Rear Brakes/Parking Brake

[4x4TruckinGirl]

Okay, some time ago I had parking brake issues, etc... anyways I had redone the rear brakes, new drums and shoes (the drums were scored pretty bad) Anyways, parking brake worked for a little while, not that great I add, we adjuste the brakes out some and it was still mediocre at best.... You could also tell the brakes were working, truck stopped a lot better. Now not so, parking brake no worka and you can tell they're not gripping, So now what? Adjust them out more? That doesn't seem right, this work all got done in september.... Any thoughts?

 

[typ4]

Take the drums off and see if the little toggle that pushes the shoes is actually hitting the shoe ear, I had to build mine up with weld and grind because by the time I had the cables adjusted up to get parkbrake there was no more travel left to actuate the shoes. I shoulda took pics,sorry. Most new brake shoes are china made and dont fit for crap.

 

[razorback]

what brand of brake pads? if they are oreilly they are probably worn out already. i will not buy orielly brake parts. they suck, and dont last worth anything.

 

[4x4TruckinGirl]

Napa I think...... or maybe autozone, sure ain't anything expensive........

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

If you drive much, it is not at all un-common to have to adjust rear brakes bi-monthly, if not more often.

Did you also install new park-brake cables both sides ??


Did you dis-assemble the star-wheel adjusters, sharpen their teeth with a triangle-file, and coat their threads with anti-sieze ??


If the park-brakes are applying/releasing with no hang-ups, I figure your brake-shoes are simply out of adjustment.

 

[BigRigTech]

I would pull the drums and take a look, I wonder if something has broken or was not quite in place when it was re-assembled and now it has moved. I suspect the spreader bar between the shoes might not be in place or a cable for the adjuster spring may have broken. How is the tension in your main parking brake cable? it should be taught with no droop or slack in it...

 

[4x4TruckinGirl]

Didn't replace the cables but they seemed to be in good shape, maybe a little loose, I had brought it down to the truck stop, where they fixed it the first time and we pulled it all apart again and it looked good....... I haven't adjusted them since begining of october..... It drives about 85 miles a day...... Which way do I have to adjust them? I always forget which way to do it.......

 

[tractorman86]

i've got kind of a similat prob, all new brakes about july-august and the park brake dosen't hardly work. all the cables seem tight, but the rears dont seem to stay adjusted either...

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

If the star-wheels are properly installed, the wheels roll downward/toward you to tighten, looking through the adjuster-hole through the backing-plate.

To loosen, flip the wheels upward/away, while holding the keeper-thingie off of the wheel with a stiff wire.

 

[RLDSL]

You do realize that your automatic adjusters only work in reverse???
Every once in a while, especially if your are towing, you need to sit somewhere in a lot and stick it in reverse and go back a few feet and slam on the brakes, repeat , etc, etc, etc until those suckers tighten up. It may take a while if you
ve let them go until the parking brake isn't working

 

[tractorman86]

i do that, i dont know maybe once every couble weeks prolly 4-5 times and it works for the rest of the ride home getting looser the farther i go it seems like. i think i'll pull it apart this weekend and see what the heck is going on...

 

[suv7734]

The adjusters are certainly not known for being very reliable.
Once in a while I have seen a problem like this where the adjusters are not kept in their proper 'location'. Someone pulls everything apart to do the brake job, cleans and lubes everything and then puts the right side adjuster on the left side of the truck and vice versa. That means that everytime the adjuster tries to tighten the shoes it actually loosens them.
Just a thought.

 

[tractorman86]

well i did my own brakes and i have heard of brake shops doing this too so i did one side at a time nooooo way could they have been mixed up. but i am kinda worried i put them in backwards, thinking about it would that even change anything other than where the knob "star" is?

 

[Diezel_Cowboy]

Well I have never been pleased with Fords parking brake...in my opinion it doesnt matter what you do it will always be a piece of junk for a parking brake. I simply quit using mine, I just leave it in low gear and use a wheel chock for parking.

 

[4x4TruckinGirl]

I heard that!!!


I have done the reverse thing also, not in a while so I guess I can give it a try here and see what I get, if not I'll just adjust them out some. Worthless dang brakes!!!!