W22 parking brake not working - Question

Scooter · 08-25-2011, 02:34 PM

This is a new to us 2003 Dolphin LX 6355 on a 2002 (I think) W22 chassis with a 8.1L gas engine and Allison 1000.

W/H dealer gave us all new brakes under the recall a couple of months ago. Just now it dawned on me to try the E-brake. Nothing happens. Push down, no clicks or resistance. Release handle....no "clunk".

Don't think I have the auto park brake, J71 or J72 or whatever, not sure. Shift display says "P" not "PB". On display panel: (!) (P) BRAKE lights up when the parking brake petal is pushed down. SPID tag says: M74 - 5SP A/T 1000 HS/MH/RDS.

I chatted with the W/H brake job mechanic who said to start engine, put in neutral and push on E-brake. I did. Nothing.

I'm pretty lame on vehicle problems. Guess I could crawl under the Dolphin and see if I can spot a drum brake on the tranny. Otherwise, it sounds like if you have auto park, the pawl is inside the tranny and the pump ass'y is located at the "front drivers side radiator core support".

From reading the W/H chassis guide (rev. 2/2004) it appears only the W24 chassis and some P-series had the auto park brake.

So as I am pontificating about all this......could it be that I have conventional hydraulic brakes and the parking brake cable is disconnected or loose? Hope so.

Thanks in advance for reading this tome and your advice.

edgray · 08-25-2011, 03:03 PM

IF you have a W-22, the good news is that there is NOT an AAPB of any kind. If there is a foot-applied parking brake pedal to the left of the steering column, it is intended to allow you to applythe parking brake on the DS, just aft of the tranny.

If you engage the PB pedal, but the coach will still roll when placed in neutral on an incline, then your PB needs repair or adjustment. However, all this also means that placing the shift lever in "P" should engage the parking pawl inside the Allison, just like doing so in a car. Therefore, you should not have an "emergency" concern about the coach rolling downhill, but I would still URGE you to get your foot-applied parking brake repaired/ adjusted so that it can function to take stress off the tranny. Ed

**"007"** · 08-25-2011, 03:12 PM

The linkage to the parking brake shoe on back end of your trans may need some PB-Blaster to free up linkage.
Let it workin and than try your brake.

woodyk · 08-27-2011, 05:38 PM

Does you emergency brake pedal stay engaged (locked) when you push on it or does it come back to the disengaged positon (up)? If it doesn't stay down then your leveling jacks will not operate either. Check the hardware at where the EM brake it attached to see if there is something loose not allowing it to engage when pushed down.

Woodyk
2004 Allegro Bay

Scooter · 08-31-2011, 02:11 PM

Here is the answer: I do have conventional parking brake, not the auto park brake.

I was not pressing my foot down, hard, to engage. You have to REALLY press down hard to hear the familiar "click, click".

I works fine. I just needed to eat my Wheaties in the morning.

Alan_Hepburn · 08-31-2011, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by woodyk

Does you emergency brake pedal stay engaged...

Just a nit to pick here: it's not an emergency brake; it's a parking brake. It's designed to be used to hold the vehicle stationary when it's parked. That's not the job of the transmission. If you've ever had to try and wrestle a transmission out of P after the vehicle has rolled an inch and put all 22K lbs of itself against that tiny pawl then you haven't lived yet...

DAN L · 09-01-2011, 02:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan_Hepburn

Just a nit to pick here: it's not an emergency brake; it's a parking brake. It's designed to be used to hold the vehicle stationary when it's parked. That's not the job of the transmission. If you've ever had to try and wrestle a transmission out of P after the vehicle has rolled an inch and put all 22K lbs of itself against that tiny pawl then you haven't lived yet...

i reckon you could have chocked the front wheels securely and jacked the rear wheels off the ground to release the parking pawl...

Alan_Hepburn · 09-01-2011, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DAN L

i reckon you could have chocked the front wheels securely and jacked the rear wheels off the ground to release the parking pawl...

Fortunately I've never had to try it - I learned early from my Dad that the parking brake is the right tool to use. But I did have to help my Mom once in her '57 Mercury Commuter station wagon - she had parked on a pretty steep hill and not used the parking brake. Trying to yank that thing out of park was a chore - I ended up backing my truck up against her car and pushing it uphill a bit to get the bloody thing to release - Dad really let her have it when we got home!