98 4x4 sport auto e brake not engaging

[austinnelson117]

For some reason the e brake is not engaging when pressed. I crawled under the car and both cables are moving about 1-1.5 inches but the car still rolls. Is there a DIY out there ffor replacement? I have disc brakes btw.

 

[deweyville65]

For some reason the e brake is not engaging when pressed. I crawled under the car and both cables are moving about 1-1.5 inches but the car still rolls. Is there a DIY out there ffor replacement? I have disc brakes btw.

Try adjusting the park brake shoes. They adjust just like drum brakes.

 

[austinnelson117]

Try adjusting the park brake shoes. They adjust just like drum brakes.

I took off the wheels and looked and couldn't see anything. Do I need to remove the rotors to view the shoes?

 

[flamebowi]

Ive been having the same problem with my 98 sport, ill have a look this week and see if I can find the cause of the problem.

 

[deweyville65]

Yes, remove the rotors. If I remember correctly, the star adjuster is located just like for drum brakes. If your truck is like mine was, you will probably have to remove the actuators, and free them up. Mine were rusted bad, from lack of use, and being from Nebraska. Some say you can change the shoes without pulling the axles. I pulled mine and changed the gear oil.

 

[austinnelson117]

Alright thanks. And where can I find the torx bolt for the automatic gear shifter bracket, the little gold colored ones. I'm missing one and putting my sport into park is a chore.

 

[deweyville65]

You can probably find the bolts at NAPA, Carquest, ACE, or True Value. The problem will be knowing what size bolt/screw you need. Probably do not need Torx head tbough. Where are these bolts located? I've not had that problem with my 96.

 

[austinnelson117]

Well mines a 98. And they're located pretty much at the base of the shifter behind the dash. I'm missing aa screw and can see it pivoting.

 

[deweyville65]

I haven't gone out to look, but those screws will be metric. I would go to the local hardware store, and but an assortment of small, short metric screws/bolts. They always come in handy at sometime or other. They probably will have a 7MM head. If you can get one out, you can match them real easy. Good luck, should be easy fix.

 

[austinnelson117]

Just an update I replaced the shoes and the e brake works amazing. I had no pad left on ANY of the shoes lol. Also, I found a screw in our garage drawers and it fit perfect. Now my shifter works amazing! Also went and got my coolant washed, and oil changed and it runs so much better. Only thing I have left is my driver door wont unlock from the outside, (have to be on the inside and pull the handle) and theres some sort of metal on metal sound coming from the front left of the car not sure. Sounds like gears or something (only really makes noise when accelerating past 3k rpm, or hitting a big bump. Also my rear glass lock doesn't lock no matter what. Sucks.

 

[flamebowi]

The rattling could be a host of problems, I know it took me roughly 6 months to diagnose that I had a bad front wheel bearing just because the rattling noise was not cyclical and would only happen every so often. What other symptoms are there with regards to the noise?

Jeff