After diagnosing the intermittent vibe problem I took the truck in to the dealer. They replaced the parking brake pads and adjusted them way loose. It did not fix the problem so I did it myself.

The parking brakes are a light duty drum brake located inside the rotor.



The offending part is the expander cam, which is the piece that the cable hooks onto. It was completely rust welded.




I broke it apart and applied caliper grease.

 

Nice, thanks for the pics. I would almost want to get new parts and grease them.

 

Useful post, thanks.
Has it stopped any vibes? And what kind of grease did you use?
Thanks
Chris

 

I just did the repair yesterday, but the parking brake now works normally and no vibes so far. I manually worked the brake before I put the cable back on and it was easy to apply and released cleanly.

I used CRC Brake Caliper grease. Did both sides, although the left side wasn't frozen, yet. Don't forget to grease the caliper slides while you're there. The cam part is just cheap pot metal, buying a new one might actually make it worse as the old ones are starting to develop a hard surface.

 

Excellent post!

 

Same thing happened to mine. Dealer replaced both sides.

 

I didn't know they used drum brakes on the rear of the new F-150's. I thought they were all disc brakes. So I guess this problem can surface with either disc or drum brakes?

I haven't had this happen,

Scott

 

We have 4 corner disk brakes!

The E-brake is a drum style brake.

 

Well I'll be darned Learn something new every day! Thanks

 

The parking brake is located inside the rear rotor (disc brake rotor). Below is a pic of the rotor removed from the axle. With the rotor on, (I should have taken a picture), the drum brake is completely hidden.

 

please explain how a set of parking brake shoes can cuase a vibration?

plus where do u live to get that much rust and corrossion inside the park brake asemble? or how much water have you been with your truck?

Mac.

 

They can cause a TREMENDOUS amount of vibration, enough to make you pull over and stop. A partially engaged drum brake will do that. I am reluctant to post this on the internet, but I got caught in hurricane Alex down in Hatteras, and I suspect that this might have had something to do with it. I also drive out on the beach quite a lot when I'm down there. I should add that the truck has been running great since I fixed the parking brake, I really like the beast! Averaging about 15mpg, it's a great ride.

Really cool video of Alex from a friend's house where I was at: Hurricane Alex

 

Hey Tyson, sorry to hijack this thread, but how does the truck do in the sand down on the OB? I'm getting ready to take my Lariat down there for a little 4 wheelin' in the sand. Been going down there since the mid 80's but this will be the first time in the new truck.

Scott

 

It did great! Just put it in 4wd and take the tire pressure down to 25. I found that leaving it in 4wd High and drive worked the best. Going from Billy Mitchell south, I didn't even put my hands on the wheel, the truck just followed the tracks. Engine temp stayed low and she crossed over the tracks great when asked. Never had any fear of getting stuck, but if you do let the tires down to ~12. Plus the bed is deep enough that my girlfriend could get a full body tan without having to worry about gawkers.

 

hatteras eh? i lived in frisco for 2 years. we used to visit down there all the time when we lived in MD, now i still visit every once in a while. we should get together and have a meet

sorry to jack this thread, it does have some good info