P32 Parking Brake

[MikeCoke]

I have a 2004 Winnebago Sightseer on a P32 chassis.
In Dec 2009 I had the brakes serviced that included flushing the fluid checking & repacking the bearing and adjusting the brakes.
After that the parking brake pedal went down a lot when pushed but I did not think anything about it. I just discovered that the PB when push down does not apply the brakes. I discovered this when I went to dump the tanks, I applied the PB and put the tranny in neutral and the rig started rolling. I then released the brake and pushed the pedal down again it went all the way and it rolled with no resistance. I then put the tranny in gear and it rolls freely.
I have no Parking brakes at all.
here is my question can I adjust the Parking brakes or is it something I need to have done by a shop and pay to have it done.
I am too faw from RedLands, CA to go back there to have them checked & adjusted.

Mike -- on the road with no Parking Brakes

[edgray]

Mike: It is possible you have inadvertantly driven with the AAPB applied and worn out the brake shoes in the PB drum. As a short term, stop gap method ONLY, you can stop the coach and deploy your jacks if on a level surface, but having an assistant place wheel chocks is the preferred method to prevent it from rolling until you get it repaired.

For EXPERT advice on the entire system, you need to contact Roger at : oldusedbear@oemys-performance.com

Good luck,
Ed

[MikeCoke]

hello Ed,
If AAPB means the Auto Park Brake I do not have that.
I have a Park brake pedal I push to apply the brake & a handle just under the dash I pull to release the Park brake.
I cralwed under the rig today & i think the Parking brake is on the drive shaft.
I had thought the park brake was part of the rear brake system at the rear wheels.
Am I correct the park brake is a seperate brake system.

Mike

Quote:

Originally Posted by edgray Mike: It is possible you have inadvertantly driven with the AAPB applied and worn out the brake shoes in the PB drum. As a short term, stop gap method ONLY, you can stop the coach and deploy your jacks if on a level surface, but having an assistant place wheel chocks is the preferred method to prevent it from rolling until you get it repaired. For EXPERT advice on the entire system, you need to contact Roger at : oldusedbear@oemys-performance.com Good luck, Ed

[Hammerdown]

Yes, it is a separate system mounted on the drive shaft. It still may be true that the brake wasn't fully released. I thankfully caught myself with that situation after leaving a rest area. I had driven only 2-3 miles before realizing what happened. At the next stop when applying the parking brake it took a longer stroke of the PB pedal to actuate it. I was amazed how much it wore in such a short time.

Dick

[edgray]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeCoke hello Ed, If AAPB means the Auto Park Brake I do not have that. I have a Park brake pedal I push to apply the brake & a handle just under the dash I pull to release the Park brake. I cralwed under the rig today & i think the Parking brake is on the drive shaft. I had thought the park brake was part of the rear brake system at the rear wheels. Am I correct the park brake is a seperate brake system. Mike

Mike: You are correct. I was wrong to assume you had a J71 AAPB on your P-32 chassis. I made this mistake because MOST of them do. However, apparently your 15,000 lb GVWR chassis used the 4L85-E tranny and that apparently does provide a park pawl, therefore no AAPB is required.

You are also correct about the foot applied PB being a device attached to your DS, and not the rear wheel brakes.

It is still possible that you've worn down the shoes inside the PB until they won't hold. I think there is a clevis on the end of the cable that you can remove, turn to "shorten" the cable, and then re-attach. This proceedure MAY give you enough adjustment to tighten the shoes, otherwise you'll need to replace them.
good luck,
Ed

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by edgray Mike: You are correct. I was wrong to assume you had a J71 AAPB on your P-32 chassis. I made this mistake because MOST of them do. However, apparently your 15,000 lb GVWR chassis used the 4L85-E tranny and that apparently does provide a park pawl, therefore no AAPB is required.

I believe that the 15K "pony" may have a 4L80e which always had a foot apply brake and parking pawl ...

If I'm a lying I'm a cryin' If he has a 2003 chassis under the 2004 coach that would explain it. As far as I know there aren't any 4L85e(s) with parking pawls.

[edgray]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DriVer I believe that the 15K "pony" may have a 4L80e which always had a foot apply brake and parking pawl ... If I'm a lying I'm a cryin' If he has a 2003 chassis under the 2004 coach that would explain it. As far as I know there aren't any 4L85e(s) with parking pawls.

Mike: the info I posted was derived from WOW. Ed

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by edgray Mike: the info I posted was derived from WOW. Ed

All 2004 P Series 15 to 18K had 4L85e trannys. It is my recollection that all 4L85e supplied to WCC did not have parking pawls BUT I could be convinced that some were!

In the Chassis Guide a 2003 15K P had a 4L80e. This could possibly be under an 04 coach and it would not have an AAPB.

[EngineerMike]

My 4L80-E (a '95 version on a P30) did NOT have the parking pawl, had the auto-park instead. For better or worse, richer or poorer, till death ... Not my favorite piece of apparatus, woulda liked to have the parking pawl.

If you are past the adjustment, and can find a long enough piece of exposed cable in a run location where fittings will not snag on anything, you can back out the adjustment all the way, turn it in maybe two turns, cut & splice the cable shorter where the free length occurs. IIRC the cable has press-made ends, making end adjustment difficult at best. You can get crimp type by-pass splice fittings or u-clamp type (see p.5) at hardware stores. You will need at least two, 3 is better, and again, the splice needs to be where the fittings won't hang up on anything and you need sufficient bypass length.

[MikeCoke]

First off I would like to thank all that replied.
I found that the end of the arking brake cable had a turnbuckle type adjstment on it with a locking nut. I ended up using all the available adjustment and that gave me a parking brake that will hold the rig from rolling.

Mike

[MikeCoke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DriVer All 2004 P Series 15 to 18K had 4L85e trannys. It is my recollection that all 4L85e supplied to WCC did not have parking pawls BUT I could be convinced that some were! In the Chassis Guide a 2003 15K P had a 4L80e. This could possibly be under an 04 coach and it would not have an AAPB.

Here is what the 2009 Chassis Guide says. The 4L80-E was used in the 1999-2002 model year chassis. The 4L85-E was introduced in 2003 and became the standard in all P Series chassis with the 8.1L engine.

The 12300, 14800 and 15000 lb GVWR used either a manual lever or pedal that activated the rear brakes or the transmission mounted propshaft drum brake. 16500 and over used the automatic apply parking brake.

[JimElliott]

Just a thought on the drive shaft brakes.
On my older 83 after a carefulllllll inspection a small slot on the drum was noticed so it was decided to check out what is inside....
The slot revealed a brake shoe adjuster (12 o'clock position) so out with the brake spoon....
After MANY clicks on the pawl the shoes started to rub the drum and the cable had to be re-lubed and re-set, Now the shoes had a slight DRAG and the knob on the brake handle backed off....Why I didn't back off everything at first still bugs this old man BUT anyhow the brake works much better along with plenty of handle adjustment left....
With NO light on the dash for indicating the brake is set I hafta push myself to make sure the brake is OFF when it's time to move on...

Jim

[TandW]

Sorry I missed this thread. There is a ratchet wheel inside the brake housing for adjustment of the shoes. Bear in mind that there is a lever within that will BOTTOM OUT if there has been appreciable wear and you make an adjustment at the cable instead of at the ratchet wheel. In my opinion you should reverse what you did at the cable. Then adjust the shoes at the ratchet wheel. You will have to knock in the oval slug found at the bottom front of the brake backing plate.Good luck!!

[TandW]

PS: There's not much material on these shoes.