Parking brake released itself!!!!????

[dremelts]

Is it possible?



Now, I'll admit that I cannot say with 100% certainty that I set the parking brake, but it is so automatic that I do it without even thinking about it every time a park it.



I got to work today and backed into a parking spot. I sat there for about a minute in the cab, idling, then got out and was getting stuff out of the back seat etc. - the engine is still idling. Finally, I reach in and turn the ignition off, close the doors and lock it. I'm walking away from the truck and get about 30-40 feet away when I hear this "clunk" sound like when you pull on the parking brake release lever. I turn around and watch in horror as the truck slowly starts to roll backwards and smash the taillight housing against a utility box on a pole :{



Has anyone else ever had this happen, or ever heard of it happening?



Makes me real nervous now - since it's a manual trans. I frequently will leave it in neutral with the parking brake set while I get out of the vehicle and do things while waiting for the turbo to cool.



I'm really glad that I took the precaution of having my wife sit in the cab with her foot on the service brake while putting the boat in - now that would have been a real disaster

 

[Extreme1]

It. s possible. Take a good look at the mechanism, it might need some oil.



Also, stock and not towing you don't usually need to cool down. Maybe this is a good reason to install a turbo temp monitor?

 

[pcorssmit]

Mine did it for the first time the other day. Didn't stand on it as hard as usual, was just hopping out for a few seconds. Fortunatly, it was a real gradual slope, and just bumped the dumpster I parked in front of. Makes you think twice about getting out with the motor running, especially on the boat ramp.



Pete

 

[BV]

Parking Brake

I had mine release right after it was set so I think it was operator error by setting between teeth and it just didn't catch.



BTW - I never trust just the P-Brake and always put it in 1st or reverse.



Also - our neighbor about had a heart attack one day when Mom forgot to set the P-Brake on our old Ford and put the transmission in 3rd (missed 1st) - They can roll down hill when in gear so be careful. I caught up with brake pedal as the peacup got to within a few feet of the neighbors living room window

 

[Todd G]

I used to work for a bottled water delivery company. I had my 26,000 lb truck sneak up on me as I was walking down the street. I couldn't believe how quiet it was with a ghost on board Lucky for me it wasn't going too fast and I had time to jump in and stand on the brakes. Without the engine running I barely got it stopped before it hit a parked car, whew.



Runaways were a common occurance in that business. 90% of the time it was pilot error. They would fire you right there if they caught you not using the emergency brake. We had to adjust them constantly so they would work on a hill.



Make sure you get plenty of resistance when you push on the pedal. Cables do stretch.

 

[tazzen]

i had a 1986 3/4 ton 4x4 dodge that did that. it wasnt so lucky the truck hit the corner of a house pretty good . like 4000. oo to the truck . that was my first nice truck. you would have thought i lost my best friend. :{





ed

 

[nickleinonen]

i much prefer the parking brake system i have on my tahoe. . pedal only applys it. separate lever releases it. our cube van at work has the press on, press again to release thing. that is junk i think.

 

[azcummins]

You should feel lucky. Mine rolled away from its brake into the lake. Nothing like seeing my baby underwater with the clearance lights glowing... sniff... . sniff... :{ :{



I never trust any parking brake now. I always turn it off and leave it in gear. Even when I park with my trailer on, I put in gear, turn it off, set the parking brake, then put 6x6 wood blocks in front of at least one wheel. Overkill? Maybe, but its cheaper than a new truck!

 

[dremelts]

Originally posted by azcummins

You should feel lucky. Mine rolled away from its brake into the lake. Nothing like seeing my baby underwater with the clearance lights glowing... sniff... . sniff... :{ :{



I never trust any parking brake now. I always turn it off and leave it in gear. Even when I park with my trailer on, I put in gear, turn it off, set the parking brake, then put 6x6 wood blocks in front of at least one wheel. Overkill? Maybe, but its cheaper than a new truck!

I can't even imagine how that must have felt - what a sinking feeling (no pun intended). Do you know if the p-brake actually released or was it just not set tight enough? I'm thankful my "incident" was no worse than it was - it'll cost about $45 for a new taillight assy and a little buffing of the scratches in the paint and it should be OK.



I still don't know exactly what happened. The more I think about it the more sure I am that the brake was set. I was standing outside the vehicle for 20-30 seconds and it was not moving. If the brake had not been set it would have started rolling as soon as I got out. I was walking away from the truck when I heard the brake "pop", I turned around and watched it start to roll backwards.



I did pull the side kick panel out and it looks like the release mechanism is working OK and there is grease on all the moving parts. I'll have to look into it further.



I will for sure be leaving it in 1st gear when parked from now on, but what do you do when HAVE to leave it running and get out of the truck. When you're backing a fifth wheel into a campsite you're in and out of the truck many times

 

[Goddard]

does anybody make a line lock style brake for these trucks. the old block trucks and crane trucks used to have these on them. they were made by microlock i think.

 

[Powder Extreme]

Steve St. Laurant was telling me he has a line lock on the front brakes of his truck, maybe he'll chime in here and tell us all where he got it. I would think you could install one on the rear brakes as well. It would be extra insurance to have all four wheels locked on the boat ramp. After reading this, I'm sure not gonna leave mine idling with the p-brake set when loading the boat.



