Park Brake (Rear Discs) on 2005 Rubicon

Maybe I just have not found the right post yet, but all of the posts on Parking Brake adjustments seem to be for drum brakes, not disc. If there is a good post for adjusting dic brakes, please let me know.

I have looked under Jeeto (our very orange 2005 Rubicon ) but have not yet attempted much.

Am I correct in my initial review that even though the brakes are disc, there is a small drum with pads for the park brake? And if so, these are adjusted by moving the star wheel similarly to drum brakes?

DI seem to rmember seeing a youtube video about a couple of pieces that often rust together cause Jeep park brake woes. Is that a thing?

Ashim said:

You are correct, there is a star wheel that can be adjusted. First check the brake cables to make sure they move freely. There is a lever actuator at the backing plate that can get seized. If it is, you can remove it and take apart with a combination of heat and penetrating oil. Clean it up, use some anti-seize on it and reassemble. There is also an adjustment nut for the parking brake handle on the underside of the body where the two brake cables from the wheels attach. That would be your final adjustment. Someone else will probably post a better explanation, but this is my experience.

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Thank you. Your response and crawling under with more knowledge got me close. I jacked the wheels up and adjusted the stars so now when I pull up the lever I can feel the park brakes engage. Since the first few clicks feel like no resistance (slack in the cable), my next focus is on the adjustment nut to hopefully take that slack out.

In case of interest to anyone, the nut on the brake cable adjuster is 1/2". I used a ratchet wrench as well as a vicegrip to keep the whole thing from turning when I was adjusting mine.

Should I be concerned that the pivot bar which connects the main cable to the cables going to each wheel is nowhere near evenly balanced? Almost a 45 degree angle, which means the passenger side cable is "longer" than the driver's side. It makes me wonder if I adjusted that side incorrectly. I was surprised that both star wheels were adjusted the same way (pushing the screwdriver down increased brake resistance - same on both sides). That said, in both cases the wheel stopped turning as I adjusted the star wheel, then I backed it off a couple of notches and the wheel turned again.

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Does anyone know if I should be concerned that the pivot bar which connects the main cable to the cables going to each wheel is nowhere near evenly balanced (ie not at 90 degree to main cable)? It is almost a 45 degree angle, which means the passenger side cable is "longer" than the driver's side.

It makes me wonder if I adjusted that side incorrectly. I was surprised that both star wheels were adjusted the same way (pushing the screwdriver down increased brake resistance - same on both sides). That said, in both cases the wheel stopped turning as I adjusted the star wheel, then I backed it off a couple of notches and the wheel turned again.

Granite said:

here’s my favorite!

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That is a good one!!! TY

BDub said:

Your cables from each of the wheels to the adjustment bolt should have the same amount of cable protruding. Have you checked to assure that both cables are attached to the actuator and both of the actuators are moving freely?

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Yes, definitely. It all seems to work, but I am still worried that the way the T is angled means something isn't right. The T being the pivot bar where it goes from one cable up to the lever to two cables to the wheels.

mrblaine said:

1- back off nut on the adjuster at the splitter/pivot bar.
2- with tires off the ground and the trans in neutral, adjust the star wheel until there is a slight drag turning each tire by hand.
3- after that is done, tighten the cables with the adjuster under the tub until there is a slight amount of slack. You need to see the slack so you aren't setting teh parking brake with the adjuster. As you get them tighter, watch the cables where they exit the housing end. Pull down on the splitter to see the cables move. When that is about 1/16" to 1/8" of movement, stop adjusting.
4- go for a short slow drive in a safe manner. Depress and hold the button on the parking brake lever and apply and release the parking brake several times while rolling slow.
5- Take it back and repeat the same adjustment again in the exact same way. When done, the parking brake will set hard about 3 clicks up.

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Thank you. I saw these instructions somewhere else on here, and that is how I adjusted them, except I still need to do Step 5.

Keeping in mind I have not replaced anything (only trying to adjust them), I have 2 concerns that I would like to iron out before finishing up...

1) As I did Step 3, I noticed that my splitter/pivot bar was at a 45 degree angle, rather than 90 degrees, to the main cable. This essentially means one cable going to the wheel is longer than the one going to the other wheel. Is this acceptable or a sign that something is messed up? I'd rather not have to take it all apart to find out that all is fine. When pulling up on the brake lever, I can see where both sides move the piece that goes inside the drum.

2) It seems like there are mixed comments about whether the adjustment is done the same for each wheel ("same" meaning I would push the handle of a screwdriver down to expand shoes regardless of the side) or is each side opposite?

Maybe the answer to 2 is "it depends". I'm thinking that if the star adjuster can be installed either way (with the star closer to the rear or closer to the front), then either could be true depending on how the previous mechanic installed them. Is that it in a nutshell? If so, I will pay sharper attention to make sure I know what the star adjuster is doing when I do Step 5.

It seems that all is fine since each wheel started to drag as I adjusted them, and that the pivot bar is fine being at that angle, but I did not want to assume that.