I have been experiancing a problem that is kind of weird. When I park at home in my garage and apply my parking brake..SOMETIMES, I'll go to the garage to leave, and release the parking brake and go to pull out and can't move! The pedal pops up great and everything works normally, but I can't go forward or backward......Until I pull out like I'm pulling out on a hill with a 4,000 lb trailer behind me....Then I hear a big bang in the rear end.....After that the rear brakes are extremely grabby for the first few times I use them to the point of locking up the rear wheels.....I pump the brakes a couple of times at a stop pretty firmly and it goes away........I got 25k miles in this truck and had it to the dealer once, but they can't reproduce the problem, and neither can I. It only happens in my garage, never anyplace else....Summer, winter, fall, or spring....Temp does not matter...Is there something hanging up in the drums? Is this common? I'd like to find the problem before my warrenty expires..... Help!

 

I don't know why it does this, but do you really need to set the parking brake in the garage? I just leave it in park or in gear if it's a manual. Never have had a need to set the brake in the garage. I only use the parking brake when I park on a hill.

 

happens to me once ina while too, pisses me off

 

i put no...but i never use my parking brake...automatic...not really any need to...

 

this is a good way of screwing up your auto when you don't use the parking brake your putting pressure on the park pin in the trans allways use your parking brake .the parking brake also adj the rear brakes every timje you use it

ok sorry about the hijack on to the main problem of the parking brake sticking

had the same problem with mine the dealer sealed all the back areas of the backing plate

(parking brake cable ,adj rubber stopper and the 2 spring pins with rvt from the back side of the brake backing plate) , they also installed non metalic brake shoes .it fixed the problem , its been 60,000 mile and not sticking p brake and yes I use the parking brake all the time .

Jeff

 

What happens is moisture gets in the parking brake cable becuase it is not sealed good from the factory. After a certain amount of time it rusts inside there if you dont use it after every time you drive. When its rusted and you go to release the parking brake, it dosent want to move because of the rust buildup, and therefore your rear brakes freeze up. It sounds like your rear brakes are releasing after a while of driving.

 

I'm talking about the truck sitting for like 6-12 hours tops, and the brake not coming off. When I pull out with force, it releases with a boom that sounds not far from when I blew rearends apart in my younger hot rod days. I really don't see any rust seizing anything in 6-12 hours, do you? Is there a eccentric that spreads the shoes that is catching somehow or what?

 

No, I meant if you dont use you parking brake EVERY time you drive, rust builds inside there from moisture when it is NOT in use. It dosent matter if the cable was in use for 6 minutes or 6 hours. When you go to release it, it might feel like it released the cable, but the rear brakes are are still 'locked up' due to the rust in the line, not allowing it to move freely. When you are applying gas, it sounds like they finally release from the drum, thus why you hear the loud bang from the rear end.

 

Didn't understand.Sorry.I do use mine all the time...Manuals can and will pop out of gear at times.....Especially when the dog is in the truck...

 

mine could sit for 2hr and do it before stealer ship fix it

Jeff

 

Yeah man.
I drive a manual, but I was always told to when you're gonig to turn your car off or park it, put it in neutral,put on the e brake, then put it in park.[/hijack]

 

Yeah man My '98 has the exact same damn problem.... I use the E- brake all the time too. It'll just freeze up every now and again & then I really have to punch the gas to get it un-stuck. pretty annoying

 

My wife just told me about a co-worker that has a 2004 with the parking brake issue. On a good note, mine has been trouble free for about 2 months now since the dealership sealer up the rear drums.

 

My 99 3.0L locks up too. I also have a bent backer plate which probably makes the problem worse(just a little). I should swap the axle for one with disk brakes, but I'm going to attempt to put a new backer plate on. PB Blaster may save the weekend again!
Has anyone been able to lube the parking brake cable to get it moving freely? The cable to the passenger side seems to be the problem since it goes up and thru the frame. Might be a good place to rig in a grease fitting.

 

If I were you I would rebuild the drum brakes. Get new springs along with brake shoes. Lube up all spots they tell you to and I bet it will fix the problem. Clean the whole thing with brake cleaner too. The e-brake cable hooks onto an arm which in part controls the brake shoes, could be a bit rusty

 

Mine didnt stick but sure where touchy. One thing that might cause this is if your brakes are hot when you set the parking brake and its in a high humidity area. As they cool off water will condense inside the drums where the shoes touch and could cause them to stick. Is someone doing laundry in the garage the night before it happens? If it continues you'll more than likely have to replace the shoes and turn the drums.

 

Matt had to hook up his winch to my VW Thing to unlock the stuck brakes on the rear. He was pulling it and I looked over- the front two wheels were of the ground.