So, here's the issue. My emergency brake does absolutely nothing in reverse, and very little in forward. Legend has it that it is self adjusting and at about ten miles and hour in reverse if you engage the brake it will tighten itself. I have done this repeatedly to no effect. What is my next step to get this sucker to engage so I don't die?

 

I'm partial, but you could always convert the rear to discs. Never have to mess with adjusting anything.

My guess is that the mechanism is seized. Remove the drum, spray a small amount of a WD 40 (or similar) on the e brake parts, replace the drum & move the e brake handle back & forth to unstick it.
When properly installed, the drum should drag slightly over the shoes when you remove & install the drum.
Try not to get anything on the shoes.

 

Screw the dumb brakes. Let the big trucks have em. Save money and buy a disc brake conversion kit from big david. Best mod i ever did to my jeep. *this has been non paid advertisement for the Big David brake services* lol. But really, disc conversion is great and great on the trails

 

Adjust the cable underneath...its free.....Rear brakes are self adjusting ..But seldom ever work correctly. E brake and rear brake adjustment are two seperate things. Time for some noggin pokin.

 

You don't have an "emergency brake". I doubt in all the history of automobiles that there has ever been one that was produced with an "emergency brake".

It's a parking brake. It's not intended to be used in emergencies. It's there to hold the vehicle when it's parked. Your transmission "Park" position is NOT adequate for that job, and using that only is an invitation to a transmission rebuild. In most transmissions, all that "Park" does is to slide a little sheet metal tab to engage a gear tooth. On a hill, or if your vehicle gets bumped by another, it can easily shear off and then you are going to be tearing apart a transmission.


Do these two to fix your problem. If doing both doesn't fix it, you have broken stuff that needs to be replaced. Be advised, that adjustment is a pain. Be patient. PB Blaster is your friend.

 

If all brakes fail it will become a emergency brake real quick been there done this.

 

Obviosly not old enough to have ridden in, or drove any old iron.
There were in fact actually labled "Emergency Brake"
But, thanks to lawers, they had to rename them.

If the parking pawl in trannies wasn't up to the task, they wouldn't call it park.

Most vehicles I've owned weren't new enough to trust that the E-brake would release after use, maybe newer designs aren't a problem.

Yo, Blue, I got $100 that says in an emergency you would be using your "parking" brake as an "Emergency Brake"





"Any mechanical component is prone to failure"

 

When the front brakes lock up for some unknown reason ... You get them loosened and try to get home ... It's an "emergency brake".

Once you actually manage to get home, it can go back to being a "parking brake".

True Story, about a year ago.

It works quite well in emergencies if you keep it maintained, usually the rear adjusters seize due to corrosion, as do the link arms. Clean, lube, adjust.

 

A mechanic friend of mine used to tell me that, till we ran our little dispute past the old-timer transmission specialist at the place he worked. The old guy wasn't known for tact. He laughed in my friend's face, and called him about 6 kinds of stupid, then showed him one on the bench that he had apart. It's just a little sheet metal tab, and it easily shears off.

It's a parking brake. Just because you might use in in an emergency doesn't a make it an emergency brake, any more than peeing on a fire makes your ***** a fire extinguisher.


"Emergency brake" = ignorant.

 

So much butthurt in here!

The parking pawl is a ****ty little pin slid into the transmission to lock it. Works okay on level ground if the vehicle doesn't go anywhere. But it is best practice to always apply the Parking Brake - especially if on a hill (legally required to here, actually) or loading anything. The parking pawl WILL eventually get stuck in the transmission from abuse. Had it happen when I was a kid when my dad just slammed it into P on a hill - got a tow truck because the transmission was stuck in park! Most large truck automatics don't even have a parking pawl.

I've also used the Emergency Brake to stop when the service brakes were failing/****ty.

Whatever the **** you're gonna call it, use 'em regularly if you want them to work.



...


Anyway, yes, if you live anywhere north of like Texas the auto-adjuster seizes up. The old-school way to adjust the shoes is to pop off the rubber plug on the brake backing plate under the axle, jam a screwdriver in there (or a special 'adjusting tool' if you're the Williams-Sonoma type) and set them properly. If you pop over to the Googles and type in "how to adjust drum brakes" you'll find oodles of information.

Converting to disc brakes is never a bad idea. More reliable, simpler, and better-performing service brakes. I hate working with drums. The only downside is that the manual cable brake uses tiny shoes inside the rotor - so your parking/emergency braking action isn't as good as the larger drums)

 

For those who are verbally handicapped. This is ALWAYS done first, before any other adjustments.

 

Its both ..Just depends on the time period you grew up in....



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_brake

 

Well, what about me? I still haven't grown up.

Morning General.

 

I refuse to also...

Morning Major.

And remember there's more than one way to help Uncle Jack off his horse. And neither are Ignorant .

 

Either way folks, let's try to just help the OP. This ratcheting, hard-line, hand brake should work to provide pressure to the rear drum via the brake shoes. Both shoes are synced with springs so they will both move out towards the drum at the same rate. The hard line provides the pressure instead of the brake fluid operated cylinder.

If you observe stopping power from the hard line system while moving FORWARD but do NOT while going BACKWARD, you need to check the alignment of your shoes and yes, your self adjust system. The self adjust provides the additional space necessary to make the brake shoes a circle instead of an egg shape.

Good luck. Grab a brake repair/bleeding kit at an autoshop, that odd scissor tool will save you from fighting those springs.