Intro And Question

[bud4ya]

My name Craig form S. NH. I just purchased a 1997 Ford Explorer XLT AWD V-8 for winter transportation only. It has 117,000, 1 owner and has every service that could be done performed by the Ford dealer. My friends farther sold it to me for just $500 because it needed a new exhaust and 02 sensor. Well on the way to the Indy the brake lines let go. So that was now on the repair list. I have all the brake lines, 2 of the calipers, exhaust from the cat back, new transmission lines to feed to the radiator I guess, and the cat welded for $1,683.00 which came up on the high side of the Indy quote which did not make me happy but oh well I only paid $500.

So my question is in regards to the emergency foot brake. When I got it back from the Indy it did not work. I know it worked when I drove it to the Indy because that is what I used to stop the truck. When I push down on the brake it feels like it is working (Clicks) but the light does not come on and indicating brake is on. When I have the brake depressed all the way I put it in N and it just rolls so I know the brake is not working.

The Indy says it is nothing they did. My question is would they have touched anything to do with the emergency brake when doing the brake lines and bleeding the calipers?

What fluids should I have changed now? The Tranny was flushed at 115,000 and coolant was done at 105,000 along with spark plugs and air filter. Brake fluid of course was done when they did the brakes.

Current Trans/Toys:
Ford Expedition
BMW 540/6speed V8 Sport (many mods such as Dinan and 3.46 gears)
Yamaha SRX
TTr 50 Pit Bike
Harley V-Rod (Many Mods)
KTM450

Thanks

 

[Rick]

Welcome to the site

The emergency brake on the Explorer is basically a seperate system from the main system. The rear brake rotor is machined internally so it has an internal brake drum. When you remove the rear rotor it exposes the brake shoes and hardware for the emergency brake.

The shop shouldn't have had to do anything to the e-brake when they did the rest of the brake job. However you never know what a shop is going to do these days.

I have a idea of what could be wrong. Since your Explorer is obviously prone to rust your e-brake cable may be rusted and on the verge of breaking. It may have stretched while you were using it as your main brake.

Other than that, it's very hard to say without being there...

 

[dogfriend]

The e-brake linings are famous for disintegrating (even) if you don't use the e-brake, so if the previous owner didn't use them much and then you actually used them, the lining material may be completely gone now.

IIRC, the clearance between the lining and drum is about .020 inches, so the shoes are probably not making contact if the above theory is true.

 

[bud4ya]

Rick thanks for the reply. It is a bit rusty because it was backed in and out of the salt twice a year and lived at a beach house. They never sprayed it off on a regular basis. It sounds like all the stuff I fixed took car of most everything underneath. that could rust. The shackles were just also done. They said the frame and leaf spring are just surface rust and the are both strong. If I can get 2 years out of it I will be happy.

Should I change the diff fluid and transfer case? I do not know if that was something that was changed under maintance through the Ford dealer?

I look forward to getting to know the car a bit more and maybe doing some repairs myself to keep the cost down.

Thanks

 

[bud4ya]

Thanks Everyone

The e-brake linings are famous for disintegrating (even) if you don't use the e-brake, so if the previous owner didn't use them much and then you actually used them, the lining material may be completely gone now.

IIRC, the clearance between the lining and drum is about .020 inches, so the shoes are probably not making contact if the above theory is true.