Jeep KJ Emergency Brake Adjustment How-To

[Whelan]

This was a VERY simple one, but it may come in handy for others. Our '05 Liberty had a very sloppy E-bake handle that you could jack all the way up and it would not really engage much. So I found a good video but it was grainy so here is a quick how-to on adjusting your E-brake.

1. You can jack up the car but it is not necessary so long as you park on a flat surface and have the car in Park, no E-Brake set. Behind the rear wheels is a cover plate and you locate the rubber grommet right below the axle. Pop that out with your finger or screwdriver if needed.

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2. Use a flashlight to see inside, you will see a spring and a small toothed gear (on the right in the pic). Use a flathead screwdriver to turn the teeth. Push the teeth up to tighten and down to loosen. The video I saw said to do it until they caught but I did this and it ended up with a noise from the back as they were rubbing during normal driving. My suggestions is to tighten them until it starts to feel taught or hard to turn, at the point back off a turn or two.

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3. Reinstall the grommet and repeat this for the other side.


4. Jump in your car and put it in the street or somewhere that you do not have anything in front of you (garage door, house, other cars, etc.). Start the car, engage the E-brake and put the vehicle in drive. It should stay put with slight throttle, if it doesn't then you may need to adjust more or look to inspect the E-brake shoes for replacement.

 

[CactusJacked]

What you turned is the "self adjuster" that's operated by a lever and cable connected to the brake shoe, which takes up slack as the brake shoes wear. If you have to fiddle with that, then the adjuster isn't working correctly on it's own like it's supposed to.

 

[turblediesel]

If you're backing off the adjuster because it's too tight, or rubbing, you need to push a small screwdriver in past the adjuster to disengage the sprung metal piece that leans against the star adjuster providing a ratcheting action that only allows it to tighten. Then it will loosen.

 

[Vintageorbust]

Hello this is my first post and question.
I have a 2003 Liberty and recently started the rear rotors, pads, and ebrake shoes/hardware. My honey came out and finished the job.
Now I have no ebrake at all. From what I've read, the ebrake is supposed to self adjust. How do I get it to start adjusting by itself? Thanks in advanced!

 

[Adam Roby]

There's a procedure on here to back up and apply the handbrake, have to do it like 100 times (literally) for any affect, but like many of us - the eBrake simply does not work. I replaced all of mine and did the procedure, still doesn't work... have yet to figure it out but maybe one day when I have time on my hands... or never probably.

 

[djtimyd]

This was a VERY simple one, but it may come in handy for others. Our '05 Liberty had a very sloppy E-bake handle that you could jack all the way up and it would not really engage much. So I found a good video but it was grainy so here is a quick how-to on adjusting your E-brake.

Any chance of getting the pictures working? I would like to try this - my ebrake is at the top limit and I think this might work to fix it. I'll try it regardless but pictures are always helpful. Thanks!