Poxy parking brake

[CRD28]

Hi everyone
I’m Chris from the land of my father’s where the sheep are scared.
Now the serious question
How many of you have the same issue with the Parking brake
As in not holding good enough on a 45 degree angle.
I checked many YouTube videos and groups, and they all say pump the parking brake while rolling in reverse on tick over. Done that and it’s still a POS .
Any help would be appreciated
Chris

 

[Ksat]

Do you have drum or disc in the back?

 

[CRD28]

Disc’s with internal parking brakes

 

[duderz7]

The parking brake is drum on all of the kj's and completely mechanical. So it matters not whether jeep is running or not when applied. I seem to remember that rolling backwards slowly and applying the brake may help it self adjust if things are crusty in there. Get the rear axle on jack stands and test it. While up there look at the backing plates for a rubber plug that allows access for manual adjustment. If the shoes are original they probably need replacement as they tend to deteriorate over time. Oh, and 45 degrees is a little much to ask of any parking brake, maybe 4 to 5 degrees

 

[Johnny O]

This is a common issue. it is easy to fix though. The linkage that engages the parking rust and stick.

You must be registered for see images attach

There is one on each side. You need to soak them with Kroil or Blaster or the like an manually work them free. If you cant break them free you will have to disassemble the hub. While you are at it give the same treatment to your star gear on the drum tensioner(bottom of the drum assembly)

Another common parking brake issue on Liberties is the garbage backing plater that holds the drum assembly. It is held on by three rivets that rust and break, so that the drums can never engage properly. You have to be rich to buy a replacement pair (last I saw over 300 for a pair)...if you can even find them for sale...I just busted the rust, sprayed them with rattle can, and drilled new holes in mine. Then I fixed them in place with 1/4"x3/8" fl.ange head pop rivets, which I then hit with a rattle can.

After all that, you will have to reassemble the entire drum hub and use a screwdriver to adjust via the star gear.

 

[LibertyTC]

The parking brake is a drum in hat design.
The shoes inside the hat can even be worn past tolerances or even be cracked etc. Inspection time!
A rear spring kit & new shoes may be needed & then adjusted properly?
Do you have a UK CRD diesel ? What year is your KJ & what engine ?
Here is the 2005 Factory Service manual: http://www.colorado4wheel.com/manuals/Jeep/KJ/2005JeepKJServiceManual.pdf

 

[LibertyTC]

Finally found this image. Napa Premium Ultra, coated rear rotors+
I simply replaced it all, and works very well now.

 

[paintpirate]

hi everybody i,m here in england
had same problem cables stretch shoes wear , had to replace the whole system just for the m.o.t my motor is a 2.8 crd auto and love her to bits

 

[stoveboltshane]

Hi everyone
I’m Chris from the land of my father’s where the sheep are scared.
Now the serious question
How many of you have the same issue with the Parking brake
As in not holding good enough on a 45 degree angle.
I checked many YouTube videos and groups, and they all say pump the parking brake while rolling in reverse on tick over. Done that and it’s still a POS .
Any help would be appreciated
Chris

same problem, failed mot on drivers side wheel doing nothing when parking brake lever pulled up although it was ok day before , so i replaced, the shoes and all hardware , now the passengers side still locks up as long as i pump the parking brake lever a couple of times, and the drivers side is better than it was but doesnt lock up , but both wheels will lock up no problem if i turn them backwards ? the other thing i find with it is the handbrake lever sometimes lets it self off , and car will start rolling if not left in gear . i had a garage do an mot last year that let it go cause he said they had a newer kj in with the same problem they renewed everything and it was no better , just a lousy design.

 

[KJowner]

It's not a brilliant design but with a bit of fiddling it passes the MOT every year, to be honest the 2.8 will drive straight through it on tickover so its of limited use. I did see something about disabling the auto adjustment on the handbrake to stop it slipping but mine is OK at the moment.
If you remove the cubby box you can see the cables on the equaliser, if one is massively different then you can see where adjustment or a new cable is needed. Have you replaced both sets of shoes and set them up correctly?

 

[Deb'nKJ]

Self-adjusting parking brakes don't work - & never have (except, possibly, on Renaults). They have improved in the last 60 years but not enough to justify them. I understood that the self adjustment mechanism on KJ's is activated by emergency stops in reverse - i.e. something you never do in normal use! That probably explains why KJs' parking brake has such a terrible reputation.

