Parking Brake Removal and Installation (with pictures)

[bdriver000]

This is an illustrated How-To for a 1996 XLT 2WD and similar models. I'm not sure which other years use the same setup, but some people might find this useful.

Before you start work on the parking brake, you need to loosen the cable. Right above the parking brake lever (that you push with your foot to engage the parking brake) there is a small hole. Reach under the car under the driver's seat and pull on the parking brake cable (or get a helper to pull on it). You can stick a nail or a drill bit through the hole shown here to keep the spring from pulling the slack out of the cable so you can work on the brakes.



Click the thumbnails to view full picture

Loosen the lug nuts, and jack up your back end. I put it on jack stands then loosened the lugs all the way and removed the tire. The caliper is very easy to remove with two nuts facing the center of the truck.

Wheel Removed, Caliper taken off, Rotor Removed
This picture shows the axle blocking your view of the parking brake assembly. I originally thought I would have to remove the axles to work on this--but some other very helpful posters said it was possible to do this without this step.



Illustration of Parking Brake Assembly
This shows the terminology and locations of the parts we will be removing/replacing/installing


Adjuster and Adjuster Spring
Tighten the adjuster with a screwdriver (rotate it up towards you to tighten). You want to make it easier to take off the spring. This picture is looking up at the assembly.



The first thing to remove is the hold down springs. These are easy to remove with a pair of long needle-nose pliers and a screwdriver. There is a little piece that attaches to the housing from behind the assembly. Be careful not to lose these. There is one on the right and left side.
Hold Down Spring


Once the two hold down springs are removed, you can take off the adjuster spring then the adjuster. The picture above shows those two components.

Now you can take off the retracting springs at the top of the assembly. These are stronger than the adjuster spring, so a bit harder to take off. Remove the one facing you first, then the brake pads will move so easily you can get behind them to remove the second retracting spring.
Retracting Spring


Now you should have all the parts removed and a bare assembly site to put everything back together on.
Bare Site


All the parts


Now spray the site and parts down with brake cleaner. If your car was anything like mine it is filled with the stuff.

Now you are ready to start putting everything back together. If you have someone to help you, it can save you a lot of headaches--but it can be done alone.

Connect the two brake pads with the back retractor spring. You can slide it between the axle and the top of the assembly as shown in this picture. The top of the pads are notched so they fit snug where the lever pushes them. I had to move the lever with a screwdriver to get the left side to fit.


Now you can choose the path you want to take:
1) Attach the front retractor spring now, then put the adjuster and adjuster spring on.
2) Put the adjuster and adjuster spring on first, then the front retractor spring.

I did #2 because it was too hard to spread the bottom of the pads to get the adjuster in with both springs on. You might have an easier time with it so go for it!

So spread the pads outward at the bottom and insert the adjuster. Then insert the adjuster spring. This will help keep the pads together when you are getting that last retracting spring on.

Now put the front adjusting spring on. This was hard to do, I used a pair of spring pliers (for drum brakes) to get it over and my buddy snapped it in place with the needle-nose. The angle is tough because of the axle in the way but you can do it. If you can't get it on the right side, try it on the left.


The last pieces of the assembly are the hold down springs. Hold the piece on the back of the brake shield with one hand then use a pair of needle nose to get them back in. If you have a pair of angled needle-nose they would work great here. It took me a few tries but I got them back on. Now everything is back together.

Adjustment
Now you can expand the adjuster outward by rotating the notched wheel away from you. Expand it out a quarter/half inch and put the rotor back on. If it slides on easily, take it off and expand it some more. When you get it wide enough where there is resistance putting the rotor back on--back it off a bit and you are good to go. Put the rotor, caliper, and wheel back on. Now you are ready for the other side!

Don't forget to remove the nail/drill bit from the hole by the parking brake lever!

I hope this can help someone. If you have any tips or if I said anything blatently wrong please respond!

Thanks

[SPORT4.0]

Looks good..I had a few pics when I changed mine out..but the pics were lost when my PC crashed!

A pic from the backside showing the access hole to the adjuster star would be a good addition to this thread since that has been an allusive spot for a few searchers in the past!

[Rick]

Nice write up. I just placed a link to this thread in our "List of Useful Threads."

[bdriver000]

Originally Posted by SPORT4.0

A pic from the backside showing the access whole to the adjuster star would be a good addition to this thread since that has been an allusive spot for a few searchers in the past!

