GX470 etc. Parking Brake Adjustment.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Feb 7, 2016
Threads
30
Messages
489
Location
Colorado Springs, CO.
I am simply posting this as a reference for those that will need it in the future. This is not a difficult job IF you know which way to turn the adjuster with out taking the rear drum off. Most people should know that there is a Star Wheel adjust at the bottom of each parking brake in the hub area. You have to adjust that star so that the wheel turns but is not too loose. The key is to know which way to turn the star and it's different for each side. Also, if you can't get the rear disc brake OFF you can loosen the star and make it super easy to get it off. There is a couple holes in the rear disc hub area and that lines up with a hole in the hub that lets you reach in through those holes to use a small screwdriver to adjust the star looser or tighter. Just use a flashlight with the hole near the bottom and you will see a star that has teeth on it. Use your screwdriver to move it up or down as needed to loosen or tighten. You want to get it tight so it wont allow the wheel to move and then back it off so that the wheel moves freely when you spin the disc/hub by hand. Don't worry about it being slightly loose. We can fix that later. On the driver side you move the star up to tighten the parking brake action. On the Passenger side you move the Star down to tighten the parking brake. Pull the brake a couple times to center the shoes your adjusting but don't over tighten it. Reinstall the wheels and take it for a spin. I did this next part going in reverse. But while going slowly backwards pull the e-brake hard. You will need to do this several times and it will self adjust to the proper tension after that. Theoretically you could just do this a bunch of times and it should adjust. But that has not been my experience or I just don't want to go for a mile in reverse trying to get this thing to adjust. I heard it should work in forward direction. I am not sure. But you will feel it tighten up over several good hard pulls. There your done. Loosening the star will prevent the disc from getting jammed on the hub as well during removal. All this should be done before adjusting the cable. The cable can be adjusted by removing the parts near the parking brake. Just shorten the cable. Easy Smeezey
 
Sometimes the tension on the e brake will come loose as well and you need to take up slack. To do that you can pop out your cup holder (just pull straight up) and there is a nut that you will turn clockwise to take up slack. I tried the option previously posted but maxed out my star nut and the e brake still wasn’t working. After tightening this nut under the cup holder it solved the issue.

54F36B22-E2EE-4384-8573-D493E25044BF.jpeg
 
Sometimes the tension on the e brake will come loose as well and you need to take up slack. To do that you can pop out your cup holder (just pull straight up) and there is a nut that you will turn clockwise to take up slack. I tried the option previously posted but maxed out my star nut and the e brake still wasn’t working. After tightening this nut under the cup holder it solved the issue.

View attachment 2092227

this might be a stupid question, but do you tighten this nut with the parking brake engaged, or disengaged? Also, does the transmission need to be in neutral or park?

parking brake is a tad loose. Since I’ve just got street parking where I live, I’d like to try this before finding a parking lot where I can put the rear end on jack stands and make adjustments at the wheels.
 
this might be a stupid question, but do you tighten this nut with the parking brake engaged, or disengaged? Also, does the transmission need to be in neutral or park?

parking brake is a tad loose. Since I’ve just got street parking where I live, I’d like to try this before finding a parking lot where I can put the rear end on jack stands and make adjustments at the wheels.
Disengaged is easier to tighten.
 
Tighten disengaged. Crank adjustment until it completely stops all motion. Back off 2-3 clicks. Job done.
 
Thank you, Dan and Taymar. That was an easy fix and the parking brake feels way better. Took like 10 minutes.
 
Alright, got a weird one here. Adjusting the star nut on driver’s sides works as expected. Took like 2-3 clicks, and the rear wheels locked up. Backed it off one click, and the rear wheels could move. Sweet.

Passenger side…went 5 clicks…wheel still spins. 15 clicks, same thing.

Yes, I’m turning the star nut down on the passenger side.

Any thoughts why the adjustment does nothing on the passenger side?

The cables attached to the parking brake lever don’t move equally either. Passenger side moves forward, it driver side doesn’t move.


IMG_1838.jpeg
IMG_1837.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Figured it out. The instructions in the original post are wrong for the passenger side.

You DO NOT turn the passenger side opposite of the driver side to tighten. Turning the star adjuster DOWN loosens BOTH sides. Turning it UP tightens both sides. Confirmed with my vehicle and the FSM.

IMG_1839.png

Hopefully this saves someone else a bit of time and annoyance lol
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom