How do I tighten the parking brake?

[Goosetatum93]

My driveway is pretty steep. So before I put it in park, I like to apply the PB to avoid putting the weight of the truck on the tranny. But it's beginning to roll back still when I do this. Suggestions?

 

[OutlawTrucker]

Look under the truck. Might be an adjustment on the cable

 

[darthdzl]

I could only find something pertaining to older Rams, but give this a shot:

Crawl under and see if you can find the cable running along the driver's side frame rails. There may be a nut about halfway back, and if there is, it MAY be the adjustment nut.

No guarantees, and keep in mind if you do something wrong, you could lose your parking brake entirely. Poke the bear at your own risk. But it might worth looking to see if there's something obvious-looking there.

 

[ohiogrown]

Odds are on a 2012 your cabl3 is not stretched. You'll need to actually adjust The shoes inside the rear rotor. They should have a star adjuster just like old-school drums, and if you know what you're doing and 3everything is free you may be able to adjust them without removing the wheels and brakes.

 

[012RAMbo]

If it is just slack and not the shoes in the rotor, like said above, the cable runs along the driver side under the truck. You can't miss it. About half way down there is an adjustment nut shrouded by a triangle looking metal piece. Hold backup on the bolt and tighten the nut down.

 

[pjcodner]

Don't make the adjustment to the cable halfway under the truck. That only adjusts the pull on each of the wheels and should only be adjusted if one side is pulling more than the other. I made this mistake on my 2006 Ram and eventually I didn't have any parking brake.

The adjustment is at the rotor for each wheel. It is basically a drum brake that rides on the inner side of the rotor. There is a dust cap on the inside of the backing plate that you pull off and adjust it using a screwdriver to move the star wheel.

If you are unsure of how to adjust a drum brake just search for it on youtube. You may even find how to adjust the parking brake as well.

 

[ohiogrown]

Don't make the adjustment to the cable halfway under the truck. That only adjusts the pull on each of the wheels and should only be adjusted if one side is pulling more than the other. I made this mistake on my 2006 Ram and eventually I didn't have any parking brake.

The adjustment is at the rotor for each wheel. It is basically a drum brake that rides on the inner side of the rotor. There is a dust cap on the inside of the backing plate that you pull off and adjust it using a screwdriver to move the star wheel.

If you are unsure of how to adjust a drum brake just search for it on youtube. You may even find how to adjust the parking brake as well.

Ding ding ding, we have a winner. There is almost no chance the cable is stretched on a truck that new. Adjust them at the wheels as per the manufacturers design.

 

[RamLove4.7]

I am wondering if you guys can help me out with adjusting the star wheel behind the backing plate. I can't seem to move mine and it looks pretty rusted, so do you have any tips to move it?
I replaced my parking brake cable, however I can't connect it to the lever without adjusting the parking brake shoes to move the lever to attach the cable end.
It is just so close!

 

[ohiogrown]

Take it apart, install new adjuster, the end. If it's that's rusted it's not working anyway.

 

[RamLove4.7]

I was thinking I had to replace it, but I was hoping there was another way.
Thank you!

 

[lonewolf2873]

The star adjuster is for brake adjustment across the board.
Go into parking lot, accelerate in reverse and cram on brakes. Repeat several times, this will adjust brakes. If parking brake doesn't work still, adjust cable.

 

[ohiogrown]

The star adjuster is for brake adjustment across the board.
Go into parking lot, accelerate in reverse and cram on brakes. Repeat several times, this will adjust brakes. If parking brake doesn't work still, adjust cable.

In an ideal world with no variables this would work, but it rarely does. It SHOULD adjust every time you back out of a parking spot. If it's not holding, its not adjusting, so this method won't work.

When you tighten the cable what you're doing is basically partially applying the brake at all times, not wise. Tightening the cable applies additional tension to both sides. It would be extremely odd for both side to be equally out of adjustment, meaning they need to be adjusted individually. If the cable is slack, that's when you adjust the cable. Otherwise, adjust from within the drum, if the adjuster doesn't move disassemble it and fix the problem.

 

[Goosetatum93]

Thank u all for the help. I solved it just by adjusting at each wheel evenly.
Y'all r very helpful.
And by cleaning out the dust inside.
I drive down a dirt road everyday and I have forded several 12+ inch puddles since installing the powerstop rotors so as y'all can imagine they were very dirty needed some well deserved tlc.

 

[Limeybastard]

Would parking brake not holding be covered under warranty? the bumper to bumper ? Or is it a consumable item?

Mine doesnt hold anymore at 22K miles.

 

[Hootbro]

Would parking brake not holding be covered under warranty? the bumper to bumper ? Or is it a consumable item?

Mine doesnt hold anymore at 22K miles.

I think it is considered a wear item. You could still ask though but just about every vehicle make I have known has never covered the parking brake outside of either the first year or 12K miles. I have looked at the warranty manual and it really does not exclude it but really does not say if the parking brake would be covered.

 

[Jaxon Cage]

I have a 2010 Dodge Dakota 4WD 4.7 V8 Magnum and had the same problem with no main cable adjustment available to take up the slack. The tensioner is meant only for equalizing cable forces between both rear brakes, and not for taking up overall slack in the cable. I figured out a solution that worked for me and now when I set the parking brake it does not roll down a hill. This solution should work in some RAMS as well. The trick lies in the brake pedal where the cable connects. You can insert a spacer below the cable ferrel after a simple procedure to create a working-slack.

In summary the procedure is as follows:

1. Tools needed = vice grips. Nothing else.

2. Press the parking brake pedal about a 1/3rd to 1/2 way down.

3. Clamp the vice grip on the exposed portion of the cable below the 'fitting' where the cable ferrel sits (picture is worth a thousand words).

4. Release the parking brake. The vice grips hold the cable in place. And to get even more slack to play with (if needed) you can hand-raise the brake pedal even higher while pulling on the release.

5. Insert a spacer below the cable ferrel. I used a copper grounding fastener (a bolt and nut, but with nut removed) that has a 5-1/2mm gap down the middle. It fit around the cable perfectly. A small u-bolt would probably work too.

6. Remove the vice-grips.

7. Check brake operation. Slack is reduced by the amount of spacer thickness. Test the parking brake. Repeat process using different thickness spacers until you are satisfied. Mine worked on the first try. Good luck.