Brakes seized up

Just bought this truck used 1 day ago. 2005 at 120,000 miles
Drove it about 2 miles and parked overnight on a level driveway.
Came out the next day and it won't move front or back.

Of course I released the parking brake and the red light on the dash goes out.
What could cause this.

Any troubleshooting checklists or a flow chart.

The seller was supposed to come over w his mechanic today - but couldn't make it.
So...


thank you,
Jim

 

Welcome to TW! Post your question in the 2nd Gen. section and you should get more responses.

 

I’ll guess broken rr parking brake cable. Buy oe only. Good luck and welcome to TW!

 

The parking brake can stick on. Especially with wet and cold conditions

 

Grab and shake each parking brake cable near the leaf springs. Sometimes they get dirt and water inside the sleeves and the cables inside will stick, holding the parking brake on.

Lift each end of the truck and try to spin each wheel.

If the rear drums are the problem you'll have to go in through the backing plate with a pick and/or pocket screwdriver and try to release tension at the star/adjuster wheel

Good luck

 

If the previous owner never used the parking brake, there's a good chance that the cable rusted and it won't release because of the corrosion. My wife never used the parking brake despite my constant reminder and when I moved it one day I put the brake on. When went back out to move it again, it wouldn't release. A tow to the dealer and a quick spray of something or other and I was back on the road.

After that I just let her do what she wanted to.

 

Hi Jim

This is a common tacoma issue. I had to replace my parking brake cables and have the rear brakes done on my 2012 for the same problem. If you crawl under the truck and look at the rear hub, you'll see that your parking brake cables are no longer securely connected to the hub. They corrode and crack, allowing moisture in. If you live in a cold area, they can ice up. If there's salt on the roads, they will rust. I would put it in 4 low and break them loose, then don't use the parking brake until you get it fixed. It's not a huge deal.

 

I drove a stick for many years and was in the habit of using the parking brake and it has carried over to my automatic. It's one of those things if you don't use it you will lose it and it will happen at an unexpected time.