Urgent! Parking brake will not disengage!

Trust me it works very effectively. I've towed anywhere from a 4x8 trailer to 16 ft flat bed to 21 ft cabin cruiser and it brakes very well with the load on. BPV works. 90% of your stopping power is from the front. I can't tell you how many front sets I've gone through. 5 I think....depends on what your willing to spend on the brakes....buy cheap, they don't last as long.

 

if you pull the drums off the back be sure to turn the star wheel on the back to pull the pads back in otherwise the drums wont come off.

 

+1 internets to everyone who said brake fluid. I wasn't below the minimum line, but I added some and the light went off. However, I have discovered something that bothers me. I took off the front wheel to take a look at the brakes, and there's a groove in the disc brake. I'm no brake engineer, but that can't be good. It's not super deep, but i'm sure it's still a problem.

Also, i'm still getting a metal on metal noise when I'm driving. I might be retarded, but shouldn't bad brakes squeal when you're applying pressure to the brakes, not all the time?

Lastly, when I jacked the front of the truck up, I went to spin the front wheel for fun and it didn't spin freely, it was very restricted. The back wheels spun for a good amount of time with little resistance, so the fact that the front doesn't worries me.

EDIT: Oh I forgot to mention that I couldn't adjust the e-brake line. The bolts were really stuck on there, so I blasted them with WD40. I'm not sure I'll worry about it thought as the light is turned off.

 

That's the only picture I took. I'll take a better one tomorrow after work. Any recommendations on what pad to buy?

 

^^^ This

I wouldn't worry about the rears. Yours look like they have many miles left in them. Not sure how many miles are on your truck but those are most likely the originals if you have less than 150K.

Here is a pic of mine from a recent inspection. 113K miles. I expect to easily get another 50K outa them.

 

Easily. I will go thru at least four sets of fronts before I wear out one set of rears. I'm on my 3rd set of front pads now.

1st set changed at 48K, 2nd at 88K. Autos are harder on the brakes compared to manuals. YMMV

 

18,000 miles? they should've lasted a bit more. the pic of the front rotor looks like a 'stone groove'. Either way, it really is gravy to do a front brake job, and ,BTW, I'd turn(recut) the front rotors from the look of them. They are quite glazed. Otherwise, new pads will go to shit. And, with metallic/semi metallic pads you will have to 'bed' them, which basically means after you change them drive the truck a bit, do some 'hard' braking and it will help set the pads and kind of heat-treat them. If you don't, when you first drive it the pedal may feel low, braking weak. This is normal, but after you heat them up they will be fine. Any local auto parts store will cut/turn the rotors for around $15.00 each. It's always a good Idea. Ask me how I know...

 

EDIT/ADDITIONAL INFO; Don't Get ANY Brake Fluid on Your Paint!!

 

X2 on checking your bellcranks. These very commonly bind up on the 01-04's which can result in the brakes being constantly applied and the parking brake not working properly. Crawl under the truck and check the bellcranks, there is a set screw that should be against, or within a hair of the backside of the wheel housing when the parking brake is disengaged. If it isn't then they need to be freed up and your brakes/parking cable adjusted.

 

Well I think I'm going to replace the pads in the front today. The bell cranks look to be okay. I blasted the hell out of every part in the ebrake system with wd40 and it's smooth sailing. Nevertheless, I think I'll take them apart and clean em while I"m doing the brakes (I found a helpful link here)

But anyway, I'm gonna replace the front pads today. I found a video on google that seems to show all the steps (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7gEOMny5Dw). I'm just not sure if I need to replace the rotor. The front left one has a single groove in it, but it's not deep enough to dig into. At what point should I replace the rotor?

From what I've read, a big sign is if you're getting a bad shuddering when you're braking. I don't have that, so I'm thinking I don't have to worry about it.

EDIT: I just going to go with Duralast Gold pads. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/pa...8ko29?counter=0&itemIdentifier=582248_0_3773_

 

Okay, so I replaced the front brake pads last night, and I'm still getting a constant metal-on-metal noise. At least my front pads stopped squeaking though.

What else could be my culprit? I thought it was a pulley at first, but the sound isn't present unless the car is moving.

 

Did you pull off the calipers when you changed the pads? I think it was mentioned before but maybe there's a rock or something wedged in the caliper that is cutting that groove and making the noise? Also check the dust shield and make sure it isn't contacting the rotor or has anything wedged in it.

 

I hate to sound like a tool here, but... I would suggest a local brake shop, Midas, Meineke or a trusted local mechanic. Have them give you an estimate, Tell them to call you before doing any work, I'm getting the impression you're grasping at straws at this point. We all could give you 100 directions to go in...but we aren't there, and we can only guess. I'm guessing a local mechanic will at least point you in the right direction. I am not trying to offend you, BTW. I have thrown money into a new rear Diff, Rear tranny output shaft and bearing, and U-joints only to find out I lost an $8.00 weight on my Driveshaft!! It cost me much time and labor, plus a ton of cash , and I was absolutely sure I solved the problem each of the 3 times I tried. I finally gave in and Brought it to a local Transmission shop...$40.00 later, problem solved. My humble opinion, get a second,professional opinion. You can always do the work yourself and save the Cash. Good Luck. and Let us all know.. We all learn from our " I don't need a mechanic" syndrome.

 

Check my post above,# 47. I hope it helps.

 

Could you shed some light on how exactly to free up the bell crank?!

Every so often my e-brake will not fully disengage, the light doesn't stay on, but I can easily tell that there is resistance in the rear. Shifting in and out of drive/rev seems to free it up.

I've discovered that the passenger side bell crank must be fused inside the boot because it is very hard to move manually. WD40 hasn't fixed it, so I assume I need to break it down and thoroughly clean it... is there a write-up out there??

Thanks

 

ok shoulda Google'd first.. found this http://www.ebooksquad.com/2009/08/13/toyota-truck-park-brake-bellcrank-repair-guide.html

click "Download now" and it will bring you to a very in-depth How-to.

just thought I'd share w/ others who might need the help like me

 

so today I followed the "How-to" from the link I posted above. Things went pretty smoothly with a couple exceptions.

The first issue was that the "Pivot Pin" which holds the "bellcrank arm" to the "base block" was pretty fused, but nothing a bunch of PB Blaster, a punch, and a BFH couldn't fix

The second issue is a little more serious.. After the bell cranks were reinstalled I wanted to adjust the screw for the bell crank stop. Well, I didn't spray them down, they were seized, and I sheared both of them off so now I have to drill them out, rethread them, and replace the screws.. Anyone encountered that specific promlem before??

Despite the setbacks. and future fix. my P-brake no longer sticks! lol

 

My brake light was coming on when I steped on the gas, level was just above min, filled it (DOT 3) and all is good.

 

quick follow-up: I was able to heat up and remove the sheared off adjustment bolts and replaced them with new ones. E brake is working perfectly!