so why would the parking brake start having issues

Please check these guides and videos out. Here are two videos to handle both 2500, 3500 and 1500 parking brake shoe replacements with diagrams below to help as well. https://youtu.be/EMxfb9X3ywE and https://youtu.be/uo1RnATyEok and https://www.2carpros.com/articles/parking-brake-shoe-replacement The park brake shoes must be adjusted before the park brake pedal is adjusted. Set the J 21177-A so that it contacts the inside diameter of the rotor. Position the J 21177-A over the shoe and the lining at the widest point. Turn the adjuster nut until the lining just contacts the J 21177-A. Repeat steps 1-3 for the opposite side. The clearance between the park brake shoe and the rotor is 0.6604 mm (0.026 in).

Please let us know if you need anything else to get the problem fixed.

How to replace parking brake assembly

you have to remove the caliper and rotor to replace the shoes for parking brake. they are similar to a regular drum brake. if you have a 25 series caliper remove is a little different

I rebuilt the drum brakes with new springs and adjusters, and all new cables, and tightened them up. I did not pit on new pads or drums, as the pads have a lot of material left, and the condition of the pads and drums looks acceptable but not great. I tightened the cables, very tight with parking brake pedal high, and it goes almost to the floor, but doesn't fully stop vehicle from moving under gas. I suspect that I need to replace the pads and drums, which I should have done, but am very low income (doing the work myself). Otherwise the brakes seem to work well, but that might be the front disks doing most of the work as they are under 3 years old. Parking brake is the concern, for passing inspection. Thanks for any info.

most braking is done by front not rear. However if you don't have the adjuster correct in drum it won't work properly. the brakes have to be adjusted as well to just touch the drum where it will still spin. recheck your work and try readjusting the brakes

I was very careful to make sure everything was correct, but there is no way to adjust the adjuster through the back, it seems it has to be adjusted by backing up slowly while applying the brakes. I just picked up new pads and will put those in and try again. Thanks.

you have to punch the piece out in backing plate to access the adjuster and it will spin in one direction. there are 3 different types of rear brakes so hopefully I sent the correct one.

No you didn't send the right one, the chevy c1500, 2 wheel drive, is similar, but simpler. There were two rubber plugs about half way down the backing plate near the outside edge, but they don't come close to lining up with the adjuster. But I will look to see if I can punch out the piece of the backing, that would make a big difference if so, Thanks, that might be the key.

I pulled it apart and there is no way or piece to punch out to access the adjuster, so I assume you have to set it up right before you put the drum on. But the arm that goes over the adjust wheel teeth does not lock over it, it can flop around, move in to engage the teeth on the adjuster wheel, or out. Is the top spring that connects the two brake shoes supposed to cover that arm and hold it on the teeth? Thanks again.

On these brakes there is no adjusting screw spring (none in new spring kit either) and the large spring that holds the brake pads at the top is the only one near it, with a small spring that pulls the arm that engages the teeth of the adjusting wheel. I'll check the Chilton's manual again, but it would make sense for the large upper spring to cover that arm to hold it in place.

if this is what you have the adjustment is where arrow is pointed for initial parking and brake adjustment which must be made with drum off. yo need to measure at center of drum and shoe to get it close so drum would need to be turned.

Yes, that's the right one. I read the Chiltons manual again and figured out what you said, adjust w drum off. Thanks for the reference point, I think I've got it now.

I bought this truck a couple months ago. It has no emergency brake. whoever removed it removed all of it, connects, cables, everything, The problem I have is I don't know where it connect, or where to run the cables. Can you help?

Daniel

REMOVAL & INSTALLATION Front Cable DRUM BRAKES See Figure 1

Fig. 1: Front parking brake cable-C/K Series 1.Raise vehicle and support it with safety stands. 2.Remove adjusting nut from equalizer. 3.Remove retainer clip from rear portion of front cable at frame and from lever arm. 4.Disconnect front brake cable from parking brake pedal or lever assemblies. Remove front brake cable. On some models, it may assist installation of new cable if a heavy cord is tied to other end of cable in order to guide new cable through proper routing. To install: 5.Install cable by reversing removal procedure. 6.Adjust parking brake. Center Cable 1.Raise the vehicle on hoist. 2.Remove the adjusting nut from the equalizer. 3.Unhook the connector at each end and disengage the hooks and guides. 4.Install the new cable by reversing the removal procedure. 5.Adjust the parking brake. 6.Apply the parking brake 3 times with heavy pressure and repeat adjustment. Rear Cable See Figure 3

