Frozen E Brake

That is untrue, I have rear disc brakes on my car, the parking brake rotates the piston in the caliper to squeeze the pads, works really well.

 

Interesting, what kind of car? That's how the Fiat worked the parking brake pushed on the piston in the caliper with a lever but it couldn't push hard enough.

 

You guys notice when in for wheel drive pulling the e brake will lock all 4 wheels and doing that in two wheel only the rear locks. I never new 4wd tacos did that

 

Any 4wd truck will do this when in 4wd drive.

 

Its on my Mustang, it looks similar to this pic I found on the net, the handbrake pulls the caliper closed on the disc and that large spring retracts it when you release it.

 

Going back through some old threads to try and find a solution for my e-brake freezing issue. I have a manual so i tried leaving the e-brake off and just leaving it in 1 and R. The truck literally rolled down the driveway about 6 inches every 10 seconds or so...WTF in a jerking fashion. I let it do its thing about 10 times before i was almost out in the street. If I had a flat driveway or a flat street, it wouldn't be much of an issue. But why the fuck would my truck roll forward when i have it shifted in reverse and truck is off AND TOYOTA IS SUGGESTING THAT I DONT USE MY E-BRAKE IN WINTER? Is there no solution? Looks like i need to use the e-brake but if i do i almost guarantee it will be frozen tomorrow and ill be PO'd again!!!! crap

 

That’s pretty funny! You must have a steep driveway! If your truck was rolling forward while in reverse gear your engine was actually turning backwards. Since the clutch is out, the wheels and engine have to both turn at the same time. The truck doesn’t have to be on for this to happen. Your steep driveway and gravity have become the power source.

The jerky motion was the engine turning and stopping for a second because of resistance from compression in one of the cylinders. If you ever hand crank a an engine with spark plugs in you will feel this or if you ever try and start a manual car with a dead battery by pushing it you will feel that jerky motion too.

 

That is the weird thing, it isn't what i would consider a steep driveway at all. Driveway is about 30 feet long with, 5 feet of elevation gain. Thanks for the explanation though, what you are saying makes sense. It just sucks that i cant overcome the parking brake issue just because i park on a slanted driveway.

I just went out there and took a video of the truck jerking forward but i couldnt get it to upload. Sounds like you already know whats going on. Ill have to take a video tomorrow in the light.

 

dnlskier said: ↑
Your right. Park the vehicle and move the shift lever to P (automatic transmission) or 1 or R (manual transmission) without setting the parking brake. The parking brake may freeze up, preventing it from being released. If the vehicle is parked without setting the parking brake, make sure to block the wheels. Failure to do so may be dangerous because it may cause the vehicle to move unexpectedly, possibly leading to an accident. From page 274 if our manual - https://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om-s/OM04013U/pdf/OM04013U.pdf

That's unreal, eh? We can put a man on the moon, a robot on Mars, but we can't keep a parking break from seizing up in the winter.
I'm still banging my lr drum with a short pipe and hammer, through the rim when it seizes. Hoping to get it in some warm garage sometime to have a good look, seal up what I can (cables, water leaks).

 

Just to throw this out there, I had the same issue, locking up in winter conditions. Wiggling the housing where it enters the drum fixed it every time. Took it to a shop and they pointed out that after I lifted my truck I never adjusted my brake line and that most likely caused a kink in the line. Replaced the lines and adjusted properly, haven’t had a problem since.

(Also had the issue of trying to leave the brake off and watching my truck roll down hill even though it was in reverse)

 

I actually use my e-brake every single day at work, flat, and on my drive way, slight incline. I live in NH where we get cold and have never had it once freeze. Yes, I have washed my car on a freezing day with temps gong way below freezing. Maybe I am just lucky or I better go knock on some wood....

 

Oh, and the part of the manual that says don't use the e-brake in winter? My mt truck has an auto start, which is used in winter here in northern Ontario. This auto start requires I park in neutral, and set the parking brake.
If I'd have a newer truck bought from the dealership, I'd be in there questioning this issue.

 

I don't know if this helps, but I've used my ebrake since I bought the truck new, and I always have my foot on the brake when I release it and it's only stuck on me one time. I don't remember if I was on the brakes that time or not, but I just remember pulling away and feeling it jerk as it broke loose. But ever since then, no problems, and we've had several occasions where it rained hard and dropped well below freezing over night.

 

@Bastek maybe look into this if you haven't already.

 

Thanks for tag Rich I'll definitely check it out

 

Not all rear disk brakes use the drum inside the disk, I have worked on some cars where the piston in the caliper rotates out like a cam when the e brake is pulled. The pistons have to be wound back in to replace the rear brake pads . No drum inside the rotor or e brake shoes.

 

Mighty brakes seized a few times and it wasn't even freezing, so I might have to look into this

 

I completely agree. This has happened to me 3 times, each time burning up my clutch trying to get it to release backing up and driving forward. That's why disc's are better; just to avoid these issues.

 

Today, first thing, I power washed all the ice off my undercarriage, it was a lot and took over 30 minutes. When i got home I tried pumping the brakes to push the brake pads against the disks and drums with more force. E-brake is off, going on 2 hours and it is still holding regardless of only being parked in 1 on a hill. I have blocks a few inches in front of my tires in case it desides to scooch forward like last night. Curious to see where my truck is in the morning.

 

Is anyone having this problem without a lift on there truck as post #70 states cause I have a 2inch lift and am now wandering if my brake lines need adjusted