06 Sierra 2500 HD park brake replacement - design defect?

[Laurence]

I am servicing my brakes. I found the calipers and shoes to be in great shape. I will be doing a brake fluid flush. Park brakes is another matter. What a mess. I attempted to do the replacement without pulling the hubs. TIP: forget it. Pull the hubs.

The shoes were worn and the drums had heavy grooving. The brake shoe actuators were seized. I cleaned them up and lubricated. I spread apart slightly the outer part to prevent seizure again. I also reset the park brake pedal. (see video)

I found what appears to be a design defect on the pass side. The return spring on the cable seems really compressed. The way it goes over the actuator arm it holds the brake on. The brake shoes do not completely release there. I am crafting a washer to go on the end of the spring to solve this problem.

Has anyone else seen this problem and solved it?

 

parking brake lever reset

 

[davester]

Maybe it's been installed wrong?  For my '04 Sierra, I haven't had a problem like that.  The setup on one side is the mirror of the other, so if it were a design problem, it would affect both sides.  And millions of trucks.

 

There's plenty of videos on youtube about how to install them.  And I would suggest getting new brake hardware, as the springs fade over time.