Fig. 3: Rear parking brake cable-C/K Series 1.Raise the vehicle and support it on safety stands. 2.Remove the rear wheel and brake drum. 3.Loosen the adjusting nut at the equalizer. 4.Disengage the rear cable at the connector. 5.Bend the retainer fingers at the backing plate. 6.Disengage the cable at the brake shoe operating lever. 7.Install the new cable. 8.Adjust the parking brake. ADJUSTMENT Duo-Servo Drum Brakes The rear brakes serve a dual purpose. They are used as service brakes and as parking brakes. To obtain proper adjustment of the parking brake, the service brakes must first be properly adjusted as outlined earlier. 1.Apply the parking brake 4 clicks from the fully released position. 2.Raise and support the vehicle. 3.Loosen the locknut at the equalizer. 4.Tighten or loosen the adjusting nut until a moderate drag is felt when the rear wheels are rotated forward. 5.Tighten the locknut. 6.Release the parking brake and rotate the rear wheels. No drag should be felt. If even a light drag is felt, readjust the parking brake. 7.Lower the vehicle. If a new parking brake cable is being installed, pre-stretch it by applying the parking brake hard about three times before making adjustments. Leading/Trailing Drum Brakes See Figures 4 and 5 1.Raise the rear of the truck and support it with safety stands. Remove the wheels and brake drum. 2.Measure the brake drum inside diameter. 3.Turn the adjuster nut until the brake shoe maximum diameter is 0.01-0.02 in. (0.25-50mm) less than the brake drum diameter.

Fig. 4: Parking brake adjusting screw-C/K Series

Fig. 5: Left side parking brake assembly-C/K Series 4.Make sure that the stops on the parking brake levers are against the edge of the brake shoe web. If the cable is holding the stops off the edge, loosen the adjustment. 5.Tighten the cable at the adjuster nut until the lever stops begin to move off the shoe webs. 6.Loosen the adjustment nut until the lever stops are just touching the shoe webs. There should be no more than 0.019 inch (0.5mm) clearance between the stops and the webs. 7.Install the drums and wheels. 8.Pump the brake pedal 30-35 times with normal force. Pause about 1 second between each stroke. 9.Depress the parking brake pedal 6 clicks. The wheels should be locked. 10.Release the parking brake. The wheels should rotate freely.

thank you very much for the prompt response. I gave the instructions to my husband, he looked them over and it appears we have a bigger problem. He had a feeling that the rear end had been changed on this truck at some time. On figure 3 it shows the cable going along the axel from left to right. He says that the hangers that you see on figure 3, are different than our vehicle. On ours, there are hangers on both sides, so he figures the cable runs up each side instead of going across from one side to the other. Does this make sense to you? If I had a picture of the underside of the truck would that help?

Thank you

Sharon

axle may have been changed all pics and repair info i sent you is from GM repair manual you may want to try to make some hangers for the cable it doesnt have to be tight to cable just needs to be hold in place many auto parts stores have replacement hangers that are universal that you can use

how do you get PB cable off brake shoe

you did not say what year the vehicle is. Guessing that you are having trouble removing the emergency brake from the shoe. most common is a pin that goes through the secondary shoe, it is held on with a clip, to remove you have to pry the clip open so the pin will come out, then you can change shoes.

how do you get PB cable off brake shoe 2006 1500 5.3 4x4

Put vice grips on the very end of the cable, on the metal end, then use sidecutters and pinch between the VGrips and the spring, push the spring back the grab tight with sidecutters, remove cable.

I engaged the parking brake at work and when I went to release it, the cable broke but the brake is still engaged. Is there anyway to dis-engage the brake.

Thanks

Which cable broke? front, middle, or a rear? Drum or disc brakes?

It is the release cable inside that cab that you pull to release the brake. It is disc all the way around.

On the same release lever there should be a small arm that points to the firewall, push it down and it will release, or if not get a screw driver and pull in the spot the cable attached to!

That worked...Thanks

I know how to adjust the parking brake. My question is how do I know when it has proper tension? I've heard that when you spin your wheel and tire while elevated on a jack or stands that it should spin one revolution. Reason I'm asking is gas mileage. Thanks for reading. I don't have a problem donating, I have a problem giving out my card info. Sorry dudes..

