Parking breaks gone after leaving them on...

[PilotPhill]

Hi all,
I'm brand new to the explorer community as my uncle just gave me his old explorer. It's got about 100k Mike's on it and has been taken pretty good care of. Unfortunately however, a few years ago, it was driven with the parking brake on. My Uncle had them fixed twice but neither time worked for long. He said the repair men said something about the line being tightened? Anyways, it's been used without the parking brake for the past few years and I was wondering if there was a known failure point that might be relatively easily fixed?
Thanks, Phillip

 

[GTMountain]

Just replace the cable assembly. They stretch over time and can really only be adjusted so far.

 

[GTMountain]

The entire parking brake system is less than $100 in parts from RockAuto by the way.

 

[SupaSwope]

I just redid my parking brake pads and hardware but my pedal still travels way to far for normal use and I am thinking my cable is stretched as well. How big of a job is the cable replacement?

 

[96eb96]

I just redid my parking brake pads and hardware but my pedal still travels way to far for normal use and I am thinking my cable is stretched as well. How big of a job is the cable replacement?

Not so much a big job but the aftermarket cables are total junk. RA ended up refunding me no questions asked when I sent a photo. I think the bad one was Raybestos. You would think something like that would be simple.

I also had Dorman and NAPA fail(they could be the same) but the Dorman one seems to be holding up.

There also may be a few OE ones on ebay, but they are quite rare.

 

[GTMountain]

Job is simple enough. Even for a full system replacement. RockAuto carries the Motorcraft replacement. Not sure if there's year-to-year changes on it that may affect availability.

 

[lobo411]

Removing the rotors isn't too hard, so the first thing I'd do is inspect the parking brake system to make sure that it was reassembled correctly. Just because it was worked on twice doesn't mean that the persons who serviced it were competent.

 

[PilotPhill]

Okay, thanks so much guys. I will order the replacement parts from rock auto then and have the issue solves shortly. Thanks again!

 

[drdoom]

I would check the actuator arms where they enter the backing plate, common to rust and seize up. Also try adjusting the shoes.

 

[swshawaii]

I just redid my parking brake pads and hardware but my pedal still travels way to far for normal use and I am thinking my cable is stretched as well. How big of a job is the cable replacement?

Also try adjusting the shoes.

Exactly. Even with stretched cables, surprised this wasn't mentioned after doing parking brake repairs. Ford service manual shows a gauge for shoe adjustment, but it's not needed. Chock tires, release the parking brake, and remove the rubber adjuster covers. Use a stubby flat blade screwdriver and turn the star adjuster until shoes are tight against the drum. Loosen the adjuster 3 to 4 clicks, or just enough where the shoes aren't contacting the drum. Repeat other side and test.

 

[Rickter Spatz]

Recently did the parking brake pads, hardware, and 2 cables in the back. Don't have it quite right - Chilton manual shows a procedure removing the pedal assembly and using another cable to somehow re-set the ratchet? I've been avoiding trying it.