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8.8 swap: One more try at parking brakes?

Super mud

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Bel Air Maryland
So I'm swapping an 8.8 cause the d35 destroyed itself driving down the highway. About a few months after I did a complicated disc brake swap on it. Lucky for me the brakes are actually the same as the 8.8 so the brand new rotors are going on. Now when i had the disc brakes on the d35 I got a fresh parking brake shoes and set them up with brake cables which were a PITA to get off from the yard and on mine since the e brake was eliminated by the previous owner. After many tries getting them to hook it still wouldn't hold on a hill even tightened as much as possible. So i gave up and now that i got this axle I can't decide whether to just chuck the whole parking brake assembly. Any opinions. I'm also interested in a sort of line lock but not something that uses electricity to close the solenoid but maybe something that uses electricity to open it up if there is such a thing. I've never had good luck with stupid parking brakes and I'm used to sitting it on the tranny all the time but i think the added safety is nice.
 
Just putting this out there because it wasn't mentioned. How did you tighten the brakes. You need to start with the shoes then find a balance between the cables and the handle adjustments. Like I said. Don't mean to insult.
 
I was heavy into VW's a while back, and remember seeing a sort of line lock for rail buggies to use as a parking brake. The rail buggies used only rear brakes, and they were usually pretty simple at that, so this made it easy and light to add a parking brake. It mounted in line with the rear brake line, and you applied pedal pressure and then hit the lock handle, sorta like a plunger, and it would hold the pressure in the rear brakes and line until you released the plunger manually.... no electrics to deal with, but I think you would need to keep an eye on the rear calipers to watch for leaks and all, as pressure would sit in them continuously till you released it. I havent been up on all the new stuff lately, but I would think they should still carry a part like that. Try BUGPACK, or maybe ..... a quick search found some at the link below!

http://www.appletreeauto.com/hydraulic-park-lock-c-230.html
 
I got lucky and the 8.8 I got from the J/Y had already been swapped into an XJ.
The P/O had used a lokar cable kit. It works really well, But the shoes still need to be adjusted fairly often.
 
Just putting this out there because it wasn't mentioned. How did you tighten the brakes. You need to start with the shoes then find a balance between the cables and the handle adjustments. Like I said. Don't mean to insult.

Yea i started by adjusting the shoes out as far as possible without grabbing then adjusted the cable to pull the backing plate lever which spreads the shoes to the maximum amount.
 
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