I just came in from doing the rear parking brakes on my 98 T & C.
I'll turn 50 soon, so suffice it to say, I am sore and beat up right now, but I now have great knowledge.
My T & C has AWD, 4 wheel disks (the parking brakes are drum), and Nivomat suspension. I'm the 2nd owner and the old girl has 152K on it. (I got it 3 years ago with 128K)
The three major components of this parking brake system are
1) The parking brake pedal.
2) The parking brake cable.
3) The parking brakes themselves.
My particular symptoms were as follows (the van came with them... I am just now getting around to fixing it):
Pedal would engage the brakes but the brakes would not release with the pedal. They'd squeal like crazy, it almost sounded like a broken spring was wedged in somelpace. Upon inspection, the cables were disconnected from the levers behind the brake backplates and the shoes were cooked and cracked.
Diagnosis: The cable was fine. I became disconnected from the levers because the levers were rusty and would not release the brakes hence the noise and cooked shoes. Since the levers were not releasing, they would not keep tension on the cable and the cable would fall off the hooks. It finally was caught during a recent state inspection.
How to fix: Spend a lot of money on parts and wait for nice weather. The parts are as follows:
1) Shoes from NAPA around $75.00
2) Spring kit from Chrysler around $30 to $35.
3) Lever kit from Chrylser around $30 t $35.
4) New cotter pins
Weird tools:
1) Torque wrench (Yeah right)
2) Factory Service Manual (worth all $90.00)
3) 1/2 inch breaker bar
4) A seven foot long pipe
5) Heavy leather gloves (trust me)
Socket sizes
1) Hub nut: 1/2 drive, 1-1/4 hex
2) Bearing Hub Bolts: 1/2 drive, 18mm
3) Speed Sensor: 3/8 drive, 10mm
Allen sizes
1) Caliper: 6mm
2) Shoe retainers: 4.5 or 5.0mm (I forget)
Disclaimer: This is very dangerous work and should only be attempted by very advanced shade tree mechanics. I will not go into details about proper jacking and vehicle support. This is not an all inclusive procedure. Your vehicle may differ. Don't sue me. This is only a story about what I did this afternoon while listening to the Eagles game.
What has to be done: you will have to remove the bearing hub. You may want to bail right here.
1) Crack lug nuts
2) Chock, jack and support vehicle
3) Remove wheel and knock out the center cap (If equipped)
4) Remove hub nut cotter pin and castle retainer
5) Replace wheel
6) Lower vehicle onto tire
7) Slip 7 ft. pipe over breaker bar and use 18mm socket to crack hub nut loose only (do not backoff or remove)
8) Raise vehicle and support again
9) Remove wheel again
10) Remove and safely support caliper...remove the rotor.
11) Remove speed sensor
12) Remove bearing hub nut and washer
13) The service manual says to diconnect the parking brake cable. I left it on until later. It was just easier that way. I have a dirt driveway and not a lift. I never cawl under the vehicle no matter how well it is supported. It's just not worth it. (After all, an emergency room visit is at least a $200.00 deductable).
14) Spray the bearing hub bolt threads where they come through the outside of the backplate with WD-40 or Tri-Flow Teflon spray. You'll need the lubrication when backing out the bolts. I am real sore from those things today.
15) Remove the Bearing Hub bolts. First, break them with a breaker bar and the 18mm socket. Then continue to back them out with the 1/2 inch drive ratchet and a six inch extension. WEAR THE GLOVES.
16) Slide the whole mess off the axle.
17) You'll probably have to punch the hub out of the backplate at this time (use a block of wood.)
18) You may now replace the shoes springs and levers...WEAR GOGGLES. Totally back off the adjuster. You are on your own, You may want a helper at this time (2 sets of goggles). I did it by myself but then again, I used to repair clocks. This is an intricate task. Draw pictures, take notes, lay out the old parts, take photos...whatever it takes to do this right. You don't want to have to do all this work twice.
19) I tend to lubricate brake parts (don't overdo it or you'll contaminate the shoes and pads and maybe lose your brakes...be smart). Remember, the original culprit here is the rusted and siezed levers. I put lithium grease on the pivot points.
20) Put it all back together. You'll have to do that whole double dance with the wheel again. This is because of two problems:
A) the wheel on the ground holds the axle in place while you loosen and tighten the Hub Nut.
B) You can't replace the cotter pin (use a new one) while the wheel is on the vehicle (at least not with my thick alloy wheels).
A bit of advice...Now would be a good time to replace the half shafts, bearing hubs, brake shoes, rotors...what's in your wallet?
It took me around 8 hours...I'm gettin' too old for this.
My pedal ratchet still has issues. I fixed the brakes first because I knew they were definitely bad and was hoping that the proper operation of the system would help out the pedal. The pedal cannot be properly diagnosed without the rest of the system working properly.
Torque reference (your vehicle may vary)
Speed Sensor: 105 Inch LBS (9 Ft. LBS???)
Brake Caliper: 192 Inch LBS. (16 Ft. LBS???)
Bearing Hub Bolts: 95 Ft. LBS
Bearing Hub Nut: 180 Ft. LBS
Lug Nuts: 95 Ft. LBS
It was fun
Now then, can anyone pulleeese tell me how to remove and replace the rear jounce bumpers on this thing? I have bright new yellow ones in a bag laughing at me right now as I type this.
I'm goin' to Moes.
Paul G. Celentano