I think I have a serious transmission problem

A nice feature from my days of driving SAAB 900's was that you couldn't get the key out unless it was in reverse. Perplexed the hell out of valet drivers and others who didn't know the procedure.

 

That requires forethought.

 

Uhhhh, don’t park on an incline then. Problem solved.

 

yes, the better alternative is to let the truck roll into something or somebody.

 

I've had my brakes coated and freeze solid in the winter. It's something to think about but honestly it's more of an exception I have to think about rather than breaking me of a habit to set the parking brake.

 

I don't get this. If you are actually using the parking brake (or break, for some of you) regularly like you actually should be, there is no way it is going to freeze up.

 

Shoes freeze to the hot drums in very cold weather! We don’t use them here in NE washington unless we like walking! Not rust froze...

 

It sucks, especially in a front drive car. My Mazdaspeed 3 would do it all the time if there was moisture on the road.

You really can’t/shouldn’t use the parking brake in a cold weather state. Add in truckloads of salt put on the roads and you’ve got seized bellcranks.

 

Good info, learn something every day here on TW! I'm going with the firewood suggestion, then, with the scocar convenience mod.

 

I brought this up in the manual transmission thread as this was the way I was taught as well. They told me this was bad practice because A) our first gear is shorter than reverse and B) if the engine gets forced to turn "backwards" it's not a good thing.

 

i remember my first stick shift.

 

Here you go, for all the girls living in Iceland.

 

No parking brake? I always use my parking brake and put it in gear no matter where I park

 

Also, OP you know why your parking brake isnt working.... is because you never used it in the first place, the auto adjuster got gummed up and isnt working to keep things properly adjusted for drum shoe wear.

Those who dont use a parking brake in both an auto or a manual are just stupid IMO. (unless you live in a cold climate and have issues with it sticking, but even then be smart and use wheel chocks) Though i find myself often in single digit temps in nasty weather and have never had an issue with it sticking.

 

This is an obvious troll thread. YMMV

 

U stoopid

 

The times mine have stuck it was because the snow melt had refrozen. Here in Colorado they have traditionally used liquid magnesium chloride as a de-icer and it makes this nasty red-brown glop that seems to coat everything. This is a mild example.



What it did on my old truck is freeze the bell crank, which is an arm that actuated the shoes. The way Toyota used to put the rear end together made it particularly susceptible to this. On the 2nd gen the cable goes in the backing plate so I've never had an issue, but on earlier trucks this could definitely freeze up really easily and would rust like crazy.

It's a legitimate thing for it to freeze in the locked position, so you would have to beat it with a hammer or heat it up to release your brakes. It's kind of the opposite problem as the OP is describing, you'd be stuck with the parking brake on and couldn't go anywhere. So, sure, sometimes you'd not use the parking brake to prevent that.

 

Just happened to me. I use my parking brake all the time on my mt. anyways, the one rear wheel was locked. Just rolling back and forth a few times and it broke free. So I tested it while driving, pulled the pb, and again the wheel locked up. Eventually got rid of whatever ice build up there was, as everything's fine again.

 

You are supposed to lubricate the parking brake mechanisms when you service your main brakes every two years per the maintenance booklet. Never had an issue with either my Taco or my Subaru, both with drum-style parking brakes.