does your parking brake work on a steep hill?

[vince311]

Can I expect for my parking brake cables to hold my truck in place...on a steep hill...taking pressure off the tranny?

I've just reinstalled new parking brake cables on my '84 swb (w/AT). the parking brake seems to work fine on flat ground. that's good.

however, the parking brake does not hold on a hill (my driveway). Unfortunately, this is where the truck will be parked regularly....so its essential that the parking brake works well, so not to put so much pressure on the tranny (think big clunk when putting into gear)

I've adjusted the equalizer nut....but still have a bit more room to go. I've never fooled with this, so I don't want to go too far, if there is such a thing.

any help is great appreciated. thanks

[frogman68]

Does the brake holds the vehicle while in gear and a little gas ? if so

What I usually do is put the vehicle in neutral then hit the E-Brake let my foot of the regular brake once is holding then I put it in park no big clunk

[vince311]

Does the brake holds the vehicle while in gear and a little gas ? if so

What I usually do is put the vehicle in neutral then hit the E-Brake let my foot of the regular brake once is holding then I put it in park no big clunk

currently, the e-brake does not hold when in neutral (when on a hill). I can pull onto the hill, depress the brake fully, shift into neutral, then while still depressing the brake also depress the e-brake fully...... when i lift off the brake, i start to roll. seemingly its not grabbing hard enough.

what your saying above, is exactly where I'm trying to go....   once the brake is able to "hold" the truck, while in neutral, i think my problem is fixed. just a matter of getting the e-brake adjusted to that point.

[Captkaos]

You aren't leaving it out of Park when you are parking it are you?
It should hold it on a hill.  You might need to tighten the cables and not the parking brake.  It is self adjusting.  There should be about 3-5" travel on the foot lever for engagement.

[vince311]

You aren't leaving it out of Park when you are parking it are you?
It should hold it on a hill.  You might need to tighten the cables and not the parking brake.  It is self adjusting.  There should be about 3-5" travel on the foot lever for engagement.

yes, I put the truck in 'park' when parking it. That said, the cables should be able to hold the truck (for testing purposes) while in neutral....relieving the stress on the tranny.  my intention is to have no roll back once i set the e-brake and shift into park.

The parking brake/foot pedal set-up does not need to be adjusted (i've got appropriate travel in the pedal). Sounds like I need to adjust the cable more.

[VileZambonie]

First pull your drums off and verify the shoes are sitting firmly on the anchor pin. If not, back off on the adjuster on the brake cable equalizer. Once you verify the shoes are in good shape and sitting flush on the anchor pin adjust the star wheel adjuster until there is some drag. From there you can adjust the brake cable at the equalizer for proper tension. They should hold fine. There is no need to take the pressure off of the trans but the brake should hold on any grade that you would be parked on.

[vince311]

First pull your drums off and verify the shoes are sitting firmly on the anchor pin. If not, back off on the adjuster on the brake cable equalizer. Once you verify the shoes are in good shape and sitting flush on the anchor pin adjust the star wheel adjuster until there is some drag. From there you can adjust the brake cable at the equalizer for proper tension. They should hold fine. There is no need to take the pressure off of the trans but the brake should hold on any grade that you would be parked on.

perfect! thanks!

as far as the tranny pressure, I'm more or less referring to that "clunk" as I put the tranny into gear on a hill (if no e-brake was applied). that can't be good, no?

[VileZambonie]

Check your u-joints, transmission mount, and final drive backlash for that clunk.

[werewolfx13]

Sounds like his does what all of the trucks like these I've ever driven do..if you park on a steep hill, the shifter is HARD to move out of park, then the whole truck jerks and thuds when it finally does...Course, that could be due to worn differentials..my '84 with a freshly rebuilt tranny and new u-joints did the same thing, but not as bad as my '83 does..

[lowriderbowtie]

Check your u-joints, transmission mount, and final drive backlash for that clunk.

ya i was gonna say...clunk when you put it in gear is usually pinion, yoke, or ujoints

[Fordeatinz71]

no, the clunk is perfectly normal, ya'll are reading into it.  when you are on a hill, there is so much pressure on a transmission it develops what's commonly referred to as "torque lock".  perfectly normal, but yea, it's not great to have all that weight on your park pawl. 

your park brake should be able to hold your truck on a hill with ease.  mine sure as heck will.  truthfully, you are suppose to be able to "adjust" these by making a few firm stops in reverse (from about 10-15 mph) but most the time the adjuster wheels freeze and you have to do it manually.  just like was described above, it's an easy procedure. 

anytime my truck is on a steep incline, i set my park brake with the truck still in gear.  i put it in neutral first and release the service brakes to make SURE it's gonna hold.  sometimes i'll even rock around in the truck to make certain she ain't movin...THEN i put it in park.  this way ALL your pressure is on the parking brakes. 

[Fordeatinz71]

no, the clunk is perfectly normal, ya'll are reading into it.  when you are on a hill, there is so much pressure on a transmission it develops what's commonly referred to as "torque lock".  perfectly normal, but yea, it's not great to have all that weight on your park pawl.   now, if you aren't on a hill and this is still clunking on level ground, then you have a problem. 

your park brake should be able to hold your truck on a hill with ease.  mine sure as heck will.  truthfully, you are suppose to be able to "adjust" these by making a few firm stops in reverse (from about 10-15 mph) but most the time the adjuster wheels freeze and you have to do it manually.  just like was described above, it's an easy procedure. 

anytime my truck is on a steep incline, i set my park brake with the truck still in gear.  i put it in neutral first and release the service brakes to make SURE it's gonna hold.  sometimes i'll even rock around in the truck to make certain she ain't movin...THEN i put it in park.  this way ALL your pressure is on the parking brakes. 

[VileZambonie]

It's much safer to make sure the parking pawl is positively engaged first then set your parking brake. If your parking pawl won't hold the output shaft you're in trouble.

[Fordeatinz71]

actually, i stand corrected.  VZ is correct (once again...lol).  the theory (time proven) is that if your load isn't on your park pawl and the e-brake snaps the "shock load" (the load from the truck rolling backwards a little bit and "landing" on the park pawl) might be too much for it and could break past the pawl...good catch VZ, but the park brake should still hold on a hill with no problem...

[Stewart G Griffin]

So.....is parking on an incline without using the emergency brake harmful to the transmission?  i never use the emergency brake and never have.