Used parking brake maybe 8 times now it’s saggin?

[Addicted2fishing]

Hey folks. Walkin out there store yesterday noticed my parking cable hangin down and curious to know if this means my brakes are seized on? Never had an issue with parking brake before. Easy fix ?


60% of the time it works every time....

 

[SitKneelBend]

Hey folks. Walkin out there store yesterday noticed my parking cable hangin down and curious to know if this means my brakes are seized on? Never had an issue with parking brake before. Easy fix ?


60% of the time it works every time....

Very common. It's typically not the breaks seized on but rather the cables and arms themselves that tension the break that are seized. If I'm not mistaken, it can lead to the parking break not disengaging fully though.

Dealer will want $1200+ to fix out of warranty and they may say it's not covered under warranty as a wear item if you're still in warranty. I freed mine and stopped using it.

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[Addicted2fishing]

Very common. It's typically not the breaks seized on but rather the cables and arms themselves that tension the break that are seized. If I'm not mistaken, it can lead to the parking break not disengaging fully though.

Dealer will want $1200+ to fix out of warranty and they may say it's not covered under warranty as a wear item if you're still in warranty. I freed mine and stopped using it.

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1200!?? That’s insane


60% of the time it works every time....

 

[tron67j]

An especially normal issue for vehicles in the north. Very important to use emergency/parking brake in a regular basis to keep cables moving. Really a necessity to have if you have to change a flat tire, park on a hill, etc.

 

[SitKneelBend]

An especially normal issue for vehicles in the north. Very important to use emergency/parking brake in a regular basis to keep cables moving. Really a necessity to have if you have to change a flat tire, park on a hill, etc.

I keep wheel chocks in my Rambox now...

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[Addicted2fishing]

An especially normal issue for vehicles in the north. Very important to use emergency/parking brake in a regular basis to keep cables moving. Really a necessity to have if you have to change a flat tire, park on a hill, etc.

That’s why I’ve been using it. Just got a heavy bow rider and it’s needed to park boat in driveway and whilst on ramps.... guess I’ll add it to my FML list of crap to do [emoji2369]


60% of the time it works every time....

 

[tron67j]

I keep wheel chocks in my Rambox now...

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I also keep them. The one problem is that when parking on a hill or with weight pulling on the tow vehicle, you are supposed to set brake before placing in Park, and when I am solo cannot get chocks in place.

 

[PoMansRam]

Same thing happened to my 2017 Ram 1500 maybe a year ago. I posted a thread about it. It's got nothing to do with the cables, shoes or springs. It's the the levers that stick through the backing plates, that actuates the cams that spreads the shoes apart that allow moisture and debirs in, that causes corrosion and won't release fully when you release the P-brake pedal.

You need to pull the rear drums, clean and spray lube the heck out of the cam area. Below is a pic of how they looked on my 2017. The area is all shiny because of the spray lube. I did fully free them up and then gooped on a bunch of never-seize.

 

[PoMansRam]

I forgot to add, if you crawl under the back of your truck with a poking device and a whacking device, you can gently move the lever on each backing plate back to the released position, which is rearward and your cable will snug back up.

Each individual piece, including the lever/actuators are available individually, but like said, dealers install the whole pre-assembled backing plate kit which requires axle disassembly, yada, yada, which results in a $1200-1300 bill.

 

[tron67j]

Good info. I just always default to it being a cable sticking in my mind, too many bad times with those - I am scarred for life. I can remember so many times putting vice grips on the cable where it came out of the sleeve protector and hammering on that back and forth to loosen it up.

 

[PoMansRam]

Oh for sure on that tron67j.

I remember all too horribly of the 1970s and 80s cars I owned where the cables would seize up.

 

[Addicted2fishing]

See, you guys rock. That’s why I post here.... I was hesitant at first because seems like such a minor issue but NOPE! Maybe me washing the area a lot and backing up the boat etc crud and rust gets all up in there.

With that said. I called my dealer and he said it MAY be covered. I got the extended warranty and on a 3 year old truck this seems premature like me in my 20’s. Just sayin


60% of the time it works every time....

 

[indept]

I also keep them. The one problem is that when parking on a hill or with weight pulling on the tow vehicle, you are supposed to set brake before placing in Park, and when I am solo cannot get chocks in place.

So, set the parking brake, then put it in park, then get out & place the chocks, then get back in take it out of park & release brake to let it grab the chocks then set brake and put in park. If parking brake is seized then sounds like you have to go with just park and hope it releases after setting the chocks.


Better yet when towing, bring along one of these in the passenger seat----> to help.

 

[tron67j]

So, set the parking brake, then put it in park, then get out & place the chocks, then get back in take it out of park & release brake to let it grab the chocks then set brake and put in park. If parking brake is seized then sounds like you have to go with just park and hope it releases after setting the chocks.


Better yet when towing, bring along one of these in the passenger seat----> to help.

Sorry, I should have written that better. I was referring to when I didn't have the parking brake working in the past. But definitely the way to do it when solo. Your steps are what everyone should follow when there is a grade impacting the parking. Thanks for writing it, my post kind of screwed it all up.

 

[SitKneelBend]

Sorry, I should have written that better. I was referring to when I didn't have the parking brake working in the past. But definitely the way to do it when solo. Your steps are what everyone should follow when there is a grade impacting the parking. Thanks for writing it, my post kind of screwed it all up.

I got it since it was in reference to me...

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[PoMansRam]

I marked up one of my pics to explain what I did. The lower/center red arrow is pointing to the cam actuator. This arm moves forward when you mash the P-brake pedal, causing the shoes to spread apart and should move rearward when you release the pedal as the spring tension on the shoes pulls them back together.

I had a helper mash and release the P-brake pedal as I doused the area with BP Blaster being mindful of not soaking the shoes.

Once you get the works moving, wipe up the excess spray and coat the areas where the 3 red arrows are pointing with some type of HD lube, grease, anti-seize, etc. It was recommended to me to use a marine grade anti-seize, which I didn't have so I used the silver never-seize I had on hand. No matter now as I no longer own this truck.

 

[Fergusontd]

Drum brakes on the rear of a '17?

 

[Matthew Thibodeau]

Drum brakes on the rear of a '17?

They are disk brakes that have a drum built in for the emergency brake only.

 

[indept]

They are disk brakes that have a drum built in for the emergency brake only.

It beats having some convoluted ratcheting mechanism built into the caliper like the rice burners have.

 

[PoMansRam]

It beats having some convoluted ratcheting mechanism built into the caliper like the rice burners have.

Maybe, although that type of system on Dodge Grand caravans isn't bad.

In all fairness most make/model pickup trucks use the same p-brake setup as the Ram 1500s. Ford F150s rust up and seize up just as bad as the Rams in the rust belt.