Emergency Brake Staying Engaged?

[Bert]

Brakes are self-adjusting so set the toothed cam at the shortest length you can (should be self-apparent what that is) so that you can get the drum back on and over the shoes. Applying the handbrake multiple times and stepping on the brakes in reverse will speed up the brake re-adjustment.

[Gomez]

Clean it thoroughly then press as much grease as you can into the mechanism. Then wipe off all the excess. and reinstall. Repeat process approximately once a year (or more for us Ohioans). Enjoy your new-to-you ebrake system. lol

[sketchman]

Muriatic acid next time. Soak them till they are clean again. It's just watered down hydrochloric acid "safe" for sale at a hardware store IIRC. I know they have it at Lowes here.

Much easier than elbow grease and PB blaster.

[WmWatt]

Using the parking brake will prevent rust from seizing it up. No need to treat other than a bit of grease on installation.

[sketchman]

I use my parking brakes all the time when they work. They still eventually seize up. Not sure why.

[Twistiva]

Brakes are self-adjusting so set the toothed cam at the shortest length you can (should be self-apparent what that is) so that you can get the drum back on and over the shoes. Applying the handbrake multiple times and stepping on the brakes in reverse will speed up the brake re-adjustment.

Bert - Thanks for the answer and for writing it so clearly!

Clean it thoroughly then press as much grease as you can into the mechanism. Then wipe off all the excess.

Gomez - Don't think I can get much grease on/in/near the 2 pins that allow for rotation but I'll do my best.

Muriatic acid next time. Soak them until they are clean again.

Ahhhh...good to know. Actually have some here at the house.

.....No need to treat other than a bit of grease on installation.

OK, no paint. Thanks!

I appreciate all your inputs. Right now I consider myself qualified to hand tools to a mechanic, lol, but I'm learning!

[fastivaca]

Hi Dan... you need to empty your PM mailbox. It's full again!

[drddan]

I use my parking brakes all the time when they work. They still eventually seize up. Not sure why.

I would venture to say .... you are not loosening them up enough. I make them loose as a goose. Beat them with a hammer til it spreads the rivets a little that hold them together.
Apply hi pressure grease. I use this because the hi pressure grease doesn't break down easily with exposure to the elements.

[Twistiva]

Guys -

E-brake on my daughter's Festiva appears to be working fine now. Thanks to all who helped me get it fixed. Sorry I can't post any pix, I'm over my size limit. (How do you delete any from old posts to make room for new pix?)

A word to the new mechanics....

1st, do NOT put grease on the spindle itself. Maybe just a light film to help slide the hub on the spindle but don't glob any on the spindle like I did at first. When taking the hub off the spindle I saw grease on the spindle and thought "Ahhh....grease on the spindle. Hubs spin. The spindle will need to be re-greased when I put the hubs back on." Wrong. The hub does NOT spin on the spindle. The bearings spin around the spindle, not the hub itself. The grease I saw on the spindle when I took off the hubs was residual/excess grease from the inner hub / where the inner and outer bearings are. Bottom line: grease on bearings = good, grease on spindle = bad. An experienced shade tree mechanic told me the reason is excess grease on the spindle can heat up and melt/drip down into the brake shoes. Not good.

2nd, the spindle nut requires very little torque before you stake it. The shop manual, in my opinion, sucks at walking you through that process. It says 18-22 FOOT pounds but that is just to seat the bearings. Then it says to back it off (the spindle nut) until you can literally turn it by hand. Then it walks you through an elaborate couple of steps involving INCH pounds and "bearing pre-load" and when you're finished doing the math it says to then torque the spindle nut "slightly" (or something like that). What the heck is "slightly"? Any comments on how tight to get the spindle nut before staking by experienced Festy mechanics would be appreciated.

Thanks again! :thumbs_up:

[Gomez]

That process is hard to convey in words. It really is just a feel kinda thing. I have spent the last 10 minutes trying to write something for ya. I keep on erasing everything I write just so I don't get made fun of by everyone else. Sorry, dude.

[nitrofarm]

Any comments on how tight to get the spindle nut before staking by experienced Festy mechanics would be appreciated.

What Ive been doing is tightening the nut and spinning the drum at the same time.Get it so I know I have good pre-load,then back it off @ 1/8-1/4 of a turn.

[WmWatt]

After the wheel is back on it should spin freely without any play in the bearings. Grab the top of the tire and push and pull to test for bearing play. That can be done any time with the wheel on the ground. Test drive the car and feel the hub to see if it's heating up from too tight bearings.

Earlier ths summer I heard a slight noise from the left rear. I walked around to the back, grabbged the top of the tire, and gave it a good pushing and pulling. There was a bit of play. I removed the dust cover, tightened the axle nut, and re-staked. I could see where the axle has slipped past the earlier stake mark. I have the staked nuts, not the cottered nuts.