Jerry

 

[JWhitcomb]

For you guys worried about a release on boat ramps. I carry one of those triangular rubber wheel chocks. I have a long rope on it and when I get out I chock the wheel and clip the end of the rope to the hitch. As I pull the boat up the ramp the chock just drags along till I get to where I need to de-rig the boat. Works for me and cuts the worry factor down.

 

[CROW]

I do not own a Dodge/Cummins, hoping for a 2003 with a 6 speed, do not want an automatic transmission. I have had two vehicles with manual transmissions roll down my driveway after I started them to warm up and I ran back into the house for just a moment. No damage or injury in either case, but sure does scare you when you think about what might have happened. Use my current truck which has an automatic transmission and will use the new Cummins to pull a fairly heavy bass boat. No problem on the ramp if you are with someone and they drive the truck or the boat. But, I fish by myself quite a bit and inevitably have to move the boat trailer forward or back a little after you get it in the water to load the boat properly. Having to shut the engine down and put the truck in gear, then restart is a nuisance, especially if you have to do it a couple of times and many of our ramps are busy with impatient people waiting. Some type of line lock would be great as an insurance factor when that expensive truck and boat trailer are sitting on the ramp with no one in it. I suspect there would be a demand for such a device. So, hope there is such a thing available or that someone will come up with one for the 2003's.

 

[ROADWARRIOR]

I had mine release after it was sitting idleing for a couple of minutes. I also heard the infamous pop as it released. I got the truck stopped two feet shy of tipping my old truck camper off of its jacks. The truck was only 6 months old at the time, had the pedal linkage replaced under warranty. Hasn't happened since, knock on wood.



Dan

 

[Texas Diesel]

Originally posted by azcummins

Nothing like seeing my baby underwater with the clearance lights glowing... sniff... . sniff... :{ :{

Your stroy gave me a knot in the pit of my stomach. Any more info you want to relive? Do you still have it? How long was it submerged?

 

[LarryB]

Originally posted by dremelts

Now, I'll admit that I cannot say with 100% certainty that I set the parking brake.....

LOL, I pulled into a store a year or so ago. Let the engine idle while I gathered some papers, shut it off and went inside. Stood at the parts counter for a few minuets. Another customer came in and asked the parts guy, "who's pickup is that out in the middle of the hiway blocking the left lane?"

 

[tmacc]

This sounds very familiar. Too familiar! When my '93CTD was 3 weeks old, I had just returned from a job and had unloaded the trailer from the truck. I then pulled up by the Garage and left the truck idling for a few minutes. Shut the truck off and went into the house to eat some lunch. Right in the middle of lunch..... BANG!!!. I mean it sound like a plane crash type of bang. My wife and I look at each other w/ a puzzled look on our faces. I look out the window and the truck is not where I parked it. Well, fortunately an oak tree kept it from a 100 yd. trip down thru the woods to the creek. :--) Really re-arranged the tailgate and bed as well as the back of the cab. Took it into the dealer and they determined that the parking brake racket mechanism was defictive. They replaced it and the zone manager authorized for them to do the body work too. I installed a pre-luber shortly there after so I could shut the truck off and not worry about the turbo cool down. Live and learn.

 

[jerryrigg]

line locks

My 2 cents:



There are many companies making line locks, just about all can be adapted to our trucks. They are mainly available from performance shops involved in racing as they are most commonly used to lock the front brakes at the line in the quarter mile or for warming up the tires. In basic terms it's just a electronic valve inline with the brake line, step on the brakes and flip a switch and the brakes lock. They do work great.

BUT. .

For safety I would recommend 2 switches one for power and one for the ground. Why... your running switched power and the switch shorts the line lock then engages and brakes won't work (but it makes downhills fun with the trailer). Having a second switch for the ground is just really cheap insurance. Don't cheat and use a DPST, the power and ground should be electrically isolated, spend the extra couple $ for 2 SPST switches. Those of you thinking you can put in a single switch triggering 2 relays, the same problem still exists, electrically isolate the power and ground.



Maybe that was 3 cents

-Matt

 

[dremelts]

Well, it happened again...

This time though, I can say with absolute, positive certainty that the p-brake was engaged. I pulled into the driveway and slipped it into neutral, took my left foot off the clutch and depressed the p-brake, took my foot off the p-brake pedal and heard it snap back. Of course my right foot was still on the service brake so it didn't go anywhere.



I've been very careful, since the first time it happened, to make sure that I don't leave the truck in neutral with the p-brake engaged. Or, if I do have to leave it idling in neutral while I get out for something, I will chock the wheel.



I've had the p-brake assy out and could find nothing loose or worn, but I guess I will have to replace it and look into some sort of line-lock.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Not saying this is what happened to you but it happened to me a bunch of times until I realized what I was doing. What would happen is that I would apply the parking brake and as I was lifting my foot off of it I would hit the parking brake release with the toe of my shoe. Because I have the parking brake that the pedal pops up anyways it would happen at nearly the same time and wasn't easy to tell that was what I had done. It didn't take much to release it either. I found this happened more often when I had boots on. Now I'm careful to keep my foot low on the pad on the parking brake and am aware of it and it hasn't happened in a long long time.