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Parking brake fiasco

Aerohokie

SM 2020
PM 2017
Full Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2006
Messages
249
Location
Pensacola, FL
So I just fell victim to the broken spring clip bolt. Tried like heck, but couldn?t get it out. Went to weld it in, but the dissimilar metals wouldn?t make a good bond. I easily broke the welds meaning the clip could easily comes loose while driving. Not worth the risk! So that leaves me with no parking brake on the left side.

The driver side has all parking brake hardware removed except the lever and the spring is seated like normal. Does anyone see any issues driving it like this until I can pull the axle and fix it right?

Also I used those 2 piece backing plates to repair my rusty ones. Not worth it. They are very flimsy and scrape on the rotor. I have no doubt the harder rotor will scrape away the sheet metal backing plate and be quiet, but knowing the weak point of parking brake bolts, I recommend pulling axles and replacing everything together. That?s what I am planning on later this year.
 
I removed all my park brake stuff on my 2002 about 3 years ago maybe 2 I forget.

I do not regret it as the longer it was in there the more risk I was for the shoes cutting the rotor hat off and having a big issue..

I never use parking brake anyway.
causes more harm then good.

Would be a good poll - DO YOU USE YOUR PARK BRAKE?
 
I don't think my parking brake has been functional for years.
 
Yeah, I understand not having a parking brake, and I thought about it, but I want one. Having the truck roll backwards until the trans holds it is a PITA on the boat ramp when I launch my jet ski every weekend. The loud clunk as I force it into gear can?t be good for it.

One side is built correct, the other side is all gone except the lever and cable. As far as I can tell, this configuration is safe and has tested functional while on jack stands. I plan to roll with it until I can repair the left side unless anyone sees a problem that I don?t see.
 
I don't know if it applies to the state you live in but in many states a parking brake functioning properly is part of the yearly state safety inspection.
I would also worry in today's litigious society that if something bad happened and a person got injured or killed due to vehicle rolling over them or even just property damage that you might be held responsible due to disabling or failing to maintain a safety feature....
Good luck with your attempt to fix things!
 
Parking brake is the part I dread every year when I get the Av inspected. They'll apply parking brake then put it in drive and reverse to see if it holds. I can get it to hold if I fully depress the pedal. I need to re-do all of that and replace the cables.
 
Thankfully I am in FL with no inspections. The half parking brake is only until I can afford to redo the rear end/remove axles. Mechanically it seems sound. I am going to try one more thing and overdrill the hole and tap it. It will be a slight angle, but should hold the spring clip. I will update.
 
Not worth messing with if you don't use it.

You will likely end up replacing the cable too which I hear is a pain also.
 
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