emergency brake not releasing wheels

[Paraglider]

I've read other threads about emergency brake adjustments but none of them address my issue specifically. First, a quick history leading up to the problem. I was removing and replacing the cover over the transmission on my HJ47 to cut new holes because I had a 5-speed H55f tranny put in and it moved the transmission back. In the process of trying to get the old cover off, I had to wiggle in different positions the emergency brake unit (which sat behind the 4wd lever). At one point, I heard something release (kind of like a line with tension releasing). When I put everything back together, the emergency brake won't release. It will tighten up when I lift it fine, but when I go to release it, the brake starts to resist the movement to push the brake handle down and it goes partially back up skyward.

I'd like to know what I did to cause the problem and then, of course, what I need to do to get my troopy rolling down the street again. I looked underneath and saw the cable goes to a drum between the rear part of the tranny and the rear driveshaft. There are four bolts to it and there's a small "pin" on the top. Not sure what that does or if it's important. A

Any suggestions would be very appreciated. If someone responds, please pretend as if I basically don't know anything about emergency brakes, adjusting brakes, etc. (because that's pretty close to the truth). So if you assume things that you know well because you've done it a hundred times, you'll lose me.

Thanks!

 

[3_puppies]

a few pics from underneath may help.
overall it is a fairly simple system, the cable when pulled expands the 2 shoes against the drum, when released the shoes should retract with spring preasure.
you may need to remove the drum and see what is happening

 

[unklwedy]

I bet the bell crank is rusted. Remove brake drum. Take bell crank apart. Remove rust. Paint with Moly dry film lube. reassemble.

 

[Paraglider]

I bet the bell crank is rusted. Remove brake drum. Take bell crank apart. Remove rust. Paint with Moly dry film lube. reassemble.

Thanks 3-puppies and unklwedy. Are you talking about the drum that is between the tranny and the drive shaft? I don't see any cable going out of it back to one of the regular brake drums.

 

[Living in the Past]

Did you use the original cable from the hand brake? It's probably too short because of the extra length of the five speed. Have one of those H41/split case/hand brake setup from a 84 HJ47RV. Can't remember which side the cable came in. Issue is you no longer have a stock setup one you installed a 60/70 series top cover. Think I would have bent the Transfer case shifter so it stayed in the forward Location and not interfered with the hand brake lever. Because you said it was in the way of the 4WD lever assume you have a RHD.

 

[Paraglider]

Yes, it's a rhd and yes, the parking brake would have to be lifted half way for the 4wd to go to 4wd low (4wd low doesn't conflict with the hand brake).

This first pic is where the parking brake line comes down from the tub (sorry for the duplicate photo; don't know how to delete it once it's on). The third photo shows where that brake line goes into that black drum, next to the speedo cable. I assume this is the drum I take the four bolts off between the shaft and this drum (can see two of them in the pic)

or do I take off the bolts behind the tranny where the speedo cable goes in to be able to take the drum off to see inside? Are there shoes inside this drum?

 

[3_puppies]

I bet the bell crank is rusted. Remove brake drum. Take bell crank apart. Remove rust. Paint with Moly dry film lube. reassemble.

he described an ebrake on the transfer case not on the rear axle. no bellcrank on there.

 

[3_puppies]

you'll need to remove the driveshaft, behind the driveshaft will be a large nut, remove nut and drum should slide off, you'll need to drain the transfer oil and release the hand brake as much as possible

when re-installed drum and nut make certain to stake the nut. which is using a punch and drive the edge of the nut into the groove in the shaft. which locks the nut in place

 

[Paraglider]

you'll need to remove the driveshaft, behind the driveshaft will be a large nut, remove nut and drum should slide off, you'll need to drain the transfer oil and release the hand brake as much as possible

when re-installed drum and nut make certain to stake the nut. which is using a punch and drive the edge of the nut into the groove in the shaft. which locks the nut in place

Thanks for the added info. Couple more questions:
1. Is the nut hidden behind the drive shaft, then, so right now, I couldn't see it w/o taking the shaft off?
2. And the shaft will come off by taking out those 4 bolts?
3. Not sure I visualize what's happening with the nut and the groove, but will it be obvious when I take the shaft off?
4. Why do I need to stake the nut? What does that do?
5. Will transfer case oil start leaking out when I take the drum off, so I need a pan underneath when I do that? (any idea how many quarts and what kind of oil do I put back in and where?)