I just uploaded it again to imageshack. I'm not sure why it wasn't showing--but the link was in there. Now the picture is below the "Adjuster adn Adjuster spring" heading.

[V8BoatBuilder]

Nice writeup!

FYI, If you need new hardware for the e-brake, most local parts shops don't sell it. RockAuto.com does. What to order is confusing, but you need:

1) "Axle Kit" Contains springs, pins, etc for both sides. Wagner P/N: H7233 ($5.91)
2) Adjuster kit. You need two. Wagner P/N: H1592 ($12.79)

Autozone does sell shoes, but the parts monkeys usually have a hard time locating them in the computer. Tell them you need a "Parking Brake Shoe, Duralast P/N: 745" ($16.99 w/Lifetime Warranty)

[V8BoatBuilder]

Need some help!

I am rebuilding my e-brakes, and cannot figure out how the actuating levers go together. They are stamped L and R, but i'm not sure about up/down, forward back. Can anyone help me out?

Thanks,
Aaron

[jkexplorer]

Great write-up. I was waiting for something like this. Thanks!!!

[FexplorerV8]

nice

[rblais]

Hey V8, the lever is inserted from the front of the dust shield. The lever is two pieces, one pivoting on the other. The trick is to decide which is on top of the other, only two choices. Note the indent on the arm of the lever that protrudes through the dust shield and the rubber boot; that's where the cable is looped onto. That indent needs to be facing to the back of the truck if I remember correctly. It opposes the direction the cable travels when applying e-brake. When I did mine (pain in the *ss) I took the lever apart and cleaned real good with stl. wool and file and greased the pivot pin and surfaces of the two lever pieces where they come into contact with one and other until I was satisfied they pivoted freely. They were completely siezed from rust & crap. I filled the boot with silicon grease before reinserting the lever back into position to help prevent water from getting there. I remember fumbling around trying to find the right combination. The worst part was getting the main spring back on while working behind the axel hub. Not a lot of room. The have been working good for about 18 months now. Good luck.

[jfman]

Is there any adjustment you can do without that complete teardown ? Like adjusting the cable first ?

[compleckz]

slightly back-from-the-dead, but i just wanted to say thanks this info was very helpful!

but i have a question, it looks to me RAYBESTOS hardware kit Part # H7299 ($14.12) includes the adjuster which WAGNER Part #H7233 ($13.57) does not? but wagner does have a seperate part number for it #H1592 ($6.49).

here is a picture of the raybestos kit:



is this all i would need, or is there another adjuster i am missing?

[Stic-o]

I am only running one upper retainer spring, normally there are two inner and outer. I needed to remove the outer one so I could run the disc brakes on the full width Bronco/F-150 8.8. Other wise the back of the wheel studs rubs on it. It seem to work just fine so far. Although I don't trust it on a hill yet. I belive that is just a adjustment issue.

[NHale623]

compleckz,

Everything in that photo, plus new shoes, is all you need. There isn't an additional adjuster that goes inside the rear disc/drum.

[micromack]

I have a 2003 Explorer, couldn't figure out why every parts store that sold me rear parking brake shoes, sold me shoes that didn't match the ones that came off my SUV and don't fit. You're pictures are exactly what the parts stores sold me for shoes, so it's helpful to know that the shoes are correct for SOME explorers, just not mine. It's either a model year issue or a 2WD vs 4WD issue. Thanks for the effort in this post!!!

Turns out to be a model year issue. Pictures from the folks at rockauto.com website show the shoes I'm being sold for my 03 are actually last used on the 01 model year. Rockauto.com show's the correct shoes for model year 03. Broke down and ordered Resbestos shoes directly from web, problem solved. Again, great post!!!

On a side note, anyone experienced an issue with the parking brake adjuster hole not punched out on the backing plate? Lot's of internet posters claim there should be a hole with a rubber plug. No hole in mine, just steel. Thoughts?

[badwolf007]

Originally Posted by bdriver000

This is an illustrated How-To for a 1996 XLT 2WD and similar models. I'm not sure which other years use the same setup, but some people might find this useful.

