Parking brake tension

[humberto1024]

Hey all, having issues with the parking/emergency break on my 2004 Expedition. It is four wheel drive and four disc brake. Has new rotors and new brake pads brakes are working great however parking brake does not hold the vehicle. I have started at the brake pedal and follow the cable all the way back to the rear differential and I do not see anything? How do I tighten this thing up? Please advise thank you

 

[Hamfisted]

Take the tire off, take the brake caliper off, take the rotor off, find the star wheel at the bottom of the assembly and turn it to push the parking brake shoes outward.
A shop would use a large measuring caliper to set the clearance between rotor and shoes to .010 - .013" .





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[humberto1024]

So if I understand you correctly there is a secondary manual set of brake pads behind everything? Well that's the darndest thing. I will search for that thank you very much

 

[mr_dave]

Yeah there's essentially a drum brake on the reverse/inside of the disc, which is the parking brake. I was unaware of it myself until I recently did a full brake job.

 

[LouG921]

i have also this problem. After replacing the 3 cables, still no parking brake.
The mechanic told me there is a problem with the lever at the top of the parking brake shoes - some type of wear or slop that does not allow enough tension to spread the shoes.
This is after adjusting the star wheel at the bottom of the shoes -- if they are spread too much at the bottom, they hit the rotor.

Any recommendations for this ? Perhaps some type of extra tensioner on the cable ?

 

[LouG921]

SEE THIS PART:

 

[whtbronco]

That would be a lot of wear for a piece that doesn't move far or often. I use my parking brake every time I park and still that's not that often all things considered. The assembly moves so little I would look for wear in the shoes or the drum surface. If the shoes are significantly worn from being improperly adjusted or accidently left engaged they will wear quickly and require much more movement to engage. Have you replaced the rotors or shoes?

If it is the lever you're probably stuck with a salvage yard for a replacement.