Sorry for all the questions but I'm really at the bottom of the learning curve here on this one.

 

[Living in the Past]

1. Yes
2. Yes
3&4. The shaft the nut threads on has a groove. The nut has a lip on the other edge. The lip needs to smashed into the groove to lock the nut. Toyota recommends a new nut.
5. Yes the shaft is below the oil level
Once the nut if off some oil will leak out. Put the drum and it will pour oil. There will be a large gap between the seal and the shaft.

Who rebuilt the transfer case when it was installed on the five speed? Don't believe I've ever seen a five speed with a hand brake on the transfer case. If it did would be off a 4X series and shifters would have been forward. Has it been run since the five speed was installed?

 

[3_puppies]

2. you will need to remove the 4 nuts on the drum, then remove the 4 bolts at the rear diff, then you would remove driveshaft from the diff and slide the other end off the drum. the driveshaft will not compress enough to clear the studs.

@Living in the Past , wonder if he could use a 55 backing plate and assembly if the 40 cable is too short. it would come in from the other side.

 

[Living in the Past]

2. you will need to remove the 4 nuts on the drum, then remove the 4 bolts at the rear diff, then you would remove driveshaft from the diff and slide the other end off the drum. the driveshaft will not compress enough to clear the studs.

@Living in the Past , wonder if he could use a 55 backing plate and assembly if the 40 cable is too short. it would come in from the other side.

Probably work or possibly be a little long which would be easier to deal with. From what I've read the backing plate, shoes and everything else is the same. Only difference is the drum with a different spline count.

 

[Paraglider]

1. Yes
2. Yes
3&4. The shaft the nut threads on has a groove. The nut has a lip on the other edge. The lip needs to smashed into the groove to lock the nut. Toyota recommends a new nut.
5. Yes the shaft is below the oil level
Once the nut if off some oil will leak out. Put the drum and it will pour oil. There will be a large gap between the seal and the shaft.

Who rebuilt the transfer case when it was installed on the five speed? Don't believe I've ever seen a five speed with a hand brake on the transfer case. If it did would be off a 4X series and shifters would have been forward. Has it been run since the five speed was installed?

Mudrak Custom Cruisers in Sonoma installed the 5-speed and rebuilt the t-case. I've just shifted the 4wd in place to put it through the gears and turned the lock nut on the front wheel hubs and ran that but haven't actually run the 4wd in gear. Spent most of my hundreds of hours working on it to clean it up (eliminating rust, painting, scraping and a few mechanical things).

 

[Paraglider]

Here's an update. Frustrated that doing something that seemed like it would be harmless (repositioning the park brake to allow more space to get the transmission cover off and the new one on), I thought "This is turning into a lot bigger job than I ever imagined." (Remember, not very long ago, the only thing I knew how to do was change tires, oil and spark plugs.). I've learned a ton already but so little compared to the rest of you. So I decided I'd try to recreate the problem I caused to see if there was anything obvious or to help me understand how I got myself into this fix. I took the brake off again and pretended I was repositioning it again and in the process the brake released when I pressed down on the button. I bolted it back in place and pulled it up and sure enough, it worked. It kept the truck from rolling. I did it a few more times to make sure it wasn't a fluke and it seems to work.

So what the problem was is a mystery to me, but I have learned some good info from you guys that I wouldn't have if I hadn't created the problem. So that's the silver lining. It seems all my good learning is because there's a problem, not so much because I set out to make something better. Thanks guys!

Living in the past--I do agree that it's kind of a "This-shouldn't-be-that-way" thing about the handbrake position and the 4wd lever. Guess it's not a tragedy, though, that I have to put the brake on to shift it to high 4wd.

 

[Living in the Past]

Mudrak Custom Cruisers in Sonoma installed the 5-speed and rebuilt the t-case. I've just shifted the 4wd in place to put it through the gears and turned the lock nut on the front wheel hubs and ran that but haven't actually run the 4wd in gear. Spent most of my hundreds of hours working on it to clean it up (eliminating rust, painting, scraping and a few mechanical things).

Just wanted to clarify it has been running and hand brake is the issue and not from the rebuild.. Which doesn't sound like the case. Plan on adding a longer transmission and transfer case to my 79 FJ40. But switching to a hand brake on the axle which will be a standard 82+ cable.