Should parking brake able to hold the car from rolling backwards?

How-to's and repair secrets for your 4WD can be found here. Have a question? Ask it in here!
Post Reply
User avatar
Dumindu
Top Notch Member
Posts: 227
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2017 12:34 pm
My tercel:: 1987 Toyota tercle 4wd DX Wagon 1452CC
Location: Sri Lanka
Contact:

Should parking brake able to hold the car from rolling backwards?

Post by Dumindu »

My car is a 1987 Toyota Tercel DX Wagon RHD 1452cc manual driven car.

My car parking brake only able to prevent the car from rolling forward. It cant hold the car from rolling backward when car faces uphill.

Mechanic told that emergency brake works only to hold car from rolling forward. Not backwords.

Is it true?
User avatar
Petros
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 11930
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: Should parking brake able to hold the car from rolling backwards?

Post by Petros »

not really true. but the design of the parking brake for some reason holds better forward than when rolling backwards. if all the parts are in good condition, and both the shoes and the parking brake cable are ad justested perfectly, it will hold better on the back roll.

I park every day on my driveway with the front higher than the back. it holds, but I always put it in first gear as a back up.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
User avatar
Dumindu
Top Notch Member
Posts: 227
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2017 12:34 pm
My tercel:: 1987 Toyota tercle 4wd DX Wagon 1452CC
Location: Sri Lanka
Contact:

Re: Should parking brake able to hold the car from rolling backwards?

Post by Dumindu »

Thank you very much.
User avatar
Petros
Highest Ranking Member
Posts: 11930
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:31 pm
My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: Should parking brake able to hold the car from rolling backwards?

Post by Petros »

while there is only one adjustment for the brake shoes, the parking brake has two places to adjust.

one is under the plastic console cover at the brake handle, in the interior of the car. the other is under the car in the middle where the cable from the left and right rear brake meet a center fitting with the center cable that comes off the parking brake handle.

I always adjust the rear shoes first (jack it up, block front wheels, and brake off, trans in nutral out of 4wd). when the wheel spins free you adjust the shoes out until they just touch the drums. do that on both sides. than I press hard on the brake pedal several times to recenter the shoes, and spin the rear wheels again. they should not drag much, but just touch the drum as you spin the wheel by hand. you have to do it by ear.

Than with the car back on the ground you adjust the center parking brake cable so the handle will only lift about 15-20 deg off horizontal. if you can not get that with full adjustment, than you have to back it off at the handle, crawl back under the car and adjust the center fitting to take up the slack until you can get the brake handle to pull tight at less than 20 deg angle from horiz handle.

that should give you enough tension in the brakes to hold on a hill backwards (takes a firm pull on the brake handle).

If you can not get any combination of adjust to get the brake handle to pull up tight, you will need to inspect all the parts and replace any that are too worn to adjust properly. sometimes you need to replace the two rear brake cables (left and right side) if they are corroded, stretched and some of the strands are starting to fray.

good luck.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
User avatar
Dumindu
Top Notch Member
Posts: 227
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2017 12:34 pm
My tercel:: 1987 Toyota tercle 4wd DX Wagon 1452CC
Location: Sri Lanka
Contact:

Re: Should parking brake able to hold the car from rolling backwards?

Post by Dumindu »

Thank you very much again for your comprehensive advice.
Post Reply