This is likely just another cold weather phenomenon. I tend to be very
hesitant to use the emergency brake in subzero temperatures because
sometimes it sticks, noticeable when you release and reset the lever. It
will return to normal but it is a little slow to do so. The few times it
happened to me in both my BGT and in my Toyota Landcruiser, it returned to
normal within a few blocks. And I don't think it held much pressure on the
brakes with its slow release or at least I didn't notice any symptoms of
such. Still, as I mentioned, I try not to use the emergency brake in the
winter. If I'm parking the car on a slope, I'll just stick a small piece of
wood behind a tire to be safe under the very slim chance the car could pop
out of gear.
David Councill
67 BGT
72 B
At 05:10 PM 12/29/2004 -0600, MonteMorris wrote:
>The other day when it was near zero here in Missouri, I pulled the 79B out
>of the garage and set the emergency brake by pulling it up briskly. I felt
>it give somewhat and when I released and reset it, it had quite a bit of
>slack in the lever and now didn't start to engage until the lever was at
>about a 30 degree angle. The car wasn't rolling real well so I drove it
>about 10 miles and checked the drums to see if they were hot from the brake
>shoes being constantly engaged, but they weren't hot. The tranny fluid was
>probably just real thick (especially since I haven't changed out the 20W-50
>that is in it).
>I haven't been under the car to check the emergency brake cable, but do the
>above symptoms suggest that the cable nut has just slipped on the cable or
>might it be something else?
>Thanks and Happy New Year,
>Monte
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