kd1yt
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Before I gripe about the parking brake and its repeated fail, I want to say that I remain, overall, delighted by this truck, and this issue I am having with the P-brake doesn't take away from that.
But... [I did a search to see if anyone else is running into this, and, at least in a quick search, am not finding anything] I am having repeat trouble with the P-brake and it is highly annoying.
VERY interested in and will greatly appreciate others' suggestions.
From early in my ownership I started having repeat issues with the parking brake.
When the truck was new (August 2019), the P-brake worked effectively and normally. My truck is a 6MT. I routinely use the parking brake for the intended purpose, and I don't use it or abuse it for unintended purposes.
Within a month or two, something had come so loose so that when you pulled up the P-brake lever, nothing happened to apply braking, and the handle was so effortless that it was clear that nothing was going on.
Took it to dealer. They adjusted it. Worked OK again.
Got loose again. Was at the dealer for something else, they adjusted it again. Worked OK again.
Some months later, the P-brake started becoming noticeably less effective and the handle was taking less and less effort and no real braking going on. It was gradual at first, and then it became dramatic - it basically did nothing at all.
Took it to dealer - they said a part had come loose and gone missing, and that they didn't have the needed part in stock and they had to order the part. They got the part, installed the part, and the P-brake worked again. That was in Fall 2020. Wasn't driving much at all due to working from home in most of 2020 and the first half of 2021.
By Spring 2021, the P-brake was again having less and less effect. If I was stationary and in neutral on even the mildest of inclines, with the P-brake engaged, the truck would roll. It rolled less with the P-brake on than it would roll with the P-brake not on, but it shouldn't have been rolling at all.
And then one day, a few weeks ago, when I was exhausted from a long and havoc-filled day at work, and running errands after work, I accidentally drove away from Tractor Supply with the P-brake handle still up. At this point the P-brake was so ineffective, I didn't really notice the drag for about a third of a mile. Not something I would ever normally do. Not anything I would fail to immediately notice if the P-brake was actually engaging effectively. But I am sure it didn't do great things for the P-brake linings. And it took the effectiveness of the P-brake when engaged from "barely detectable" to "completely un-detectable" at preventing the truck, when in N, from rolling on even the mildest incline.
At this point I am super frustrated. I need to get the truck annual inspected (overdue, in fact), and it won't pass with a non-working P-brake.
From looking online, YouTube, etc., it appears that there are two places that can be adjusted - one by un-doing and lifting up the center console, and adjusting the cable, and the other by adjusting the 'ratchet wheel' within the brake housing, which affects how closely the P-brake shoes are positioned in relation to the P-Brake drum that is at the center of the rear brake disc "hat." Both look like "kind of a pain" - I am not mechanically intimidated, I have done DIY engine swaps - but removing or working under a half-removed console looks cramped and clumsy, and adjusting the star wheels seems to necessitate pulling the rear brake calipers to be able to remove the rubber access plug to get in/at the star wheels. And most of all I don't want to be trying things repeatedly trial and error to try to get to the bottom of it.
Part of me is inclined to take it to the dealer and demand that they fix it again, and hopefully for good. But based on experience to date, not especially confident that'll be the end result.
Part of me is inclined to just dive in and try to get to the bottom of it myself. But I don't want to do repeat trial and error. If I need to just bite the bullet and buy new (and, if available, better quality) P-brake shoes, I'd rather do that and just start from a clean slate - _if_ that is likely to actually produce better, and lasting, results.
Has anyone else run into this and are there known problem points or known fixes?
Thanks in advance!
But... [I did a search to see if anyone else is running into this, and, at least in a quick search, am not finding anything] I am having repeat trouble with the P-brake and it is highly annoying.
VERY interested in and will greatly appreciate others' suggestions.
From early in my ownership I started having repeat issues with the parking brake.
When the truck was new (August 2019), the P-brake worked effectively and normally. My truck is a 6MT. I routinely use the parking brake for the intended purpose, and I don't use it or abuse it for unintended purposes.
Within a month or two, something had come so loose so that when you pulled up the P-brake lever, nothing happened to apply braking, and the handle was so effortless that it was clear that nothing was going on.
Took it to dealer. They adjusted it. Worked OK again.
Got loose again. Was at the dealer for something else, they adjusted it again. Worked OK again.
Some months later, the P-brake started becoming noticeably less effective and the handle was taking less and less effort and no real braking going on. It was gradual at first, and then it became dramatic - it basically did nothing at all.
Took it to dealer - they said a part had come loose and gone missing, and that they didn't have the needed part in stock and they had to order the part. They got the part, installed the part, and the P-brake worked again. That was in Fall 2020. Wasn't driving much at all due to working from home in most of 2020 and the first half of 2021.
By Spring 2021, the P-brake was again having less and less effect. If I was stationary and in neutral on even the mildest of inclines, with the P-brake engaged, the truck would roll. It rolled less with the P-brake on than it would roll with the P-brake not on, but it shouldn't have been rolling at all.
And then one day, a few weeks ago, when I was exhausted from a long and havoc-filled day at work, and running errands after work, I accidentally drove away from Tractor Supply with the P-brake handle still up. At this point the P-brake was so ineffective, I didn't really notice the drag for about a third of a mile. Not something I would ever normally do. Not anything I would fail to immediately notice if the P-brake was actually engaging effectively. But I am sure it didn't do great things for the P-brake linings. And it took the effectiveness of the P-brake when engaged from "barely detectable" to "completely un-detectable" at preventing the truck, when in N, from rolling on even the mildest incline.
At this point I am super frustrated. I need to get the truck annual inspected (overdue, in fact), and it won't pass with a non-working P-brake.
From looking online, YouTube, etc., it appears that there are two places that can be adjusted - one by un-doing and lifting up the center console, and adjusting the cable, and the other by adjusting the 'ratchet wheel' within the brake housing, which affects how closely the P-brake shoes are positioned in relation to the P-Brake drum that is at the center of the rear brake disc "hat." Both look like "kind of a pain" - I am not mechanically intimidated, I have done DIY engine swaps - but removing or working under a half-removed console looks cramped and clumsy, and adjusting the star wheels seems to necessitate pulling the rear brake calipers to be able to remove the rubber access plug to get in/at the star wheels. And most of all I don't want to be trying things repeatedly trial and error to try to get to the bottom of it.
Part of me is inclined to take it to the dealer and demand that they fix it again, and hopefully for good. But based on experience to date, not especially confident that'll be the end result.
Part of me is inclined to just dive in and try to get to the bottom of it myself. But I don't want to do repeat trial and error. If I need to just bite the bullet and buy new (and, if available, better quality) P-brake shoes, I'd rather do that and just start from a clean slate - _if_ that is likely to actually produce better, and lasting, results.
Has anyone else run into this and are there known problem points or known fixes?
Thanks in advance!
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