Depends on whether you have rear disc or drum brakes. With disc brakes with the parking brake built into the calipers, those do not self-adjust like front ones do. They adjust by working the parking brake multiple times until the pistons come out and the pads contact the rotors. If the cables are rusted tight, you have to work each caliper's parking brake lever by hand, usually with a large pliers. Once adjusted that way, the calipers will continue to self-adjust from there.

If you have drum brakes or the parking brake is a drum brake inside a rotor, the adjustment is very forgiving. The goal is to reach good pedal pressure with the pedal about halfway to the floor. The initial shoe adjustment is done by observing how much you can shift the rotor left and right as you slide it over the shoes. There's no need to have a little drag on it like you start out with on regular drum brakes because there's more than enough pedal travel to achieve good pressure. Even 1/8" of clearance is not exactly excessive. If the pedal goes further than halfway down after the shoes are adjusted, readjust the main cable to make it tighter.

Hey thank for the reply, I have disc brakes front and rear, the parking brake pads are behind the rear rotors as you
Know, there is a circular knob I guess you could call it the when you tighten will expand the parking break rotor/pads. I just want to know when enough is enough and not too much.

When the pedal travels less than halfway to the floor. That will provide some allowance for the cables to stretch. Lining wear isn't a concern as it is with regular drum brakes because parking brake shoes don't wear from use. They typically last the life of the truck unless they rust off the shoe frames.

I read a post with same problem but answer didn't help, very short and not detailed. I replaced shoes and drums and had to adjust star wheel all the way in to get drum over shoes. I though star wheels self adjusted when backed up each time you hit brakes, true or false. As a side note I never have understood how a star wheel moves since it's anchored at each end. Anyway I also thought you could move star wheel manually thru drum but no way on these drums no access. Pedal movement not bad, what is spec on how far it should depress before braking? Mine probably an inch and a half. But e brake goes to floor, with no braking. So to recap main issue, how to adjust star wheel manually once drums on and will they auto adjust in reverse? One more note/question, if one side E brake is disconnected will other side still engage? I ask because a friend has a year older Silverado and he accidentally took e brake cable off and well one more question, how do you get it back on with the spring? I tried to help him. Very difficult to compress spring and slide back on plate. Thinking maybe napa sold some sort of small spring compressor but they had no idea. I realize that maybe too much to answer sorry for multiple questions.
Thanks if you can help
Bob

rear braeks shold adjust by them selves after initial installation and adjustment. the star wheel has to go down to properly adjust it as well as all items on shoes installed correctly . a lot of times the parking brake strut or one of the other parts isnt' put in correctly and you end up with no parking brake.to get eh spring on the cable back I use a pair of dykes to pull it back an dhold it while putting cable back to adjuster leg. it' s not easy. on a Chevrolet or GM product because they use an equalizer the one parking brake will not work as they are pulled at the same time .The tool that was sold to you is for the pakring brake adjustment at the equalizer not to compress springs. But autoparts guys don't know what they are doing anyhow when it comes to actually working on a car as most have never done it. brake shoes shold be adjusted to .010-.020 from drums with a gauge most mechanics go by feel so that parking brakes will work an d as far as pedal travel fluid in master due to disc brakes will determine how far your pedal goes. or pad wear as well. see pics

Thanks. Actually just realized I never lubed starwheel. Lithemn grease best just like caliper bolts? And how do you get a gauge inside a drum for measurement? Move Starwheel down to move shoes out is that correct? And pretty sure these new drums had no knockout spot to knockout to get to starwheel, is that possible?? Will try the dykes. Now if I read correctly, pedal movement is only affected by front brakes? So by pedal movement alone my rear shoes may not even be engaging at all? I always thought if rear not engaging pedal would continue to the floor? Where is the equalizer for E brake and what kind of adjusting does it need? Thanks again. Great site. Will defiantly donate to the cause with my next issue, and being I drive a 1990 year, Silverado there will be more issues!
Bob

the gauge is a specialized one that measure out side diameter of drum an dbrake at same time just adjust them to get a slight drag on them. the parkingbrake adjust was sent in last reply in pic. there are no pics just look about in middle of truck along parking brake cable you'll see it. the front brakes are par tof pedal movement but most braking is done by discs so if fluid is low it can effect pedal height as well as improperly adjusted rear brakes.