Parking Brake Q

[k5james]

I know it's kind of a stupid question but is a parking brake really needed? After talking to Currie about building me a 9" rear end, the only option they have for my application doesn't have a parking brake. Could I get away with not having one?

 

[Muddytazz]

In the 2 1/2 yrs i've owned my burb, I've never used my parking brake. And when I swapped over to rear disks last yr, I have none at all.

 

[TSGB]

I don't think it's really necessary to have one.

I don't know anything about them, but I've heard driveline attached parking brakes mentioned in here before... /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

 

[BadDog]

I'm exactly the opposite. Whether auto or stick, you need e-brakes. For stick, it's obvious. And a parking pawl is not going to hold on inclines with big tires. Even if it does, getting it out of park will be next to impossible without removing the bind. I love the e-brakes on my truggy, and that's the reason I don't have rear disks...

 

[dyeager535]

[ QUOTE ]
And a parking pawl is not going to hold on inclines with big tires.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just wait until one lets go and the truck goes flying down the hill.

Seen it happen with the cars. Every time I pulled a transmission apart, I always thought "people rely solely on this (park pawl) most of the time??"

 

[k5james]

I'm going to be running an auto and 35's.

 

[84gmcjimmy]

I always used the emergancy brake on my Jimmy, even if I was on flat ground /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif

I will be getting one for my k5 when its near complete...

 

[K5MONSTERCHEV]

its nice to have one, espically if you are working on it. I would like ot get mine hooked up here pretty soon.

 

[heavy4x4]

I could probably do without one since I never use mine. BUT, even after I swapped in my 14 bolt FF, I hooked up the parking brake because it is illegal in Wisconsin to not have a mechanical parking brake. Check your state laws to see if you have the same issue. The reason I know this: I was pulled over two years ago because of my exhaust, and the police officer had me test my parking brake right on the side of the road to make sure it was still functioning.

 

[dyeager535]

If a 3500 pound car can make the park pawl "fail", 5000+ pounds is only more likely to do the same.

Might as well leave your truck unlocked everywhere, your just playing the odds at that point.

 

[rusty79beast]

Check out this post web page and look at the picture link in the first post. A parking brake is a MUST!!!

 

[diesel4me]

If most people could actually SEE the park pawl in most automatic tranny's,they would never trust that alone to hold the car on a hill--I was amazed when I first saw the size of the peice that holds the car/truck from moving /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif. /forums/images/graemlins/yikes.gif
I havent had an E-brake on my 74 K20 for the duration of the 15 years I have owned it--but that doesn't mean I wouldnt like to have one--the previous owner never put any of the cables back on it when he swapped cabs and put the 14bolt SF in it--not even the ones in the drums--since I use the truck sparingly to do trash runs to the landfill and plow,and not much else,I never bothered to fix it--that and the fact I had a friend at the inspection sticker place that wasnt too strict about the E-brake working--but it is a requirement to have an operating mechanical E-brake in MA.
I rarely use the e-brake unless I am parked on a steep hill,mostly to avoid the problem of not being able to get it out of park after.But I use it so infrequently that it often sticks in the "on"posistion and starts to fry my rear brake shoes--I spray them with liquid wrench once in a while,but they usually stick again the next time I use them.I remember once I went to nashville TN,and a valet parker at a resteraunt applied the E-brake in my van,that hadnt been used in years--I got about a mile away and despite having released the E-brake when I got in the van(Right away I knew I was doomed,and P-O'ed the jerk set the parking brake!)the rear drums started smoking--I pulled off the road and noticed a car wash nearby,so I let it cool off a few minites and took it to the car wash,and blasted the rear drums and backing plates,hoping I didnt warp everything to hell--I heard one set of shoes snap back,and a few tugs on the cable the other side released--a quick trip to an autozone and 2 cans of P-B Blaster later,they were freed up again--I was tempted to wedge a block of wood under the E-brake pedal after that so no one could apply them for the rest of the trip. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[gravdigr]

e-brakes are required for inspection in PA as well. I always use the E brake in my trucks mainly becuase they are all manual and I do not trust motor compression to hold em. My trail rig won't have an e-brake because of rear discs but I'm thinking of a line lock for the brakes as a parking brake.