[Zoso]

A few weeks ago, my wife brought our *new* 98 Jeep (V8) to get the MA state inspection. It failed because the parking / ebrake didn't work.

It finally stopped raining this weekend so I broke out the tools and had a go.

I had to figure out how it all works, what moves, and what was frozen.

I found out that a lot in there was rusted solid. I even had a real tough time getting the rotors off!

(all pictures stolen from jeepo in another thread... I hope you don't mind :talkface: )

I first found out that the adjusters were frozen solid.

So I spent a long time hammering away to unstick them. I finally got them free and I applied antiseize to them and put it all back together. Did the other size, spent a long time and got that one unstuck too.

I then used a screwdriver and turned the starwheel and tightened them up. No change. The ebrake handle had no resistance.

I then took it all apart and started to play with the actuator:


I discovered (thanks to the archives!) that the actuator is actually two pieces.

So I finally got the parts out. PB blaster, 5lb hammer/chisel, etc... lots of hammering, etc and I got the pieces apart.


I cleaned them up, added more anti-seize, and put them back in there. They now move smoothly. It took about an hour but I finally got the shoes back on (I hooked up the spring wrong at first). Overall the shoes look in good condition. I don't think they were really ever used. I'm not sure how thick the shoe material should be, but there seemed to be plenty on there?

So I put it back down on the ground, tightened up the adjustors until they were nice and tight.

Now the ebrake handle has a lot of resistance and it takes a lot of force to get the handle all the way up.

So what did I get for 6 something hours of work? The parking brake works very well now - when the transmission is in reverse. When in drive, the ebrake adds a bit of resistance, but can not stop the Jeep from moving forward.

So I have no idea if the jeep will pass MA inspection now. I really want to get rid of that big "R" sticker on the windshield.

Does your parking brake stop your Jeep from moving forward?

If most people's ebrakes hold their Jeeps, the only thing left to do is get new shoes I suppose!

[GreenDean]

Nope. Mine doesnt work either.

When i would go hunting in the mountians with my 79 bronco which was a stick and had no e-brake as well... i would have to park it facing down hill with the bumper and hood against a tree. Thank got for those big broncos and thick *** steel.

[Stocker]

Mine works perfectly, every time, just as it did when new. I suspect they fail when:

1) Not used regularly

2) Jeep lives in the Rust Belt

[ksgrands]

The shoes are only $12.99 at O'Reilly's. I went through this this week also. Mine had NO lining. I haven't tried to see if they stop the ZJ, but we don't have inspections. And the way the "drums" rust up, I suspect new rotors are in order to actually stop it.

[CurtP]

Mine were in much worse shape than yours on the 5.9 when I got it. Nothing could break apart the rust on the adjusters, the pins that hold the shoes in place were rusted in half, and the springs had rusted away too. I was actually surprised that I got the actuators apart - took a *LOT* of time with a penetrant and a 3# fistmaul, and I suspect that it will continue to be a problem despite using a copious amount of copper anti-sieze on them. I had no liner left on the shoes whatsoever - it looked like they sized when applied, and someone just drove around on them that way. At least the cables worked ok!

After replacing everything on mine, I had to apply the parking brake while driving and let the parking brake bring me to a stop (don't do this on a road with other traffic!). After doing this a few times, the parking brake works as it's supposed to. It's still not the best, but it will hold the vehicle in place in any gear.

The parking brake in my '96 always worked very well. That vehicle was from the East coast while the 5.9 came from the Midwest. Working on a vehicle that's spent its entire life in the rust-belt leaves a lot to be desired - every nut and bolt on that thing is rusted solid!

[kjopen]

Hi Zoso,

Just wanted to add my experiences since they may help other members and mainly to say thanks for your pictures and insight into the handbrake lever actuator being two seperate parts.

When I got my GC (Mar06) the handbrake didn't even work. Got under it, noticed the cable was VERY slack, pulled the cable by hand and could hear both rear brakes working. Decided to take the slack up in the cable, this made the handbrake work and lock the wheels - great I thought... Test drove the Jeep and the handbrake locked on both wheels but wouldn't release! I engaged reverse a few times and I managed to more or less free them.

Tried adjusting the brake shoes as per manual, then re-adjusted the cable, still had the problem, of the handbrake sticking on.

So, went for the strip down; the shoes wern't that bad, the adjuster was a little rusty, the actuator lever was solid and had it not been for Zoso's insight would have sworn it was one part! I gave it lots of WD40 and couldn't firugre out how to get it off the backplate whilst it was still frozen so, gently eased it apart (in between more WD40 and waiting time) with a screw driver.

Once I seperated them, I gave them a good wire brushing then checked they worked together smoothly. Added a very small amount of slip then reassembled.

I have to say, I must now have the best handbrake anyone could have. Yes, it works excellent in Reverse AND Forward. It holds on a very steep hill (I live on Grouse Mountain, North Vancouver and we have some very steep roads!) Plus, it releases perfectly and does not drag at all.

