My '97 failed Utah safety inspection because the parking brake did not hold. I adjusted the cable to get it to apply the brake with 3-5 clicks. I adjusted the shoes as described in JTIS. The brake holds on my drive way with a 10-12 degree grade. On a level surface it holds at idle (600 rpm) but if i just touch the gas pedal (700-750 rpm) it doesn't hold. They test it on level ground and give a little gas.
My understanding is that the parking brake should hold on grade. The state inspector says it should slow/stop the car if you are driving and your brakes fail.
Thoughts or suggestions appreciated.

 

From your description it sounds as if the brake mechanism is functioning.

It is possible the parking brake pads and drums are glazed. New pads and rear rotors will fix that.

Or else take it to a different inspector

 

I guess I'll take off the rotors & check. Thanks.

 

Throughout the Jaguar literature the handbrake is referred to as a PARKING brake. If it was expected to act as the State Inspector describes, it would be called an EMERGENCY brake!

OK, I know what he means. If the hydraulic brakes fail, it's the only way to bring the vehicle to rest but the Driver's Handbook makes no reference to this technique.

JTIS explains:

"If the vehicle is driven above 5 km/h with the parking brake applied, a warning lamp and text message will appear on the message center. The message clears when the brake is released or the speed drops below 3 km/h."

I think the only intention here is to act as a warning about driving off with the handbrake applied.

If you remove the discs, I'm sure you'll find the handbrake shoes glazed as WhiteXKR suggests or perhaps contaminated with oil or grease.

Graham

 

I agree GGG. I may have to take a copy of the State Inspection regs with me.

 

Good idea. That inspector is nuts. This is a parking brake and is only meant to keep the car from rolling when the car is parked not in gear with power applied to the drive train. Anyway when parked you use a combination of the parking brake and park position for automatics or reverse for manual transmission.
If it holds on your driveway with 3.5 clicks then it's doing the job it was designed to do.
Heck you can drive any car out there with the parking brake applied especially in reverse.

 

Not sure if you adjusted them properly by the way you posted. Drum brakes (such as our parking brakes) require adjusting the shoes to their drum before adjusting the cables. Adjusting the cables first won't allow the shoes to contact fully (concentrically.) To correct you need to back off the cable adjustment, adjust the shoes to the drum (the inside of the rotors in our case) then re-adjust the cable(s) if necessary. Also, the little shoes employed in this arrangement have very small swept area and are pretty sad for holding power. One other consideration is that they see very little usage and as a result the drums build up a lot of rust. It's very common during rotor removal for this rust to break the linings from the shoes. This can also happen if someone applies the parking brake and forces the car against them, stripping the linings from the shoes. I realize out west the humidity is pretty low (I lived in Colorado 14+ years) but accumulated dirt/detritus can have the same effect. Probably pulling the rotors off and having a peek would be a good idea.

Relying on the little parking pawl in an automatic transmission isn't a very good idea when you visit areas with steep grades. I've seen OEs recommend that anything over 3% grade requires parking brake usage. Anything over 6% on an interstate requires a truck escape route - just to give you an idea.

 

Beav, I did the cable first because it didn't engage properly. I never use the parking brake so could be rusty in there.

 

Howdy Folks:
I received my brake shoes from Rock Auto last week. I will install them this week and let you know if it helps anything.

 

Sand the drum contact surface w/ medium grit ~150-250 sandpaper to help remove any glazing and provide a clean surface to grip the new drums.

 

O.K., doesn't matter. Still have to go back and adjust them properly to ensure full contact.

 

This is what is holding the vehicle in 'Park':



(click on the image to enlarge it)

The parking pawl (arrowed in red) is held in place with the spring (arrowed in blue). The photograph below puts these into scale next the the hands.

I know it feels very positively locked when P is selected but it's a very small tooth on the end of the pawl that is holding the weight of the vehicle.

Graham

 

So ..................... in addition to lying awake at night worrying about tensioners and thermostats and A drum failures, I can add to the list the fact that, by general concensus, the hand brake (parking brake) is close to the top of the "chocolate tea-pot" category of usefulness but the alternative solution of relying on the "park" position of the selector depends on a bit of thin steel rod.
No problem - in addition to the spare engine and gearbox I keep in the boot (trunk), I'll add a couple of railway sleepers to stop the car rolling away when I have to replace one (or both|) of the above at the side of the road.
Oh ........ must go ....... the men in white coats are here again !

 

RH shoe adjuster will not work. I took off the rotor/drum & removed the adjuster. It is frozen. Ordered shoes & hardware kit.

 

Howdy Folks:
I worked on mine yesterday and today. Last night after removing the driver side shoes, I tried to fit the new shoes (Beck/Arnley 081-3197 from Rock Auto) but the lining was 20mm rather than the stock 30mm wide. Also the spring holes were different shapes and in different locations than original and the springs would not be in tension when installed since the holes were effectively closer together. This was challenging my self-control. So, I decided to sand and reinstall per Gordo :
then I spent the next two hours trying to remount the the shoes. (I was stressed out more than I knew). After a 15 hr cooling off period, I got back on it this afternoon and had it reassembled in less than 5 minutes! I tested after sanding that one wheel, and it was much better, but still needed more holding power. Sanding the passenger side really brought the overall holding power up. (4-5 clicks)

Next I called Beck/Arnley and talked to Lindsay in customer service to let them know that their catalog listing was not for my XKR.

If any of you are considering new shoes, check the lining width and hole pattern (and framework shape). I think Centric 111,08260 or Raybesto 826PG will work on mine.

 

I ordered the Centric from Rock Auto. Will have to check them before I install.

 

I think that they will fit. I may get those in exchange with Rock. Please let us know how they check out.

 

Howdy Folks:
FYI
I just talked with Rock Auto and there are issues (4 complaints) with the Beck/Arnley 081-3197 shoes fitting our cars.

 

I received the Centric parking brake shoes from Rock Auto today. They fit correctly. They are about 28.5 cm wide.

 

Glad they worked out for you.
Rock did me right, but as it turned out, I am quite happy with the results of the "sanding the drums and glazed linings fix". My Jag went from not holding at all on the slightest incline (see sig pic below) to stopping from 30 mph in 5 clicks somewhat satisfactorily.