Before you start work on the parking brake, you need to loosen the cable. Right above the parking brake lever (that you push with your foot to engage the parking brake) there is a small hole. Reach under the car under the driver's seat and pull on the parking brake cable (or get a helper to pull on it). You can stick a nail or a drill bit through the hole shown here to keep the spring from pulling the slack out of the cable so you can work on the brakes.



Click the thumbnails to view full picture

Loosen the lug nuts, and jack up your back end. I put it on jack stands then loosened the lugs all the way and removed the tire. The caliper is very easy to remove with two nuts facing the center of the truck.

Wheel Removed, Caliper taken off, Rotor Removed
This picture shows the axle blocking your view of the parking brake assembly. I originally thought I would have to remove the axles to work on this--but some other very helpful posters said it was possible to do this without this step.



Illustration of Parking Brake Assembly
This shows the terminology and locations of the parts we will be removing/replacing/installing


Adjuster and Adjuster Spring
Tighten the adjuster with a screwdriver (rotate it up towards you to tighten). You want to make it easier to take off the spring. This picture is looking up at the assembly.



The first thing to remove is the hold down springs. These are easy to remove with a pair of long needle-nose pliers and a screwdriver. There is a little piece that attaches to the housing from behind the assembly. Be careful not to lose these. There is one on the right and left side.
Hold Down Spring


Once the two hold down springs are removed, you can take off the adjuster spring then the adjuster. The picture above shows those two components.

Now you can take off the retracting springs at the top of the assembly. These are stronger than the adjuster spring, so a bit harder to take off. Remove the one facing you first, then the brake pads will move so easily you can get behind them to remove the second retracting spring.
Retracting Spring


Now you should have all the parts removed and a bare assembly site to put everything back together on.
Bare Site


All the parts


Now spray the site and parts down with brake cleaner. If your car was anything like mine it is filled with the stuff.

Now you are ready to start putting everything back together. If you have someone to help you, it can save you a lot of headaches--but it can be done alone.

Connect the two brake pads with the back retractor spring. You can slide it between the axle and the top of the assembly as shown in this picture. The top of the pads are notched so they fit snug where the lever pushes them. I had to move the lever with a screwdriver to get the left side to fit.


Now you can choose the path you want to take:
1) Attach the front retractor spring now, then put the adjuster and adjuster spring on.
2) Put the adjuster and adjuster spring on first, then the front retractor spring.

I did #2 because it was too hard to spread the bottom of the pads to get the adjuster in with both springs on. You might have an easier time with it so go for it!

So spread the pads outward at the bottom and insert the adjuster. Then insert the adjuster spring. This will help keep the pads together when you are getting that last retracting spring on.

Now put the front adjusting spring on. This was hard to do, I used a pair of spring pliers (for drum brakes) to get it over and my buddy snapped it in place with the needle-nose. The angle is tough because of the axle in the way but you can do it. If you can't get it on the right side, try it on the left.


The last pieces of the assembly are the hold down springs. Hold the piece on the back of the brake shield with one hand then use a pair of needle nose to get them back in. If you have a pair of angled needle-nose they would work great here. It took me a few tries but I got them back on. Now everything is back together.

Adjustment
Now you can expand the adjuster outward by rotating the notched wheel away from you. Expand it out a quarter/half inch and put the rotor back on. If it slides on easily, take it off and expand it some more. When you get it wide enough where there is resistance putting the rotor back on--back it off a bit and you are good to go. Put the rotor, caliper, and wheel back on. Now you are ready for the other side!

Don't forget to remove the nail/drill bit from the hole by the parking brake lever!

I hope this can help someone. If you have any tips or if I said anything blatently wrong please respond!

Thanks

Was afraid to tackle this but after your post w/pics I might have parking brakes on my 97 Sport after all.

[L2fish]

I just did mine yesterday. What a lame idea to manufacture like this. You are right, without the axle in would be a snap but who wants to pull an axle. I put the back spring on first. I then rotated the axle so the top studs were horizontal which allowed me to slip the rear spring between them and the actuator lever dohicky. The rest went ok. I learned on the second side that if you assemble the shoes with the back spring you can also start with the spring portion at 180 and then you can the rotate the shoes to their proper position. Eitherway you have to spread them to get the notched part where it belongs. Then I put the adjuster part together to keep them spread at the right location before I put the retainer pins and springs back on. Then I put the top spring on. Adjust them now so you can just slip the disc back on with a little resistance. This minimizes laying under the car turning the adjuster through the little access slot. You should be pretty close to where it needs to be and they should wear in fine.

