jacksonpt

Anyone have a pic/diagram of the parking brake pivots? Mine are corroded and thus stick from time to time. This is one of those times. I'd like to see if I can free up the parking brake rather than paying to have it done.

On a side note... should my drums end up being stuck, anyone have info (size/tread etc.) about the bolt used here to remove them?

Thanks for the help. I suspect I could figure out most of this, but I hate getting my truck up on stands and getting 3 hours into a job just to find out that for whatever reason I can't do the job.

shiftless89

Its easy to do, start at the drum and follow the steel cable, lubing each pivot as you go forward, repeat for other side

MTL_4runner

Not quite so easy....out east those things begin to rust solid....mine are in similar shape (I'm planning on waiting until spring to do them and I'll replace the shoes too).

Jackson, here's a few pics for you (and you were right, the technical name for them is bellcranks!):

jacksonpt

Cool - thanks. THat's what I was looking for. I knew I had seen it before, but couldn't find the thread. Is it just me, or does that bell crank look like it's not "inside" the drum. Perhaps I can get at it by just takign off the wheel and crawling up in/behind there...

wjwerdna

cool, mine have rusted too, this will help when its warmer

is there an online source for these pics MTL? or are they things you have collected?

MTL_4runner

No, you are right, they are outside the drum and just covered with a rubber boot (which is why they end up rusting solid), but the 2 bolts that hold them in place are inside the drum (see the arrows in the second pic). You might be able to loosen them a bit without removing them, but I think you'll probably need to take them out to give you more freedom when working on them if they are really frozen (ie if you need to put them in a vice or drill out the pivot pin). If they are too far gone they might even need to be replaced (I just replaced my windshield wiper linkage because it was too far gone to be rehabilitated too).

The pics are from an online manual.

jacksonpt

I got under my truck last night and was pleasantly surprised. I pulled the boot back away from the pivot point (boots were filled with debris/dust/garbage - should they be packed with grease?), sprayed about 1/3 of a can of PB in there then wacked on the bell crank with a hammer. It was enough to release the parking break, which was all I was after. If I have more time I might try to get them loosened up so the parking brake becomes useable again, but at this stage of the game, it's not that big of a deal.

Thanks again fro the pics Jamie.

MTL_4runner

Yeah, the boots should have grease in there but you will probably need to pull the pivot pin to get enough grease in between the bellcrank and the pivot bracket to prevent this from happening again. I have sprayed PB or WD40 in there a few times but unfortunately it doesn't seem to last long before it freezes up again. Grease is definately needed to make it a longterm solution. The bellcranks are probably covered in rust as well so they probably need to be cleaned off before the grease goes in. No, prob on the pics, happy to help.