Handbrake problem

[roscoFJ73]

Since pulling the handbrake on hard whilst on a steep bank climbing out of water my handbrake wont disengage fully.
I have to get under and yank the cable running across the diff.
I have cleaned inside and out and sprayed with Penetrene.
I also adjusted the brake shoes and handbrake
It improved slightly but I still have to get out and yank the cable for the brake shoes to disengage.

I noticed each brake drum has 2 springs on the mechanism where the cable is attached to the backing plate.

Do these springs lose their tension and cause my problem?
Im guessing the answer is yes,but I wanted to know if anyone else has had this problem

 

[crushers]

it is usually the "tower and arm" that is the problem, the tower is made out of aluminum and the arm is steel, add water and you get bindage. take the towers off and remove the arm, wire wheel clean, coat with a good water resistant grease and reassemble...
(the tower is on the back side of the backingplate where the e/brake cable attaches...)

 

[Greg_B]

it is usually the "tower and arm" that is the problem, the tower is made out of aluminum and the arm is steel, add water and you get bindage. take the towers off and remove the arm, wire wheel clean, coat with a good water resistant grease and reassemble...
(the tower is on the back side of the backingplate where the e/brake cable attaches...)

Bang on and likely the issue. The older bell cranks also had a clip that clips over the arm before you slid it through the tower. Remove this as well. I don't believe the now ones have this, as Toyota recognized the issue and did not install it. Neversieze works well too, if you do not want to use grease. Some people run without the rubber boot, saying it traps gunk and causes things to sieze. Not sure I like that. Taking it apart and checking/lubing when you do your brake services is better imo..and keep the rubber boot.

hth's

gb

 

[crushers]

hey Greg what about a grease nipple to squirt a bit of grease in at the arm?

 

[Island Moose]

Since pulling the handbrake on hard whilst on a steep bank climbing out of water my handbrake wont disengage fully.
I have to get under and yank the cable running across the diff.
I have cleaned inside and out and sprayed with Penetrene.
I also adjusted the brake shoes and handbrake
It improved slightly but I still have to get out and yank the cable for the brake shoes to disengage.

I noticed each brake drum has 2 springs on the mechanism where the cable is attached to the backing plate.

Do these springs lose their tension and cause my problem?
Im guessing the answer is yes,but I wanted to know if anyone else has had this problem

This is a classic problem for guys who trailer boats and dip the rear axle from time to time. I did my neighbors for him, as everyone says, wire wheel and lubricate everything with a light coat of anti-seize. Make sure you add too much pre-load on reassembly or your shoes will drag.

 

[roscoFJ73]

I took the drum off after the problem occured and it was clean inside. I did the shoes not long ago and soaked it all a second time with Penetrene.
I may have to look at the ball crank a bit more closely

 

[crushers]

pull on the ebrake cable right next to the bell crank, it should move the arm easily in and return just as easily, if not then i would suspect this...

 

[roscoFJ73]

pull on the ebrake cable right next to the bell crank, it should move the arm easily in and return just as easily, if not then i would suspect this...

It does move freely when I pull on the cable.

Suspect this ??? Do you mean the bell crank?

When I release the handbrake lever it does release the shoes some what but there is still some drag .

 

[crushers]

if hte bell crank is working then it will be the cable itself is not releasing due to contamination...

 

[widewestcruiser]

I had the same problem,had to get out and release the brake cable by giving it a little tug. I checked everything and it seemed the cable was binding.I took the front seat out and pushed the floor mat and hand brake cover to one side and squirted half a cup of engine oil inside the small tray where the brake cable comes into the cab,the oil then slowly ran down the cable, after a week the brake worked fine.
simple fix.

 

[roscoFJ73]

I seemed to have fixed it. It was probably a combination of the rear LH wheel and the handbrake being over adjusted .
I backed the adjusters off and all seems ok.
Although I fixed it a few weeks ago and it came back so Ill wait and see what happens.
Thanks everyone for their suggestions

 

[Jan-78FJ40]

I seemed to have fixed it. It was probably a combination of the rear LH wheel and the handbrake being over adjusted .
I backed the adjusters off and all seems ok.
Although I fixed it a few weeks ago and it came back so Ill wait and see what happens.
Thanks everyone for their suggestions

Had the same problem at some point. after cleaning the bell cranks did not help, I had to change the ebrake cable assembly. once the old one was off, I realized it was really hard to move.

j

 

[roscoFJ73]

Had the same problem at some point. after cleaning the bell cranks did not help, I had to change the ebrake cable assembly. once the old one was off, I realized it was really hard to move.

j

Do you mean it was hard for the cable to slide inside the sheathing?
Mine seemed to move freely in that area.

I also looked closely where the lever goes through the backing plate and the lever looks as though it may have a twist in it causing it to seize on the backing plate but its difficult to tell for sure.
All is still fine so Ill see how it goes. If it plays up again it will be a full strip down and new cable

 

[Jan-78FJ40]

Do you mean it was hard for the cable to slide inside the sheathing?
Mine seemed to move freely in that area.

I also looked closely where the lever goes through the backing plate and the lever looks as though it may have a twist in it causing it to seize on the backing plate but its difficult to tell for sure.
All is still fine so Ill see how it goes. If it plays up again it will be a full strip down and new cable

Yes, the cable did not slide in the sheathing. I could only release the brake by pulling relly hard on the cable in the rear-the bellcranks were just fine.
j

 

[roscoFJ73]

Yes, the cable did not slide in the sheathing. I could only release the brake by pulling relly hard on the cable in the rear-the bellcranks were just fine.
j

Widewestcruiser recommended pouring oil down the sheathing. Sounds like a good fix to me.
I may just throw some down there next time

 

[Island Moose]

Widewestcruiser recommended pouring oil down the sheathing. Sounds like a good fix to me.
I may just throw some down there next time

Rosco, an old trick we use with motorcycles: Find a funnel with a long narrow spout, feed the end of the cable through, far enough that the sheath opening is well inside the end of the funnel. Now take about 1/2 meter of duct tape and wrap it around to seal the bottom of the funnel to the cable.

Now just slowly pour oil into the funnel and let gravity work it into the cable itself. Takes an hour or so to do it right so rig up a way to hang the funnel like an IV bottle.

 

[UpsideDown]

My experience has been that the cable/sheathing problem is related to the steel sheathing rusting and clamping down on the cable. The cable is usually coated in plactic to prevent binding in the housing... oiling things after the fact usually has little effect, or maybe buys a little time if you can get it to move smoothly.

There are other problems that crop up with the cable and sheathing, but the net result is that the part should just be replaced.

Maybe in Oz, it's just dust, and in that instance, pouring oil down the sheathing may aggravate the problem vs. washing the grit out with water and then chasing it with penetrating oil.

 

[wesintl]

and here I thought you were having problems with the wife...

 

[Greg_B]

and here I thought you were having problems with the wife...

Damn...took me a day to get that one...



gb