Originally Posted by bdriver000

This is an illustrated How-To for a 1996 XLT 2WD and similar models. I'm not sure which other years use the same setup, but some people might find this useful.

Before you start work on the parking brake, you need to loosen the cable. Right above the parking brake lever (that you push with your foot to engage the parking brake) there is a small hole. Reach under the car under the driver's seat and pull on the parking brake cable (or get a helper to pull on it). You can stick a nail or a drill bit through the hole shown here to keep the spring from pulling the slack out of the cable so you can work on the brakes.



Click the thumbnails to view full picture

Loosen the lug nuts, and jack up your back end. I put it on jack stands then loosened the lugs all the way and removed the tire. The caliper is very easy to remove with two nuts facing the center of the truck.

Wheel Removed, Caliper taken off, Rotor Removed
This picture shows the axle blocking your view of the parking brake assembly. I originally thought I would have to remove the axles to work on this--but some other very helpful posters said it was possible to do this without this step.



Illustration of Parking Brake Assembly
This shows the terminology and locations of the parts we will be removing/replacing/installing


Adjuster and Adjuster Spring
Tighten the adjuster with a screwdriver (rotate it up towards you to tighten). You want to make it easier to take off the spring. This picture is looking up at the assembly.



The first thing to remove is the hold down springs. These are easy to remove with a pair of long needle-nose pliers and a screwdriver. There is a little piece that attaches to the housing from behind the assembly. Be careful not to lose these. There is one on the right and left side.
Hold Down Spring


Once the two hold down springs are removed, you can take off the adjuster spring then the adjuster. The picture above shows those two components.

Now you can take off the retracting springs at the top of the assembly. These are stronger than the adjuster spring, so a bit harder to take off. Remove the one facing you first, then the brake pads will move so easily you can get behind them to remove the second retracting spring.
Retracting Spring


Now you should have all the parts removed and a bare assembly site to put everything back together on.
Bare Site


All the parts


Now spray the site and parts down with brake cleaner. If your car was anything like mine it is filled with the stuff.

Now you are ready to start putting everything back together. If you have someone to help you, it can save you a lot of headaches--but it can be done alone.

Connect the two brake pads with the back retractor spring. You can slide it between the axle and the top of the assembly as shown in this picture. The top of the pads are notched so they fit snug where the lever pushes them. I had to move the lever with a screwdriver to get the left side to fit.


Now you can choose the path you want to take:
1) Attach the front retractor spring now, then put the adjuster and adjuster spring on.
2) Put the adjuster and adjuster spring on first, then the front retractor spring.

I did #2 because it was too hard to spread the bottom of the pads to get the adjuster in with both springs on. You might have an easier time with it so go for it!

So spread the pads outward at the bottom and insert the adjuster. Then insert the adjuster spring. This will help keep the pads together when you are getting that last retracting spring on.

Now put the front adjusting spring on. This was hard to do, I used a pair of spring pliers (for drum brakes) to get it over and my buddy snapped it in place with the needle-nose. The angle is tough because of the axle in the way but you can do it. If you can't get it on the right side, try it on the left.


The last pieces of the assembly are the hold down springs. Hold the piece on the back of the brake shield with one hand then use a pair of needle nose to get them back in. If you have a pair of angled needle-nose they would work great here. It took me a few tries but I got them back on. Now everything is back together.

Adjustment
Now you can expand the adjuster outward by rotating the notched wheel away from you. Expand it out a quarter/half inch and put the rotor back on. If it slides on easily, take it off and expand it some more. When you get it wide enough where there is resistance putting the rotor back on--back it off a bit and you are good to go. Put the rotor, caliper, and wheel back on. Now you are ready for the other side!

Don't forget to remove the nail/drill bit from the hole by the parking brake lever!

I hope this can help someone. If you have any tips or if I said anything blatently wrong please respond!

Thanks

[teamzukioffroad]

Thanks for the great info bdriver! Haynes manuals start the fix with the axle removed and make no mention of it. Kinda confusing until reading your post. Now off to fix the brakes so my fiance can burn them off again! lol Thanks a million!

[nikolz]

Does anybody have a copy of the pics from this post or the imageshack link?

