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Parking Brake Adjustment

13K views 17 replies 8 participants last post by  turbojimmy 
#1 ·
So the parking brake on our newly-acquired '08 Rubicon doesn't work. It doesn't even try. Lever goes the whole way up with pretty much no resistance. The cable isn't broken, though.

I took both wheels, calipers and rotors off of it. The shoes are pretty thin, but should still work. I adjusted them up to where I could barely get the drums on. Still doesn't work. It is definitely improved, but still isn't even close to being functional.

So - is there another adjustment like on the TJs? Or am I hosed (remove axles, replace shoes)?
 
#2 ·
Get a brake adjuster tool. Practice adjusting the brake through the access port in the backing plate where you can see what you're doing. Put the rotor on. Adjust the brake a little bit at a time until the handle firms up but the wheel still spins with some resistance. Adjust the other side. It may help to switch back and forth between sides doing adjustments.

Also, look at the rotors. If they have a lip on them you should grind it down to make getting them on easier with the shoes adjusted properly. Or just go ahead and get a new set of rotors.
 
#6 ·
Get a brake adjuster tool. Practice adjusting the brake through the access port in the backing plate where you can see what you're doing. Put the rotor on. Adjust the brake a little bit at a time until the handle firms up but the wheel still spins with some resistance.
I wish I had thought of doing this earlier. But, at least now everything is loosened up. Someone had put the lug nuts on with a 1,000,000 ft. lb. torque wrench and the rotors were seized to the axles. The adjusters were seized, too. PB Blaster took care of that. It will come apart much easier next time around.
 
#5 ·
Yep - that's the process I followed.

The drum does have a lip on it, so I suspect that's my problem. I need a legitimate brake adjuster tool. The screwdriver isn't cutting it. I figure so long as there is any material at all on the pads, it should hold. The adjusters were bottomed the whole way out - they apparently had never been adjusted. I have a lot of range to play with if I can get it adjusted with the drum/rotor on.
 
#8 ·
I also just noticed that there is no BRAKE warning when I pull up the handle. There should be, right? I know it's mechanical and the lack of a warning would have nothing to do with the inop parking brake but it makes me think it's been messed with. The problem might be at the handle and not at the shoes.
 
#10 ·
Just did mine and it didn't work. There was about 1/4 inch of pad still there and the jeep has only 16K on it. Tighten the wheel all the way and the rotor still could easily slide on. Time for new shoes?
 
#12 ·
Adjustment was backwards from description. Passenger was clockwise and driver counter clockwise. Now the hand brake only comes a few clicks before tightening. Yea!!!!
 
#13 ·
The dealership replaced my rear drums and pads and I still had no e brake. The jeep didn't go off road and two days later I went back to have them 're work it. They said it had been off road to much to get repaired. Even though two days prior they replaced everything so they say. It's amazing on how crappy my dealership is with repairs.
 
#14 ·
Welcome to the Mopar warranty. Some dealers are real crappy about off roading. For me I take on all repairs myself, even though it's under warranty. If you don't want to tackle it yourself then try a different dealer. Ask jeepers in your area who is off road friendly.
 
#15 ·
So, I replaced the rotors/drums last night. The old ones had a lip that made it hard to slide them on and off. After I installed them, I wound the adjusters up until the rotors were hard to turn and backed them off slightly.

The feel at the e-brake handle is exactly the same - no change at all. It's not really offering any resistance whatsoever. You can pull it the whole way up to its stop. All the brakes do is groan a little when the Jeep rolls - they don't try to stop it.

So now what? Does the clutch mechanism in the handle go bad? The shoes look pretty thin, but I figure as long as there is material there, and they're adjusted up against the drum, then the parking brake should work.

The handle assembly isn't terribly expensive. Maybe I should go there next?
 
#17 ·
I replaced the rear pads and rotors and had to loosen the e-brake to get the rotors off and yea forgot to retighten it so as of now I have ZERO functioning e-brake. Handle is firm but doesn't hold the Jeep at all. And now I don't have enough space to get the rubber plug off again so I'd need to take the caliper off to fix it. I'll do it in like 25k when the rears crap the bed again.
 
#18 ·
I replaced the parking brake lever assembly last night. That was the problem. There are a few good YouTube vids on the job, but it was pretty easy. Since we have a manual we could swing the console out of the way without actually removing it.

The cable had come off the pulley on the old one and it was jammed in the spring. Since the spring was jammed up, there was no clutch action at all. I probably could have salvaged it but I already had a new one. The original cable was a bit frayed anyway.

Now I only get 2 clicks and it holds rock solid.
 
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