The parking brake lever on my 59 task force truck wont hold in the engaged position. When I engage the parking brake the teeth will not hold and seem to grind back down to the release position. I removed the lever and all the teeth appear to be fine and fit together tight. When I disconnect the brake rod from the lever it holds tight when engaged and the lever will not budge, even when I apply alot of pressure but when I reconnect the brake rod the teeth wont hold. The release button and spring seem to be funtioning properly. Anyone else had this problem? Do the teeth wear out? Any trick I should try before I start hunting for another one? Does anyone have an extra? Thanks, Robert
Hey Robert, I think you ought to post this on the 55-59 forum because, like their owners, most of us don't have "teeth" Not really remembering how the TF parking brakes are configured, I can't be of much help. It sounds like, maybe, the cable is too tight and a simple adjustment of that might help
Park Brake Ratchet Slipping This is fairly common , was it O.K. until recently or you did some work and then it began slipping ? . Disconnect the cable and set the park brake , wedge the handle open with your hand and try to shove the lever forard ~ if it holds now, either the lever got bent and is dragging the inside linkage from loosly snapping the pawl into place , or the teeth on one side or the other are worn out ~ . That nifty noise it makes as you yank the lever back , is wearing those soft metal teeth out , I prefer to squeeze the handle as I pull it back then wedge the handle open as I let it take up to firmly set the pawl . You _can_ ever so carefully hand file the teeth nice and sharp again but if you screw it up , the truck will roll away by itself so be aware . As usual , there should be plenty of cheap good used levers & ratchets from the Hor Rodders who wouldn't be caught DEAD with a hand pulled park brake ! . Sorry for my recent dissapearance but my boss is hassling me to death and my home computer is on the fritz.... I'm just getting old and slow to , I hate that . To-morrow I'm off to drive some tiny , twisty back country roads up to Beena , Walker Basin , Havila , Bodfish , Lake Isabella and Kern , thence back down another old highway into Bakersfield and then on home again , a lot of driveing but I need the relaxation .
I'll see what I can do . BTW : Ken's initial comment about brake cable length has merit ~ if you either slack it or tighten it a little bit , the ratchet pawl will engauge in a different , hopefully les worn out part of the crown gear... That's an old used car trick from when I were a laddie .
Nate, I did remove it for painting a couple of months ago. The pawl seems to snap back nicely and when the lever is removed It seems like the gear teeth and pawl are tight and do not look (to me) worn. When I engage it with the lever removed I cannot make it slip. With the lever mounted and the e-brake rod disconnected It does not slip, even when I put moderate pressure on it, but when I re-connect the e-brake rod it slips and will not hold. If I fiddle with it just so, sometimes I am able to make it hold but it usually just snaps back loose. Would hate to have my truck go missing down the hill. It seems to slowly have gotten worse and worse so maybe the gears are just worn. Thanks, Robert
Robert, when you said you removed it and painted it, did you get overspray or paint on the actual mechanism? That might hender its ability to work properly. Is it lubed properly? Just some thoughts!
A Tough Call I'm not there to eyeball it Did it do this before you re-painted ? . Maybe you could take it all apart again and snap a hi-res digital picture ? . Is it possible you've installed the pawl 180° out ? that'd do it .
Here are some pictures of my e-brake lever. When I removed the lever I just removed the three mounting screws and the e-brake rod, painted the lever, and re-installed it. Nothing else was taken apart. Is the pawl the the single gear tooth that retracts when the release is pressed? This was not removed from the lever. Unless I am missing something which is entirely possible, the lever can only be mounted one way. I cannot seem to make the gears slip when the lever is removed or when the lever is mounted with the e-brake rod dis-connected even when putting moderate pressure on it. It only slips when I re-connect the e-brake rod. In the last picture i am squeezing the release. Thanks Robert
Yes ; The Pawl is the small moving part , it's tooth looks slightly worn . Id it possible the lever is being flexed or bent a bit when you bolt it to the body ? .
I agree with Nate, it does look like it has some wear. Wonder why couldn't you simply file, or grind the tooth back to the correct angle and flat again? What do you think Nate? Seems like it's at least worth a try.......MIke
Filed the pawl and it holds much better now but it still pops loose sometimes. I think I will hunt up another one and try that. I am starting to think the gears are just worn. Hate to have it pop loose at the wrong time!! Maybe once they get worn to a certain point they just wont hold securely anymore. Thanks for the help!!!! Robert
Filing the teeth " Just So " is indeed , quite difficult . Sadly , my brother forgot his camera but we didn't see many trains anyway and none up close and personal , I was thinking of going down the loop road but decided to give it a pass and go further afield...
