Parking brake problem

[hamguy]

I have a Workhorse chassis on my '02 Itasca 35U. The parking brake is hard to depress and quite often does not 'lock' (click) but may or may not jam. Of course, I can't operate the hydraulics, etc without the brake latched.

Is there a procedure for adjusting this brake?

Thanks all.

[wa8yxm]

Gee, I have the othe rproblem.. The brake is far too easy to depress and goes farther than I think it should... Was goign to ask the same quesiton.

I think I may have driven with the brake engaged.. IN doing some other work under the dash I noticed one of the parking brake sensor wires ... Disconnected

Having re-connected it I find that if I try to drive with the pedal down it gets real annoying (As alarms should) but I suspect.. that was the disconnected wire.

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hamguy Is there a procedure for adjusting this brake?

hamguy, It's possible that you have a bad brake cable. I believe that the adjustment is at the drive line brake and is set using a clevis. It should not take an extraordinary amount of force to get your brake to set within the first few clicks and if you can't do that I'm going with a bad cable. If the drum brake wears the clearances increase making the pedal go to the floor even further. To adjust this; the free play needs to be reduced.

[Full-Timers]

Mine has been the same way since new. It’s tough to engage and I can only get one click out of it.

[DAN L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hamguy I have a Workhorse chassis on my '02 Itasca 35U. The parking brake is hard to depress and quite often does not 'lock' (click) but may or may not jam. Of course, I can't operate the hydraulics, etc without the brake latched. Is there a procedure for adjusting this brake? Thanks all.

you may have 2 issues. the first is the flimsy white parking brake switch. use the search function on this forum to find out more info about this switch. the switch on mine is loosely attached. the connecting wire fell off on mine. i hold my foot on the pb pedal when i release my pb to keep it from slamming up. this procedure seems to help.

the second issue is the physical cable to parking brake drum located on the rear of the transmission on the driveshaft may need adjusting. the parking brake actuating cable is attached to the brake actuating lever by a clevis. this clevis is threaded but doesn't look like it. there is no jamb nut. i removed the clevis cotter pin and the clevis pin and threaded the clevis in about 1/4'', essentially making the cable shorter. i made sure that i did not make the brake shoes too tight in the pb brake drum by turning the driveshaft by hand. i then reinstalled the clevis pin and safetied it in place with a new cotter pin.
as always, safety first. i jacked the rear wheels of my moho off the ground with the hwh jacks. i was on level concrete. the front jacks were up just a little. the front wheels were chocked fore and aft. i used jackstands under the rear suspension. the transmission must be in neutral to turn the driveshaft. using an inspection mirror in the gap in front of the brake drum, i found that there was a lot of brake lining left.
i am told that replacing the pb brake lining is a real pita. don't drive the moho with the pb engaged as the previous owner of my moho did and your pb should last a very long time.

[hamguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Full-Timers Mine has been the same way since new. It’s tough to engage and I can only get one click out of it.

That is mine to a tee. And BTW, I have driven the rig with the brake on a couple of times.

[edgray]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hamguy ..... And BTW, I have driven the rig with the brake on a couple of times.

hamguy: Given that you have apparently not been able to apply the PB too aggresively, you may not have worn out the pads inside the drum. However, while you are trying to adjust your PB, you may want to inspect the pads just to confirm that you still have a functional PB to relieve thee strain on the tranny park pawl.

FWIW, I just pulled my Vue, with the PB applied, behind the Horse for about 200 miiles. I already know I'm looking at a full brake job on the rear of it because I'm hearing the squeel every time I touch the Vue's brake pedal. BUMMER!
Ed

[TandW]

On the Workhorse chassis with driveline brake drum an inadvertant trip with the brake on can melt the nylon sheath within the brake cable end that attaches to the brake fulcrum. This can result in a non-release condition where the brake will continue to drag, wearing down the shoes. There is little friction material on these shoes to begin with. Good luck!!