My advice? Forget the (so-called self adjuster), pretend it's an old drum brake car (my 1st experience of that particular adjuster was a '63 Beetle) &, the weekend before the M.o.T, with the lever pulled up 4 clicks, flick the star wheels round with a screw driver 'til the wheels lock, then check they're free at 3 clicks. Worked for me on the KJ, just as it had on the 3 XJ's before, a couple of Cadillacs, 3 Jags, a few Citroens - & just about everything else I've ever got through an M.o.T.

As for that 45* slope, I'd always understood that the steepest hill on a public road was around 30*, but perhaps Wales is different.

 

[stoveboltshane]

It's not a brilliant design but with a bit of fiddling it passes the MOT every year, to be honest the 2.8 will drive straight through it on tickover so its of limited use. I did see something about disabling the auto adjustment on the handbrake to stop it slipping but mine is OK at the moment.
If you remove the cubby box you can see the cables on the equaliser, if one is massively different then you can see where adjustment or a new cable is needed. Have you replaced both sets of shoes and set them up correctly?

well i think i may give up and scrap it this week , worked on it again today , which is now becoming a regular weekend thing for last 3 yrs , every thing is new parking brake wise , both rear wheels locking up forewards and backwards when handbrake applied ,by time i got home ,1 mile , not working , never owned such an awful car reliability wise, shame cause its actually in good nick and goes like stink being a 6 speed manual especially with a chip box on it , had a few 4x4s over the years , frontera, diahatsu, landy,s , spent thousands on this ol girl , but enough is enough , just need a car i can get in and drive to a destination and get there .

 

[KJowner]

well i think i may give up and scrap it this week , worked on it again today , which is now becoming a regular weekend thing for last 3 yrs , every thing is new parking brake wise , both rear wheels locking up forewards and backwards when handbrake applied ,by time i got home ,1 mile , not working , never owned such an awful car reliability wise, shame cause its actually in good nick and goes like stink being a 6 speed manual especially with a chip box on it , had a few 4x4s over the years , frontera, diahatsu, landy,s , spent thousands on this ol girl , but enough is enough , just need a car i can get in and drive to a destination and get there .

I'm surprised to hear that, mine is a 20 year old auto and its pretty reliable, far more so than my wife's much newer VW!
There must be something up with with the auto adjuster if they keep loosing adjustment.

 

[LibertyTC]

I use a long flat blade screwdriver in glove box to assist holding back the slack in the brake handle /tensioner /adjuster.
It should hold jeep at 4 clicks pulling upwards on brake handle, otherwise something is not well.
The cheat is too look inside (no need to remove cover) and use the long flat blade screw driver.
See this link.
https://www.jeepkj.com/threads/parking-brake.59898/

 

[u2slow]

These drum-in-hat parking brakes are pathetic. Doesnt matter is its a liberty, or a dodge/ford/gm pickup. I dont rely on it; pack a wheel chock, or plumb in a hydraulic lock.

$ucks for you guys with inspections.

 

[KJowner]

Got the father in laws WJ to look at shortly, MOT failure for handbrake... not had one in bits before so it will be interesting to see how different it is to the KJ setup. Dana axle I think.

 

[u2slow]

Got the father in laws WJ to look at shortly, MOT failure for handbrake... not had one in bits before so it will be interesting to see how different it is to the KJ setup. Dana axle I think.

I have one of those WJ 44's.... not the same. There's the whole axle bearing retaining business.

Spendier brake parts for sure.

 

[KJowner]

I have one of those WJ 44's.... not the same. There's the whole axle bearing retaining business.

Spendier brake parts for sure.

I thought it was a D35? It looks lighter than my 8.25.

 

[u2slow]

I dont know what you have, but mine is an aluminum D44 from a WJ.

 

[Deb'nKJ]

Never mind the axles, we're only concerned with the brakes & from memory they're not much different, either between KJ & WJ - or anything else with top hat calipers. WJ's don't have the appalling reputation, in that department, that KJ's do - although, if anything, the actual mechanism that converts pulling the cable to pushing out the shoes is worse.

I have to assume from u2slow's observations that he's had no experience of the various other set-ups that were tried when rear discs first appeared. Believe me, mechanically over-ridden calipers were not good - & separate, parking brake pads were even worse.