessive travel in the e-brake. In fact, mine always became tighter/less distance traveled when engaged and I have put three sets on my Silvy.

pm26 Senior Enthusiast

pm26

Posted
Posted

No. The brake shoes will not self adjust when braking while moving forward.

What you need to do is to back up fast and then apply brakes. Do this several times. The brake shoe adjustment mechanism works only when braking in reverse.

 

I remember that is the way it was on 1970's GM cars.

brtt485 Enthusiast

brtt485

Posted
  • Author
Posted
No. The brake shoes will not self adjust when braking while moving forward.

What you need to do is to back up fast and then apply brakes. Do this several times. The brake shoe adjustment mechanism works only when braking in reverse.

 

I remember that is the way it was on 1970's GM cars.

 

As I said in my original post, the shoes are adjusted fine. Like Hammer said, every time I have replaced brake shoes in the past on this and other vehicles, the parking brake has always gotten tighter (less travel). I did disconnect and reconnect the ebrake cable from the shoes with the opposite end of the cable still connected to the 3 way splitter which would lend some logic to the possibility of stretching the cables. Is it possible that the ebrake cable will continue to "self adjust" over the next few hundred miles?

kdixer Enthusiast

kdixer

Posted
Posted

The parking brake and regular brakes utilize the same brake shoes. Therefore the same adjuster affects both braking operations. unless you adjusted the parking brake cable, then the parking brake pedal feel should not have changed.

 

I suggest making sure your brake adjusters are not siezed in any way. The wheel cylinder is at the top between the shoes and the adjuster is at the bottom between the shoes. There should be a little arm that ratchets the adjuster when braking in reverse. This is the self adjusting feature. I usually adjust the shoes so that the rear drum will barely go on. There is usually a slot in the backing plate witha rubber plug in it. You can remove the plug and adjust the brakes if necessary. But if this method is necessary it is a sign that something needs attention.

 

Are you sure the brakes are adjusted correctly?

  • 3 months later...
Doug_Scott Senior Enthusiast

Doug_Scott

Posted
Posted
No. The brake shoes will not self adjust when braking while moving forward.

What you need to do is to back up fast and then apply brakes. Do this several times. The brake shoe adjustment mechanism works only when braking in reverse.

 

I remember that is the way it was on 1970's GM cars.

 

As I said in my original post, the shoes are adjusted fine. Like Hammer said, every time I have replaced brake shoes in the past on this and other vehicles, the parking brake has always gotten tighter (less travel). I did disconnect and reconnect the ebrake cable from the shoes with the opposite end of the cable still connected to the 3 way splitter which would lend some logic to the possibility of stretching the cables. Is it possible that the ebrake cable will continue to "self adjust" over the next few hundred miles?

 

 

You can completely forget the notion that you somehow stretched the parking brake cables. If you could stretch them that way, what good would they be if you actually used them? They are not elastic, they are stranded steel.

To adjust the brakes properly after replacing the shoes, back off the parking brake completely, adjust the brakes so the you can just hear the shoes touching the drum (I adjust with the wheels on) as you rotate the wheel. Then adjust the parking brake to the pedal height you prefer.

ar52kortlang Enthusiast

ar52kortlang

Posted
Posted

Maybe something inside the drum with the parking brake cable --

 

Is the spring that is attached to the shoes that goes around the cable when installed routed back into the clip at the 6 o clock position?

 

Is the end of the e brake cable securly snapped into the end of the shoe?

 

They are a bit tricky but the trick i use is to pull the cable out as far as it goes and vise grip the cable so it doesnt go back in-- slide the spring over the cable and secure it into the end -- I usually will depress the e brake pedal down a few times while holding the release and it raises the pedal a bit --

 

Good luck

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