E-brake locked up

[mainemj]

HElp Me please my buddy brought over his little brother while helping me work on my Mj :headpop: and the little jerk got my e brake locked up and i can't figure out how to undo it please help.

[DirtyComanche]

You pulled the handle and? Did it rip off? You can pull the tab that the handle attaches to if that happened. But if you pull it and it's just seized; well, that'll suck.

 

 

Did you ever use it? They get rusted in place...

[beaterjeep]

Don't know what to tell ya man, when I bought mine the e-brake pedal was on the floor and never come up since, of course the cable had obviously been cut before the pedal was pressed, so I don't know what an e-brake is, so my manche and parking on hills don't get along too well :headpop:

[mainemj]

no i just bought the jeep and i think they seized in place because i pulled the handle and the pedal came up then when i drove the truck out of the garage to my horor the right rear was locked up solid

[DirtyComanche]

Go check the ebrake junction block underneath (a big cable come out of the back of the cab, and splits into the two cables that go to each brake, under the bed beside the gas tank) and see if you can pull on the cable for the offending side from there. Otherwise, I don't know.

 

 

I don't have an ebrake or drum brakes...

[Oizarod115]

check under the bed along side the gastank between it and the driveshaft i beleive there is a cable that goes into a weird junction and two cables split off to the axle after that but there is a tightening nut in the middle it should be fairly obvious. i would say if you don't care bout it working later just snip it or try to loosen it up with some wrenches if you can idk ill try to draw a picture of what it looks like.

 

somethin like this

 

[87manche]

and this is why you don't pull the ebrake on an old vehicle that's been sitting for a long time.

I had to do this once on a 73 super beetle.

spray the cable down with penetrating oil where it goes into the drum, sometimes the cable just get's hung up. After you hose it down let it sit a while, then try to get the cable free at the adjuster. Since it's sheathed you can't really do much with it.

The other option, and the one that worked for me and the Beetle:

Put it on jackstands, take off a wheel and start working to get the drum off.

This is a Royal PITA if the ebrake is locked. Don't pryon on the drum, you'll likely damage the backing plate. In my case it took some well placed sledgehammer blows before the pads popped back into place. I did end up destroying the drum in the process. If you're going that far I would just suggest you buy new hardware, drums and shoes. That way everything outside of the brake drum backing plate can be sacrificed, besides, if the e-brake made the shoes stick the hardware's probably shot.

[hemi_comanche]

both of my MJ's had the cable cut when I bought them. I am assuming it is a common problem with the MJ rear drums

[pingpong]

who needs e-brakes

[Eagle]

The cables are probably rusted. The most positive fix is to replace the cables. Most likely it's the two cables from the adjuster block back to the wheels. They aren't that expensive and you can get them at Auto Zone and Advance Auto/Shucks/Checker. It might be a special order, though.

[mainemj]

thanks guys for now i have cut the cables later i will probably switch to xj ebrae assembly and cables this will make the console i wanna put in not look so stupid

[Eagle]

thanks guys for now i have cut the cables later i will probably switch to xj ebrae assembly and cables this will make the console i wanna put in not look so stupid

Not easily, you won't. Remember that the MJ, even the short wheelbase, is about a foot longer bwteen the wheels than an XJ. XJ cables and brake assembly won't be long enough without some creative engineering on your part.