Hello,

New member (but old lurker) here and am just now getting comfortable with getting my hands greasy in my truck. I have never been mechanically inclined but as I age I am getting more interested in fixing stuff in the house or on vehicles--and my truck is a "target rich environment"! As I am a beginner, please feel free to correct my terms or educate me--I'm here to learn!

I am the original owner of a 1998 RAM 1500, 5.2L, manual transmission. Since purchase I have never been able to trust the parking brake. It tends to roll back on steeper inclines when parked, even when I have the transmission in first. When under warranty, I took it to the dealer several times (especially when I found it across the street one morning!) but every time they said "nothing wrong". Later, independent shops told me the same.

Sometimes when I step on the parking brake I will get a full ratcheting sound, other times it hits the floor with one ratchet sound as if it is already deployed.
For now, if I am parked on a moderate angle I use chocks so others are safe.

Any idea what this could be?

Thanks for all the advice you all have given me already over these last months, even if you didn't know it

 

When you get a full ratchet on the teeth does it hold? Does it pop out? Going to the floor without holding sounds like the parking brake pedal assembly needs to be looked at so it catches all of the teeth to hold, especially the last click. If it's rolling in first or reverse with the parking brake set, it seems like something else is going on. I've never set the parking brake very often when driving a manual because I trust the hold afforded by 1st or reverse.

 

On my manual I can't use 1st or reverse to hold it. It's almost like the church grabs then releases. My emergency brake holds really good though.

 

Because of the self adjusting feature on self energizing brakes, they don't hold very well in reverse. Reverse is also how they self adjust so slop is built in. Have you pulled the drums recently to see how the rear shoes are lasting? How steep is your driveway?

 

Well that's weird to me. In 50 years I haven't heard of rolling in first or reverse. Learn something new.

 

May need to adjust the e-brake. I am sure there is a procedure for it in the service manual. You can get one here.

 

If the hill can overcome the compression of the motor it will move. My truck will move about 1 ft stop and repeat.

 

I'd make sure that your rear brake shoes are properly adjusted and then adjust your parking brake cable tension adjuster. It should be under the driver's side of the truck where the two parking brakes come together into the single cable. I use a really deep 13MM socket to adjust the tension on the parking brake cables. I'm sure the service manual will show the process.

 

Firstly, the parking brake SHOULD hold no matter what incline or decline you're on. I've parked on crazy hills with big loads and hauling trailers. If the brake starts to creep, I double up with 1st or R. If the brakes are getting too loose, I remove the drum and do my semi-annual maintenance and adjustment. They were very bad a couple years ago so I rebuilt them for the 3rd time and it holds strong again. Time to get "greasy" as you say.

Secondly, the engine should NOT turn over when parked in gear. If it is, then the engine has low compression and needs rebuilding. Mine is 23 years old and has over 281k on it and still holds no problem.

 

When I first learned to drive, most vehicles had manual transmissions. Training back then taught one to turn the front wheels toward or away from the curb so the wheels would chock against it. Granted, I'm sure the driveway doesn't have a curb.