This comes in handy now since my GC is suffering from the other wellknown 'feature' of cutting out when fuel is around 1/4 full and turning left up hill - when it stalls you're nromally left there with your foot on the brake looking an idiot!

Hope my info helps someone...

PS: Not looking forward to changing the fuel pump and am a little apprehensive on fitting a bypass one...

[///BHRpowered]

My ZJ's parking brake has never worked, period. I did fail inspection because of it though.

Solution - Go into the city and find some random korean shop where there so impressed a car didn't have to be towed in they just passed it because they don't care/know any better. Hell I just took my WJ through there with near bald tires and a brake light not working

[gunthagunth]

My ebrake worked fine one day i was stuck in some mud. I was using the ebrake to get some traction with my open d35c. I ended up getting a tug out by the rear axle and ever since the ebrake didnt work. I got my letter R MA inspection sticker and got to work. I though it was a broken cable but they were good. i had no resistance to the lever. I tightened the adjusters and cable but still nothing so i decided it was the shoes. I couldnt get the rear discs off so i bit the bullet and put the jeep in the shop. 220 dollars, new ebrake shoes, 2 new wheel studs later I got rid of my R and the ebrake is great. Id try new shoes. You know how to take them apart and your rotors are loose so give it a try. If you have resistance in the lever there is something there but not enuf pad left to grab. Either that or the drum is glazed. Clean them up with brake cleaner and swap the pads. Then you should be good.

[Zoso]

Originally Posted by gunthagunth

My ebrake worked fine one day i was stuck in some mud. I was using the ebrake to get some traction with my open d35c. I ended up getting a tug out by the rear axle and ever since the ebrake didnt work. I got my letter R MA inspection sticker and got to work. I though it was a broken cable but they were good. i had no resistance to the lever. I tightened the adjusters and cable but still nothing so i decided it was the shoes. I couldnt get the rear discs off so i bit the bullet and put the jeep in the shop. 220 dollars, new ebrake shoes, 2 new wheel studs later I got rid of my R and the ebrake is great. Id try new shoes. You know how to take them apart and your rotors are loose so give it a try. If you have resistance in the lever there is something there but not enuf pad left to grab. Either that or the drum is glazed. Clean them up with brake cleaner and swap the pads. Then you should be good.

To finish my e-brake story and let everyone else know what I learned:

I got new brake pads and put them in. I adjusted the adjusters and with them really tight it would hold the Jeep at 900 RPM in drive. The shop failed it again. The Massachusetts state law says it must hold the Jeep at 1300 RPM. I gave in and brought it to a shop.

They replaced the pads again (said I glazed mine as it was overtightened). They also replaced all the parts. They replaced the adjusters and the springs and they lubricated the pads that are on the hub area so the shoes can move with less resistance. They also said that my adjuster had frozen up again even though I put antiseize compound on it.

So the moral is - replace all the little components. They're only a few bucks and make the difference between a working brake and a failing brake.

Now my Jeep ebrake holds SOLID in drive.


kjopen,

I'm glad I was able to help! It is amazing how well those plates can stick together. I too thought they were 1 piece for while!

[Woody]

I think that shop didn't like you.

Ouch.

At least it works now. I'm lucky mine has always worked.

[72combo]

I just went thru the process of why you have to use your e brake at least once a week to make sure it does not get stuck.

[doogie1303]

I know in RI thay will also fail you if you're e-brake doesn't hold. I use mine at least once a month when I'm wrenching on the jeep for some reason or another and have it up on ramps. I get mad at my wife as she uses the e-brake cubby hole as a catch-all for all the random stuff in the car. I tell her that what good is an e-brake when its buried under tons of s***?

[QuadraTokn]

Originally Posted by Zoso

A

So I spent a long time hammering away to unstick them. I finally got them free and I applied antiseize to them and put it all back together. Did the other size, spent a long time and got that one unstuck too.

Now why didnt you use wd-40 or PB blaster?

[Mike97ZJ]

I went through the trouble of replacing all the shoes and hardware, carefully greasing everything, and unsticking and lubing the actualtor.

Not much help. It worked the frist time I tried it, and a week later I tried it again and it didn't work in drive. I didn't try reverse though.

I wish I had replaced the actuators instead of just cleaning them up and lubing them, maybe that would have made a difference.

I was lucky though, and actually got my last two stickers with the e-brake non-functioning. You just have to take it to the right place. My current stickerr is good till 12/11, so I'll worry about that one than.

[jdk3034]

I soaked the self adjusters off my parts jeep thats been sitting over 6 months in a container filled with pb blaster for like 4 days and then stuck the star wheel in my bench vise and tried turning the bolt with vise grips and it just bent and broke in half. That's how rusted up mine was (I used an 8" 3 jaw puller to get the rotor off since i couldn't loosen up the shoes and BFH wasn't working well)!!!!

BTW what part is the actuator?