Question about the E-Brake

I have a 99 prerunner 2wd auto. just wondering if I should be using the e-brake? I dont normally use it. I dont normally park on a hill but the street i park on at night isnt even. when i get home, i turn the car off, and then let go of the brakes. the car then goes backward about 2 inches. I dont use e-brake and im wondering if i am damaging anything or putting stress on the tranny or engine by not using the e-brake? what do you guys think? thanks

 

unless it's a steep hill not really. If you shift from P to R/N/D and it "thunks" or seems hard then use the e-brake in N and then let off brakes and then put in P

 

bump. anyone else have any comments? thanks

 

na you don't need to I have parked on some crazy steep slopes with an auto while out wheeling and would always put in park never damaged the park pawl. now if I lived on like a San Francisco slope I would use it. And the less you use the e-brake the more it will corrode and not work when you need it so on the other hand using it does not hurt anything and might help it in the long run.

 

I would recommend using it if only to prevent the problem described below. Frequent use will keep things clean and in working order whereas disuse will lead to corrosion inside the brake lever system at the drum. I am told that this occures frequently with Toyota trucks that have automatic transmissions since the owners tend not to feel the need to apply the parking brake.

I am dealing with trying to fix my e brake right now. The dealership wanted over $500 to replace the corrosion that they found to be locking the brake up. I found some threads indicating that I might be able to disassemble, clean, and re-install the levers that are causing this problem. Ill try that first. The e brakes become a problem on these trucks when they are not used frequently enough. Apparently Toyota used 2 unlike metals in the construction of the levers that operate at the rear brakes and they tend to corrode and cause the brake to lock up on the rare occasion that you do use it. You will pull the lever to set the brake and it works fine, but when you try to release the e brake it will not let go inside the brake drum.

If you do find that your has locked in the brake position you can crawl under and tap the lever back into the unlocked position so that you don't burn things up while you get to repairing things. You will not be able to use the brake in the interim.

 

here is the thread about fixing the corroded parking brake levers

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1st-gen-tacomas/140573-how-clean-bell-cranks-ebrake-stick-fix.html

 

my left (driver) side was sticking about two winters ago and while getting my inspection (brother does it) he used a mallet to loosen it up. since then I occasionally spray some PBlaster on it to keep it loose and works fine. I don't use it much anymore since I park mostly level surfaces but any chance i can use it I do

 

Recently my e-brake has been screwing up. Its sticking I'm guessing because when I got in the truck from coming from Best Buy and my rear wheels were extremely hot. Couldn't even touch the rim. And as I drive down the road I can feel the rears pulsing. Could this be corrosion?

 

or set too tight, try backing off the adjuster? if it's constantly in contact eventually it would wear away but not the most ideal.

 

How would I be able to do that?

 

It could be. Mine was sticking on one side and that side did get extremely hot until I figured out how to get it to release. It also tanked my gas milage. I don't expect it to be great in a 4x4 truck but I do watch it and mine plumeted down to about 11 mpg the week that it was sticking before I learned how to release it.

Have a friend sit in the truck and alternately engage / disengage the parking brake. Watch the cables that run into the PS wheel and across to the DS wheel while your friend does this. Also watch the 2 levers that the cables engage at the wheel.

If you see the cables themselves alternately go taught and then slack, but the levers pretty much stay in place...then it is corrosion in the levers causing the brake to stay permanently engaged.

If that is the case...tap the levers on the end opposite the cable attachment point and they will disengage. You can then safely drive the truck until you fix the problem...just do not re-engage the parking brake until you fix it (if you do it will just stick again).

watch each side separately - it can be that just one side sticks. In mine it is my PS lever that is sticking but the DS one still springs back into the disengaged position when the cables go slack (released)

 

OK so I finally got the free time after work to take the PS wheel off to see what's what. The cable is taught to begin with and barely moves when I engage the E brake. I can only assume it does the same thing for the DS. So what would be my next troubleshooting step?

 

From experience (had mine replaced), if you don't use it enough it will get stuck when you use it and cause the brake light to be on constantly.

 

Well idk about the previous owner, but I use mine quite a bit. More than a person with an auto does normally. I've ran into yet another problem. The drums DO NOT want to come off. I've tried all I can and they wont budge. Cant even turn them.

 

I think I read in another thread where you were getting terrible gas mileage. You may have just found your problem. Crawl under the truck. Your parking brake has an adjustment. Your wheels should spin freely when off the ground/out of gear.

 

have you tried threading in an 8mm x 1.25 bolt into the holes provided?
should jack it right off.

 

i always use the ebrake whether the car/truck is an auto or manual. i think i do it more out of habit than anything else.

 

Get under the truck so that you can access the bell cranks from behind. Try tapping them in so that they will release the wheels. If the cranks are corroded such that the secondary brake pad on each side is engaged, the drums won't come off until you do this.

If you are not sure what the bell cranks look like go back up through this thread and find my earlier post - it had a link to a thread about repairing them with pics in it.

 

Didn't have any on hand when I took a look at this yesterday.

 

Well this just started happening recently. Maybe started about 2-3 weeks ago. My gas mileage is due to my screwed up air filter housing that I replaced a week ago, my aftermarket MAF sensor, which was replaced 2 days ago and a bad o2 sensor, which will be replaced asap. The E-brake is just adding to the bad gas mileage lol.