Parking Brake adjustment

Hey all - after searching the forum (and Google), I've been unable to find this. Maybe my search skills are just weak. Basically, when I release the handle on my parking brake, it takes a few tries pulling the handle in and out to get the brake to fully release with the handle staying fully retracted.

Anyone else encounter something like this or is my best bet to just keep parking it in gear?

Thanks.

 

Directly under the driver seat area by the frame, you will find the arm leverage, cable, spring, and cable adjustment. See if the spring is broken. If spring is in tact, adjust the arm leverage throw by tightening the ~1” nut.

 

Best thing I did a while back is get the manual instruction book and follow it to a t, front to back adjusting everything, shoes and all.
Now when I park, manual tran, I set the brake,,, I haven't had to adjust my shoes in a long time and it holds rock solid. This keeps the parking brake adjusted if you didn't know that, works well on mine.

 

Thank you both! I was looking in a stupid place. (I don't wanna talk about it). Spring's still springing, just took some elbow grease to break the rusty threads loose.

 

The parking brake system on Tacomas is a mixture of levers, pulleys and pins. Start with the levers on the inside of the rear backing plates, see if they move, they do get frozen in place sometimes. Follow the cable to the equalizer bar on the top of the rear axle housing. There is a bushing in there that gets worn out and will wallow out the round hole, that is one reason why you adjust the cable and it changes, tight pull this time you engage the handle and loose the next. The bushing is sold seperatly.

 

I wound up replacing both the front and rear cables over the stupid parking brake light. :-D It wouldn't go out unless you pushed it in, and would flicker while driving. Turns out the front cable was ever so slightly stretched, and the rear adjust nut was so rusted up it broke off the end of the stud. Adusting the rear didn't help. it was the front cable.

Sounds like you got the intermediary lever loose but if you continue to have issues start with the front one. Here's more info.

 

Oh, the parking cable was totally loose. I stopped counting clicks around 20, and started tightening the nut. I think it still needs to be tensioned because the parking brake didn't hold the truck on an incline, but that can wait for warmer weather when working in my driveway won't be physically painful.

 

Sounds like you're following exactly in my steps. :-D Next you'll probably find it's as far down the adjuster thread as you can go without breaking it and it's still loose. (Or you break it anyway and buy a new rear cable, in my case.) After seeing little difference with a new OEM cable, I replaced the front cable . . . the nut didn't need to go down the thread as far and everything tightened up. In case you need it, the replacement nut for the rear cable adjuster is M8 x 1.25.

 

It was the spring. There's still some slack in the front cable, but it's tight enough that the stupid light stays off when I release the brake, so I'm calling this one a win, and I'll deal with the front cable when it becomes an issue.