adjust parking brake

[FordExplorer2002]

i went to the garage to get my ex inspected and it failed because of the e-brake cable and the brake pedal goes down to far before the brake engades. my question is how do u adjust if u can at all the e-brake cable on dish brakes? thanks in advance

[bizzs]

Behind the rear rotors is where the parking brake is located. (These are the horseshoe type shoes.) You will see a small slot that gives access to the adjuster. I use a small screw driver to make the adjustment. Adjust until you feel the wheel dragging a little when the rear tire is spun by hand, or take the caliber off. You will have access to the drum and parking brakes. Remove the drum in and out to see if their is any drag on the drum. If there is not, remove the drum and you will see the adjuster. Most of these parking brakes are frozen up and need to be replaced. They are a real SOB to replace and you may need an extra set of hands to help out. I had all of the correct tools and I still needed help to get the springs on because there is minimal space to work. And becareful not to damage the drum if you have to beat the drum off with a hammer.

Bizzs

[FordExplorer2002]

thanks ill take a look at this i hope its not frozen

[FordExplorer2002]

witch set is usualy frozen front or rear cable? i think i can get a guy to do it for me lol

[Exproblems]

Originally Posted by FordExplorer2002

witch set is usualy frozen front or rear cable? i think i can get a guy to do it for me lol

The Parking Brakes or Emergency Brakes are in the rear of the vehicle, on the inside section of the rear brake rotor. It is the "Star Wheel Adjuster" that usually freezes up (rusts in place and won't spin) when not used or adjusted in years. To get at the Star wheel adjuster you will have to remove the rear brake rotor on each rear wheel and drill, tap or punch out the adjuster hole in the backing plate located right behind the star wheel. Ford never puched out this hole from the factory like in years past. Once you punch out this hole, you can attempt to adjust the rear parking brakes via the star wheel from behind the wheel assembly using a star wheel adjuster tool or a flat headed screw driver. If you happen to take the rear parking brake hardware apart to replace it, apply anti-seize compound to the threads of the star wheel bolt so it can easily be adjusted in the future if needed and it will keep it from rusting solid. The Parking brake hardware and the inner rotor surface usually rust up from lack of use. The inner rotor surface also gets a lip formed into it from the parking brake pad rubbing against it over time. This lip gets caught up on the brake hardware when you attempt to slide off the rotors. Getting a rusted up rear rotor to slide off can be a PITA so plan on using some elbow grease and force to get them to come off. BTW, a spongy brake pedal may be due to some air in the brake lines. You may need to bleed out the air in the brake lines. On the back of each brake caliper is an air bleeder valve and there is a procedure to follow when doing this. It's usually a 2 person job to bleed out the air in brake lines.

[FordExplorer2002]

is there anywhere i can find a guide to taking the hardware off ? the adjusters are def siezed and in order to get them unsiezed i need to take them all apart just seems like a tight fit in there. or can i just take the adjusters themselve off without takeing the rest out?

[Exproblems]

Originally Posted by FordExplorer2002

is there anywhere i can find a guide to taking the hardware off ? the adjusters are def siezed and in order to get them unsiezed i need to take them all apart just seems like a tight fit in there. or can i just take the adjusters themselve off without takeing the rest out?

I'm fairly sure you have to disconnect all the parking brake hardware to get at the "star wheel adjuster". Did you get the rotors to come off? I think "BigRondo" posted up a pic a while back, of an exploded view of the parking brake assembly/hardware where it shows where each part connects together. Maybe send him a message or look for it through the search box. Don't forget to anti-seize the star wheel bolt threads once you get them off so you don't have to go through this in the future.

[bizzs]

I would replace all of the hardware to make sure everything is functioning correctly. The hardware kits are inexpensive, and additionally, I would replace the parking brakes too. As I explained in my previous post, these brakes are a SOB to put on by yourself because their is minimal space to work. The hardest part of the job is to get the top spring attached to the brake shoe. I had to have someone help me finangle the spring back in because it would only semi-attach to the shoe. There is detailed information posted on this forum with some different tricks that others had success with.

Good luck]
Bizzs

[jstorm001]

My explorer did that too come to find out the brake shoes wasn't adjusted correctly causing them to be engaged when i was driving the shoes where gone notting but pieces of medal. If there not adjusted just right this will happen not much room in there they need to be set perfect

[FordExplorer2002]

great news i used a bunch of bp blaster on em and freed up the adjusted woot. adjusted the e-brakes and there working excellent now. as far as the squishy brake pedal still looking have bled the breaks and the breaks look fine not sure what there talking about i personaly think the pedal is fine it shouldnt have failed im brining it back tomorrow and tell them i fixed everything to see if it passes this time lol

[Exproblems]

Originally Posted by FordExplorer2002

as far as the squishy brake pedal still looking have bled the breaks and the breaks look fine not sure what there talking about i personaly think the pedal is fine it shouldnt have failed im brining it back tomorrow and tell them i fixed everything to see if it passes this time lol

If you are happy with the way the brake pedal feels now and can't see any problems with them, you can take the vehicle to a different shop for the 2nd NY State Inspection if you don't trust the first place that failed you. You do not have to go back to the first shop if you don't want to. I've done this before, failed at the first one and passed at the 2nd one I took it to without doing any repairs to the vehicle that the 1st place said I needed to do. Don't know what kind of shop you took your vehicle to for the inspection, but I have always found getting a state vehicle inspection done at a Quick Oil Change shop was the best place to get an inspection done at, other than have a friend who is a mechanic at some shop. These oil change shops don't do repairs on things like brakes, suspensions, exhaust etc. and they tend to be more lenient with the overall inspection process. They have no money to make off of you because they don't do those types of repairs, so they generally pass your inspection more easily. General repair shops will fail you more easily, because they want your money for the repairs they say your vehicle needs and they know they have you by the balls hanging that state inspection sticker over your head. Something to think about.

[FordExplorer2002]

took it to the toyota dealership i used to work for lol
and yea i see what u mean now lol ill remember that next time and im def going to a dif shop didnt know i could do that lol

[Exproblems]

Originally Posted by FordExplorer2002

l ill remember that next time and im def going to a dif shop didnt know i could do that lol

Yes you can go to a different shop for the 2nd inspection and when I did it with my vehicle, I specifically asked the 2nd shop service manager who I fairly knew if they could do my 2nd inspection even though I just failed at another shop less than an hour before and he said "yes", no problem at all. The 1st shop had removed my old inspection sticker when they failed me (by NY law) and they placed a Temporary 10 day sticker on the car and the 2nd shop removed their temp sticker and I drove away with a new sticker good for another year. This happened a few years ago. Good luck with the 2nd inspection.

[FordExplorer2002]

nice and ty ill be getting it done on friday lol