Another Parking Brake Discussion..

11" drums. Done. Factory parts.

 

Not a lot of easy choices with a Dana axle. Even the 11" drums with parking brake aren't perfect, and you don't want to go backwards to drums anyway. The stock driveline brake just isn't ever going to be reliable. If you went to a different rear end, say 9" or something like a Currie 60, that uses Ford ends, you can have Exploder discs with internal parking drums. But that's quite the escalation. And last time I said "line lock" on here I got an earful. But...the only time you need it is warming it up in the driveway. If you are on the trail, turned off in 1st gear is fine. What other application are you thinking of?

 

No matter what you do, you're going to be doing some engineering. Even with drums you are changing the cain to a lever, need to find the right length cables, route said cables securely and add an equalizer somewhere.

Since you're doing some engineering anyway you might as well go for the solution you think is best. I don't have much opinion there. All of the solutions posited would work fine.

 

Would it be just wrong to consider replacing the cane with a small 12 volt linear actuator, under the dash, and attached to the brake cable. Pull/release could be controlled by a on-off-on three way rocker switch.

 

I really like the idea of factory parts and its why I even thought about the 11" drums.

This is the idea for the next axle when I blow this one up. http://www.earlycj5.com/xf_cj5/index.php?threads/139225/
Lets talk about line lock brake stuff. Last time I looked, the one I liked was super expensive and I cant remember why... *edit* https://zips.com/parts-detail/mico-brake-fluid-lever-lock-02-640-125
cheaper and maybe better?
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/aaf-all48012 I have no safety inspection here, so I could care less about mechanical parking brakes for compliance. I don't have a horn or windshield wipers and its not a concern.

I am concerned about stopping on a trail and making sure I can take my foot off the brake and ensure my jeep isnt going to roll away. Another concern is , I live in the hood, (everyone please keep your judgements and comments out of this) and occasionally there are times that I need to get out of my jeep to take care of something and need a parking brake. Its happened before. I need something reliable. I also don't have a driveway and my living arrangement is not what most people with old jeeps are familiar with.

And this is something I never thought about before. Cool idea!

It seems I am not going to get away from spending at least 400 bucks to have a proper parking brake unless I go with a line lock. If I didnt have a floater D44 I would be looking at another axle.

This is the only vehicle I personally own these days, drive it every day its not raining to freezing.. So..

 

Only bad thing is a line lock requires hydraulics. If something happened to your brake system, you'd be s.o.l.



Murphy is always lurking...

 

If you wire up one in each circuit, it's pretty safe. Then you even have 4 wheel parking brakes.

 

Haven't thought above that...

As an additional feature, you could do front OR rear burnouts!!!!!!!!!

 

A thumbs up here for line locks….I’ve got electric locks on both front and rear circuits and quite like it. Not too difficult to install if you’ve got space. You can even set them before you press the brake pedal due to check valves. I put mine on the firewall. I use them as temporary locks on the trail and for short term parking…just what you mention (just not overnight). For me though, they do not completely replace a mechanical E/parking brake.

Edit: I just wanted to mention that one useful advantage for front and rear locks is when winching stuff …pulling logs, other vehicles etc.

 

I have a line lock on the front and parking brake on the rear via cables and shoes.
Very helpful off road.

 

We always ran a Mico-Lock on the front brakes always worked well. Also, had the transfer case brake.

What line locks are you using?

 

I've got the Biondo locks. I was going to do mechanical locks (as you probably know, some rock crawlers even run simple ball valves) but I didn't want to get into running brake line everywhere. Compared to cheaper ones, the Biondo locks are supposed to be both rebuildable and continuous duty...they do draw a small amount of current when engaged. I have a pretty robust auxiliary electrical system so I don't worry about that. This set-up isn't for everyone, but it works well for me. I'll try and get a picture of the mounting when I have an extra minute in the shop.

Biondo Line Lock

 

It may not be a concern for you but the Mico-Lok and line lock type stuff may not be legal as a parking brake in some states.....like PA for instance.

FWIW, I carry a hunk of 4x6 lumber with a rope tied to it, long enough to reach the driver seat. That's my parking brake. Probably not legal here in PA either.

 

This is more or less what I have (on just the rear), works awesome for the quick need to get out, warm it up, or whatever. Been in there since '02, and never an issue. I think you can buy it in not kit form, to make it less expensive. I used a toggle on the dash with the big red flip up safety cover, so I don't forget and leave it on.

 

Just saying you still have to trust that your brake system won't fail. I've experienced master cylinder failure, caliper failure, hose failure, and line failure. Nothing is guaranteed and quality control on new parts is not exactly great....
For temporary use ok, but I still wouldn't fully trust it on a hill or anywhere else the Jeep could roll away without leaving it in gear.
There's a reason there are only mechanical parking brakes.

What the man ultimately wants to do is up to him...I'm interested to see what 47v6 comes up with.

 

Whats your point here?
If you go with those the electronic parking brake calipers you add even more failure points to the system on top of all the potential failure points you already listed above?
A line lock is a far simpler mechanical part than switches, wiring and solenoids in those.......

 

That caliper ebrake is electromechanical and if the motor died you could still release the brakes.... what's your point?

I suppose what people want to hear is whatever you choose to do there will be drawbacks and failure points to each system.

 

Easy guys,
Let's agree the line locks are not emergency brakes and we are referring to short term parking only.

To be fair the electronic actuators suck in an emergency (from experience with the Expedition) they lock up the wheels too fast but they do release for you via the computer if you forget them

 

I knew better than to mention line locks.

 

At the beginning of this thread you advocated for the electronic parking brake setup. Then later in the thread you said that quality control on new parts is not exactly great......
The electronic parking brake setup adds allot of complexity to the system and many more failure points.
The electromechanical motor is just one of many more failure points that you add to the system if you use the electric parking brake setup.
Switches, wiring, connections....... what about the quality control on those parts? That setup adds much more complexity to your parking brakes over a line lock or cable actuated system.

Line locks are not emergency brakes, neither are electronic actuators. An emergence brake is something that can be applied in a controlled manner in order to stop with the vehicle under control.
Modern vehicles with electric parking brakes have redundant systems to allow for safe stopping in the event of a line/master cylinder failure.
An electric on/off brake simple switch setup will not render the vehicle controllable in emergency.
If your line lock fails while actuated due to hose, master cylinder or line problem then your entire brake system was not up to road worthy condition to begin with.

The only true emergency brake system is a cable actuated system with a lever or handle to control braking force and maintain vehicle control.