[mshuler009]

Yeah, I'm not seeing any pictures either....try photobucket instead of imageshack

[compleckz]

FIXED!!!! but it looks like the thumbnails were deleted off of explorer4x4.com, they were located at http://www.explorer4x4.com/pbrake/ but that directory no longer exists

i have changed the image tags from the first poster/deleted the links, to hopefully help you guys out.. i dont frequent this site, but i came here when i swapped a 95 explorer rear end into my 97 ranger, this thread helped me SO MUCH. i also lurk in the 4L engine forums. i had this thread on my notify list, anyways now the pics are back, and in fullsize form!

Originally Posted by bdriver000

This is an illustrated How-To for a 1996 XLT 2WD and similar models. I'm not sure which other years use the same setup, but some people might find this useful.

Before you start work on the parking brake, you need to loosen the cable. Right above the parking brake lever (that you push with your foot to engage the parking brake) there is a small hole. Reach under the car under the driver's seat and pull on the parking brake cable (or get a helper to pull on it). You can stick a nail or a drill bit through the hole shown here to keep the spring from pulling the slack out of the cable so you can work on the brakes.


Loosen the lug nuts, and jack up your back end. I put it on jack stands then loosened the lugs all the way and removed the tire. The caliper is very easy to remove with two nuts facing the center of the truck.

Wheel Removed, Caliper taken off, Rotor Removed
This picture shows the axle blocking your view of the parking brake assembly. I originally thought I would have to remove the axles to work on this--but some other very helpful posters said it was possible to do this without this step.


Illustration of Parking Brake Assembly
This shows the terminology and locations of the parts we will be removing/replacing/installing


Adjuster and Adjuster Spring
Tighten the adjuster with a screwdriver (rotate it up towards you to tighten). You want to make it easier to take off the spring. This picture is looking up at the assembly.



The first thing to remove is the hold down springs. These are easy to remove with a pair of long needle-nose pliers and a screwdriver. There is a little piece that attaches to the housing from behind the assembly. Be careful not to lose these. There is one on the right and left side.
Hold Down Spring

Once the two hold down springs are removed, you can take off the adjuster spring then the adjuster. The picture above shows those two components.

Now you can take off the retracting springs at the top of the assembly. These are stronger than the adjuster spring, so a bit harder to take off. Remove the one facing you first, then the brake pads will move so easily you can get behind them to remove the second retracting spring.
Retracting Spring


Now you should have all the parts removed and a bare assembly site to put everything back together on.
Bare Site


All the parts


Now spray the site and parts down with brake cleaner. If your car was anything like mine it is filled with the stuff.

Now you are ready to start putting everything back together. If you have someone to help you, it can save you a lot of headaches--but it can be done alone.

Connect the two brake pads with the back retractor spring. You can slide it between the axle and the top of the assembly as shown in this picture. The top of the pads are notched so they fit snug where the lever pushes them. I had to move the lever with a screwdriver to get the left side to fit.


Now you can choose the path you want to take:
1) Attach the front retractor spring now, then put the adjuster and adjuster spring on.
2) Put the adjuster and adjuster spring on first, then the front retractor spring.

I did #2 because it was too hard to spread the bottom of the pads to get the adjuster in with both springs on. You might have an easier time with it so go for it!

So spread the pads outward at the bottom and insert the adjuster. Then insert the adjuster spring. This will help keep the pads together when you are getting that last retracting spring on.

Now put the front adjusting spring on. This was hard to do, I used a pair of spring pliers (for drum brakes) to get it over and my buddy snapped it in place with the needle-nose. The angle is tough because of the axle in the way but you can do it. If you can't get it on the right side, try it on the left.


The last pieces of the assembly are the hold down springs. Hold the piece on the back of the brake shield with one hand then use a pair of needle nose to get them back in. If you have a pair of angled needle-nose they would work great here. It took me a few tries but I got them back on. Now everything is back together.

Adjustment
Now you can expand the adjuster outward by rotating the notched wheel away from you. Expand it out a quarter/half inch and put the rotor back on. If it slides on easily, take it off and expand it some more. When you get it wide enough where there is resistance putting the rotor back on--back it off a bit and you are good to go. Put the rotor, caliper, and wheel back on. Now you are ready for the other side!

Don't forget to remove the nail/drill bit from the hole by the parking brake lever!

I hope this can help someone. If you have any tips or if I said anything blatently wrong please respond!

Thanks