Parking Brake Toast

[jonroe]

Apparently, my parking brake has given up the ghost. Several weeks ago I heard noises coming from the left rear wheel while driving on the freeway. When I got to work the left rear hub was quite warm - more than the right rear. I exercised the pbrake several times before driving home that day. No more noise after that but I have been avoiding using the pbrake after reading all the threads here on the mickey mouse arrangement inside the rotor hub. Yesterday I tried to use the pbrake while parking on a slight hill. It felt a little weird and would not hold the car from moving. I presume the left one is toast? Are there two - both sides? Do you think this will be covered by my Ford ESP warranty? I guess I'll take it in next week. :help:

[Joe Walsh]

Each rear disc has an inner hub/drum that has a 'mini drum brake' set up inside it which is your parking brake.
It sounds like your parking brake was 'stuck 'on' and overheated while driving.
The rear discs pull off just like the front discs and you can inspect them to see what has happened.
You might need a drum brake spoon/tool to back off the adjustment if you can't pull the rear discs...
but usually it just takes a mallet and some heat from a torch to break the disc brake free from the axle flange.
I just did a complete disc brake job on my stepson's '95 GM this weekend and I had to fight to get the old discs free from the axle flanges!
The parking brakes were holding the car on an incline so I didn't touch them.

[RoyLPita]

I ran the e brake part number against my car with PremiumCare and they are not covered.

[jonroe]

I ran the e brake part number against my car with PremiumCare and they are not covered.

Even though I would call this a failure as opposed to a wear item. Prior to the noise I always used the pbrake properly and exercised it often so it should not have frozen stuck. I guess Ford knows it's a lousy set up. Maybe I'll just go to my mechanic rather than the dealer. Thanks for the look-up!

[GetMeMyStogie]

You might need a drum brake spoon/tool to back off the adjustment if you can't pull the rear discs...

Do these p-brakes have any adjustment at all? My '86 MGM did. My '94 MGM did not - the 'adjuster' on my '94 looked about the same as the '86's, put it was really just a spacer. I haven't looked at the MM's yet.



I just did a complete disc brake job on my stepson's '95 GM this weekend and I had to fight to get the old discs free from the axle flanges!
The parking brakes were holding the car on an incline so I didn't touch them.

Ummm, yeah, it would be pretty hard to remove the rear disks with the p-brake engaged! Jacking up the car while on an incline probably isn't a good idea either.

[GetMeMyStogie]

The cables can 'seize' up, even though they're plastic-coated within a plastic-lined outer cable/sheath. That's what happened to my '94 MGM.
I took the drivers-side cable off, sprayed loads of WD40 into the outer cable and slid the cable back and forth until the gunk coming out the other end was clean enough. I didn't do the passenger side, as I didn't have the car hoisted. The cable probably 'seized' because the outer sheath had a cut in it that let moisture and dirt in over time.
Afterwards, I figured it would probably have been easier and probably a better value to have simply bought new cables. How much could they be?

[TAKEDOWN]

I took mine off!

[Joe Walsh]

Ummm, yeah, it would be pretty hard to remove the rear disks with the p-brake engaged! Jacking up the car while on an incline probably isn't a good idea either.

Yep, I tested the parking brake on an incline, but had it 'off' when removing the rear discs.
They were still a bear to get off due to some rusting to the axle hubs.

I didn't jack up the car on an incline...I didn't want to be in the newspaper or show up in one of those internet 'Darwin award' photos...;)

[GetMeMyStogie]

Oh, ha! I totally misread your post.:lol:

[scruff]

I did the same thing i just took all that crap off and end of problem, who needs an emergency brake when you drive an automatic trans care! just my 2 cents

[TAKEDOWN]

I did the same thing i just took all that crap off and end of problem, who needs an emergency brake when you drive an automatic trans care! just my 2 cents

I thought for a second I was the only one!

[Bradley G]

I did the rear brakes nite before last.
The passenger side rotor fell off the hub and the emergency brake lining were loose and falling off the shoes.
The drivers side was all in tact, but I had to beat that Sombiotch (Rotor) till , I thought it was gonna break in half.
The parking brake shoes had slipped off thier resting spot and were still holding the rotor too tight to get off.
Thier is an adjustment on the parking brake, I tried that first.
After my pal showed me to shift the shoes back taught against the back plate allowing them to relax to thier non engaged position,no trouble after that.
The rotors were on the car since 35K and 2005 and they looked much worse from the inside.
The pads were 2/3 worn
It turned 75K this week.

[jonroe]

I plan to work with my trusted mechanic on this one as I don't have the time to deal with it personally right now. This guy is the only one who touches my cars besides me and occasional warranty work at the dealer.

[Marauder M.C.]

I did the same thing i just took all that crap off and end of problem, who needs an emergency brake when you drive an automatic trans care! just my 2 cents

That only works if you know a guy who will pass you for a sticker without a working e-brake. Mine failed for no e-brake when I bought it. I took it right back to the dealer. They said they replaced the cables, but I had it up on the lift and all I could see that was replaced were new parking brake shoes. I could see the new hold down pins in the backing plate. Your car might need a cable and its a safe bet you need parking brake shoes if you said that wheel was getting hot.

[jonroe]

I finally got the parking brakes fixed today by my mechanic. The noisy left side was completely worn down to metal on the little shoes. We decided to replace the shoes and hardware package on both sides.

So, what's the deal? This e-brake was adjusted tight from the factory and wore out when it isn't supposed to be touching at all? I had no clue it was rubbing. I could not tell until it started making noise rubbing metal. This is totally lame. Maybe I'll get better gas mileage now! I almost wonder about taking the whole thing off like some of you.

I'll put this on the list with failed LCM and failed heated seats as my 3 main flaws so far I guess.