Can the cable holding the parking brake lever up get loose this quickly?

mvez

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Oct 9, 2022
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Atlanta, GA 30318
First post here but have used the forum for alot of advice.
I serviced the rear brakes s on my YJ for the first time. I bought the full kit for changing out all the springs and even new cylinders. Been driving it around for 1k miles since. The parking brake was starting to be so loose that it wouldn't hold even on a small slope.
I pulled the rear drums off to inspect.
The self adjusting lever arm on the left rear brake is no longer touching the adjuster wheel. The right one is still touching but barely, def not further up on the teeth like it was when I installed it.

My question is, can the cable holding the lever up get loose that quickly? Both levers were correctly gripping the teeth of the adjuster when installed with plenty of tension. Now that they're loose/not adjusting I am assuming it why the parking break won't grab since the cylinders are probably only engaging the top of the brake pads when the parking brake is pulled. Here are before pics and a pic of the rear left arm now not touching

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If the breaks are working when you step on the peddle, I would just adjust the parking break cable. The self adjusters are “ supposed“ to work under normal breaking and keep the shoes in range. But I have had many a drum break vehicle that I could not rely on the self adjusters.
 
I'd dig through the factory service manual to confirm you installed them step by step with the factory procedure. If that arm is not touching, they will not self adjust and since the drums are a service brake, driving around will wear them down and effectively kill the parking brake. This will be a constant problem unless you can get the self adjusting to start working again.

I would not adjust the parking brake cable, because eventually you'll wear the shoes down again, you'll adjust the parking brake cable again, rinse and repeat, until eventually you run out of thread on the cable adjuster. At that point you're up a creek, and back to square one but with a parking brake you can no longer fix with the cable.

Personally I had horrible luck with the drums. I could not get them to self adjust and I myself ran into the problem with adjusting the cable adjuster. Eventually I went to disc brakes that have a much more consistent, dedicated parking brake.
 
I have same issue on the L/H side. I want rear disc. But apparently not bad enough. $$$$$
 
I'd dig through the factory service manual to confirm you installed them step by step with the factory procedure. If that arm is not touching, they will not self adjust and since the drums are a service brake, driving around will wear them down and effectively kill the parking brake. This will be a constant problem unless you can get the self adjusting to start working again.

I would not adjust the parking brake cable, because eventually you'll wear the shoes down again, you'll adjust the parking brake cable again, rinse and repeat, until eventually you run out of thread on the cable adjuster. At that point you're up a creek, and back to square one but with a parking brake you can no longer fix with the cable.

Personally I had horrible luck with the drums. I could not get them to self adjust and I myself ran into the problem with adjusting the cable adjuster. Eventually I went to disc brakes that have a much more consistent, dedicated parking brake.
That is exactly why “I” personally would adjust the parking break cable to make drum breaks work as a parking break. I have had the same experience with drums. It was the only way that I could keep a working parking break. When the shoes wore down to where there was no more adjustment, I would replace them again. I just accepted this as the nature of the beast. And yes, 4 wheel discs are the best option. I personally think a working parking break with a man trans is pretty important. So I have changed alot of drum break shoes.
 
That is exactly why “I” personally would adjust the parking break cable to make drum breaks work as a parking break. I have had the same experience with drums. It was the only way that I could keep a working parking break. When the shoes wore down to where there was no more adjustment, I would replace them again. I just accepted this as the nature of the beast. And yes, 4 wheel discs are the best option. I personally think a working parking break with a man trans is pretty important. So I have changed alot of drum break shoes.
It is certainly a poor design. My drums were untouched from the factory when I got my YJ at 20 years old and 45K miles. The parking brake began not holding facing uphill at 50K. I think the real solution is to stick a fork in there and adjust the shoes every few thousand miles. Which is of course a pain. I don't think by design they will ever properly self adjust. Eventually it just made the most sense to bite the bullet and do the disc swap because I was tired of screwing with it.
 
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Look at the flat curved plate which the cable wraps around and make sure it's laying flat against the brake shoe and the cable is properly guided around it and not underneath it. It's tricky to get it right but also critical to keep tension on the cable.

Screenshot 2022-10-10 111345.jpg
 
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