with all my tundra brake woes.... one thing has always haunted me. the parking brake becomes very mushy as the days go by.
after a brake job... i put the parking brake on... and it it tight a can be. after a few days... and then a few weeks... and about a month later... it is almost all the way to the floor.
does this have any effect on the front-to-rear adjustments?? meaning... as the parking brake becomes more mushy... does the rear brake adjustment become sloppy.... and i "use" more of the front brakes??? it seems my front brake life is terrible.
as i think about it.... as the parking brake becomes mushy... the truck feels like it is "harder" to stop. thats probably my imagination.... but i have always wondered about this.
I have a 2004 DC and my parking brake goes almost to the floor every time I set it. I am trying to get in the habit of setting it every time I park, but even when I set and release several times in a row, it still goes to the floor. It doesn't give me a warm and cozy feeling that it is doing much, but it does work.
I hop under my truck every couple thousand miles and tighten up the rear brakes. The dealership said they are self adjusting....but they don't self adjust very well. A couple of clicks each side, the brakes feel better and the parking brake is much tighter. You might want to give it a try.
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The Tundra's parking brakes are the rear drum brakes applied by the foot lever in the cab. This application of the mechanical linkage actuates the self adjusting mechanism. It is easy to see this for any one who takes off a rear wheel and brake drum. Pull on the parking brake cable and watch the lever turn the notched adjusting wheel on the rear brake adjusters.
It is always possible that the adjusters are stuck which will allow the pedal to be pushed too far and feel mushy. This should be an easy fix by freeing-up the adjuster or installing a new one.
Ken
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I have a 2004 DC and my parking brake goes almost to the floor every time I set it. I am trying to get in the habit of setting it every time I park, but even when I set and release several times in a row, it still goes to the floor. It doesn't give me a warm and cozy feeling that it is doing much, but it does work.
I had my dealer look at my 2004 DC parking brake when I took it in for it's first oil change for the very same reason. The pedal goes to the floor every time. Much different feel than my Access cab. Well, the dealer said this was normal.... We'll see....
I haven't pulled a wheel and brake drum yet to check out the parking brake setup but keep thinking I will someday. I'm still on all original brake parts at 81,000 miles so I am somewhat reluctant to change anything I am doing at the moment! I don't normally use the parking brake, maybe a dozen times since new. I know it doesn't really make sense. I drive VERY conservatively.
My question(s): If you use the parking brake everytime, how does it not get adujusted too tightly. "How" does the adjuster know when the brakes are adjusted correctly, and not adjust further? Is it like the old style adjuster that adjusted when you backed up and stepped on the brakes. Do you think I should use it like a 1000 times in a row now, or just keep doing what I've been doing, even though it makes no sense?
Happy Hauling,
Doug
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The parking brake cable pulls a lever with a finger that engages the notched wheel on the adjuster. If the adjuster is tight enough, it slips over and doesn't turn. Without looking at mine again, I don't recall just how that works. Early 2000 Tundras had a finer thread in the adjuster and did tighten too much. There is an old TSB to replace these adjusters with the adjusters used currently.
You might try putting an ear next to the rear drum, pulling on the brake cable by hand, and listen for a click as the finger slips over the adjuster wheel for the next notch when the cable is loosened. If it's audible, you'll hear when it stops clicking on subsequent pulls. I'd think that a half dozen to a dozen pulls would work.
Ken
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That sounds about like what I was imagining it looked like inside. I got "brave?" last night and stepped on the parking brake about 50 times in a row. 25 to apply, 25 to release. It seems like the truck stops better now but maybe that is just my imagination. If the rears were way out of adjustment then it seems like the fronts would be doing more work which would not be conducive to long pad life, so again that doesn't really make sense to me why I am not having problems. Must be living right? I will listen for the clicking sound when I get a chance. The parking brake did firm up quite a bit after 25 applications, think it is adjusting the brakes like it is supposed to.
I know about the TSB, I would most likely have to pay for it and have read so much about the horror storys at the dealer that I think I will just wait until I actually have a problem instead of creating one. Will have to pay for it anyway. Guess I need to get it up on jack and look inside and see what is happening.
Thanks for the intel though!
Happy Hauling,
Doug
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It is always possible that the adjusters are stuck which will allow the pedal to be pushed too far and feel mushy. This should be an easy fix by freeing-up the adjuster or installing a new one.
Ken
Good point, when you do a brake job you can re-use all the hardware, just be sure to clean up the starwheels real good with brake cleaner and use anti-seize where it threads and inside of the little cup. Usually, it's the little adjuster arm that turds rather than the starwheel. Use a brake rebuild kit every other rear brake job (new starwheels, springs, levers, etc) This is a pain, but those wheels and clickers wear out over time and stop adjusting.
Failing that, you can always use the 'adjust-it-yourself' method and go in through the view port with a brake spoon to give it a few clicks every now and again. Like when you get an oil change...
PS-A bad adjuster won't just give you sloppy pedal feel on the eBrake, it will take more effort to push the pedal down during normal brake application as well. More tahn just a nuisance--this could eventually develop into quite a safety hazard...
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I borrowed my sisters sequoia to tow my boat yesterday cuz my bro's borrowing my tundra and when at the launch I pressed down on the ebrake and it went to the floor with very, I mean very little resistence then I put it in park and it rolled a bit. After the launch I depress the brake and release the ebrake and it was hard to shift out of park, kinda like parking on a hill without the ebrake engaged. On my tundra I don't think I can even drepress it all the way to the floor. It's got the resistence you can feel and it also holds the truck and shifting out of park is easy. I questioned if the ebrake is even working.
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I hop under my truck every couple thousand miles and tighten up the rear brakes. The dealership said they are self adjusting....but they don't self adjust very well. A couple of clicks each side, the brakes feel better and the parking brake is much tighter. You might want to give it a try.
Excellent advice. There is a direct relationship between the rear brake adjustment and the parking brake.
The rear brakes are self adjusting (ONLY WHEN YOU BACK UP).
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Excellent advice. There is a direct relationship between the rear brake adjustment and the parking brake.
The rear brakes are self adjusting (ONLY WHEN YOU BACK UP).
I tried to look inside the port on the inside of the drums, but due to my thicker leaf pack I cant get a good view inside. Is the star adjuster just inside there or is it a bit deeper? I'd like to snug them up a bit- would a flat head screwdriver or the like do the trick and which direction should the adjuster be rotated??
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I had my dealer look at my 2004 DC parking brake when I took it in for it's first oil change for the very same reason. The pedal goes to the floor every time. Much different feel than my Access cab. Well, the dealer said this was normal.... We'll see....
Last week I took my DC and had the dealer check the brakes. He adjusted the rears and now my parking brake engages much higher than before and the pedal has a much firmer feel. Finally I feel good about the brakes in my DC.
I tried to look inside the port on the inside of the drums, but due to my thicker leaf pack I cant get a good view inside. Is the star adjuster just inside there or is it a bit deeper? I'd like to snug them up a bit- would a flat head screwdriver or the like do the trick and which direction should the adjuster be rotated??
Juts pop that little oblong plug, and get a good flashlight in there. If your springs are in the way, try jacking it up a bit. A break spoon would work best, but a good flatbladed screwdriver could do the trick. Click, click click....When I readjust I tighten it until the wheel can no longer spin freely. It'll move, but if I spin it 'Price is Right' style...it won't go
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mushy parking brake and brake life
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