Looking for a little help on the e-brake / parking brake

Backgound - Massachusetts in their infinite governmental wonderfulness just revised our vehicle inspection (10/01/17) process to include no less than 5 cameras and a digital log of the process. Safety inspections were already pretty overboard. This new update is to crack down on vehicles passing inspection that may be close enough. Of course, this makes it even more difficult to have a street legal vintage car / truck.

Current issue - Mass requires the e-brake to hold the vehicle in the lowest forward gear at 1200-1300 rpm. My buddy has a 66 F100 with the 352 and the NP435, just like mine. He had just rebuilt and adjusted everything, truck holds fine on hills, but not in gear as required. My truck currently has the brakes apart, so I can't check this out on mine at the moment.

Does anyone out there have parking brakes that do hold under the above conditions? If so, I assume there must be issues with the system. If not, what can be done!?

Thanks in advance!

 

That sounds like something thought up by a bureaucrat. I'm sure it never occurred to any of those idiots that a vehicle like a truck with a rear gear possibly as low as 4:56 could overpower any handbrake. The only way to get that brake to hold under those conditions is to depress the brake pedal hard then set the parking brake. Or show up with a 2:50 rear gear.

 

New parts need a little time to settle in, keep in mind a good brake job "back in the day" used to include arcing the shoe linings prior to installation to fit the drums closely. They would work a lot better, right from the git go. Drums that had been turned got oversized shoes/linings. Depending on the drum diameter, and shoes, adjustment etc they may not be contacting very much of the drum surface, consequently the rear brakes may not be working quite as well as they should. Just spitballing. Brake linings need to go through a heat cycle to bake off and cure the resins and binders or they will glaze over and never work very well.

As a practical matter cinch up the self adjusters a block away from the test station and limp in. It oughtta hold then. He does have them set to a light drag right? Drum brakes can't be adjusted where the wheel is freewheeling, this is a common error. Not saying that's what's happening here but drum brake knowledge and understanding ain't what it used to be. Is cable stretched excessively? Good test, I'll have to try this with my slick and see how well they hold and report back. Mine's a manual. New brake system. assume this situation with your friend is with an A/T?

 

Well, actually that is how the parking brake should be set. I fought this in MD some years back with medium truck (and I can see their point and understand the reasoning).

Just make sure the new brake shoes are seated correctly, the self-adjusters work correctly and the cable(s) are not stretched out of spec.

 

1 more reason to be happy that I live where I do. No inspections of any kind regardless of year.

The Ford Truck manual states that "the parking brake should hold the truck stationary on a reasonable grade without difficulty". Now, who determines what "reasonable" is? My point though, is that I don't think they were ever designed to do what you say they must. With a 390 4bbl, dual exhaust and 4:10 gears, mine certainly does not.

I agree with the previous posters though- limp in and stand on the pedal while engaging the parking brake.

 

This way you are not stressing/stretching the cable(s) and the shoes will be (should be) extended fully to the drum.

 

Thanks for the replies, I'll forward some of this over to him. Can't say I'm surprised that Mass wants us to do the impossible! May have to look into how to fight the law on this one.

 

I wonder if I'm acting stupid by asking how one is supposed to test the parking brake holding capacity at 1200-1300 rpm with a manual transmission?
The mechanics of such an operation confuse me unless somehow one could slip the clutch to maintain the rpm. Otherwise wouldn't the vehicle just stall?
Maybe manual transmission vehicles are exempt from this testing? Can someone take the time to explain this?
rx

 

You know, I was thinking the same exact thing. I read the whole mass law and it doesn't differentiate between the two, so we're stuck with it I guess.

 

It obviously applies to automatic transmissions, that's the whole point of the requirement.

Bureaucratic drones are not allowed to think too much, use discretion or common sense they get punished or lose their job if they do, so...