I have a Haynes manual for my 1990 (manufactured in 08/89) Jeep Cherokee 4dr. 4wd. but it doesnt have a thing in troubleshooting about the parking brake not working. The lever clicks into place when you pull up but you can drive like normal with it up. The brake light stays on constantly which probably means I need to add brake fluid, but that has nothing to do with the Parking Brake. Mayb the drum brakes need to be set? because it feels like only the disc brakes are gripping... I think the parking brake is located with the drum brakes...


Also I believe mayb the master cylinder isnt working? Sometimes I have power brakes and sometimes I dont... Could that be because of low fluid? I also have major vibration sometimes in the brake pedal. There was a leaky hose going from the pump to the master cylinder but I tightened the bolt and still no help. It quit leaking but didnt fix anything... The pump almost always runs as well... Mayb the ABS system is failing? I know there was a recall a couple years ago but its too late for me to get them to fix that isnt it? also I just bought this jeep a month ago from a friend.

ANY HELP WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

The brake pedal soft and hard is more than likley the abs pump going bad,samething happened to mine,I just switched over to normal brakes due to cost of replacing the abs components. The ebrake maybe a cable issue,see if it has alot of slack in it,if it does you can tighten the the cable,unless it is broken or has com loose in the drum.

i second the ebrake cable, mine had the same issue, just crawl under and tighten up the cable an see if that dosent fix the problem

If the rear brakes are out of adjustment, your parking brake will not hold.

just did my hand brake, mine was shot cause shoes in the drum were worn, put new shoes in and all good not hard and cheap to do... there is a adjustment slot in the inside of the hud you can get to ... use a screwdriver to adjust...can put up pic if you cant understand my dribble..best way to find out if shoes pads worn is to take wheel and hub off..as for spongy brake pedal , you said you had a leak , brakes may need a bleed...hope this helps we may call parts diffent names down here so i hope i dont confuse you..

Thanks for the help. The leak was actually an air leak in the pressure hose going from the pump to the master cylinder. Ill take the tires off and look today.

Isnt the cost of changing over to normal brakes like $600? and thats just for parts?

mine hasn't got abs... have a look at ya pads first, cost me like $80.00 for new shoes,

I switched mine over from abs to normal and it cost me less tha $50 at the local jy,all you have to do is remove abs and install a used booster and lines.

I think you have the Bendix 9 brake system and should read this. >>->https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/ben...-system-14960/
And Welcome to CF.

I changed the Shoes today and t cost $25 and 6 hours of work haha my first time with the rear brakes. I tightened the cable to the emergency brake and it works now. I dont know about the passenger side rear brake. Its loosened all the way and still is rubbing on the drum... I dont know what to do about that... But now there is no spongy feeling and the brakes stop on a dime. probably cuz of the rubbing but still haha. I put brake fluid in it and the brake light is still on... I checked every connection. Thanks for the right up. I found 2 '95 jeep Cherokee's at the JY and I plan on swapping out the brake system here pretty soon...

nice one mate..

cant beat hammerin out problems yourself, nothin like a little bit of elbow grease haha. plus now u know how to do that from now on. with the lights on the dash, try pulling one of the cables to the battery off for bout half an hour, put it back on. it resets the computer, sometimes the signals are still on after the problem is fixed, just pull the battery cable and see if that takescare of the dash lights

$600. That's crazy. I just did all new brakes, front and rear for $200. New rotors, pads, drums, and shoes. I had the same E-brake problem before and now it's a little better. I still have to adjust the cable though, or get new adjustment wheels.

usually when the e-brake stops working, you just need to replace rear shoes.

i had to replace my adjuster rod and grease it all up, and put new cables and shoes to get mine working again.

I meant the conversion kit to go from the 90 ABS brake system to a brand new MC and Booster. The kit is like $600 but if you go to the junkyard its only $50-100 to pull it all out of a 95 XJ or a 98 Liberty