Hand break adjustment? Not holding car on hills

[Viper007Bond]

Recently I parked on a decently steep hill. I pulled the hand brake all the way up, put it in gear, and let my foot off the brake only to find the car immediately started rolling quickly.

The hand break holds the car decent enough on slight hills but is pretty worthless on steeper hills.

How do I go about adjusting it?


And to assist in finding this thread via search: parking break

 

[Allan]

It is what it is. The Viper park brake is pretty lame. .................who cares though, the rest of the car is KILLER!

 

[JPUConn]

First check and see if your pad (inner / outer) are worn down as this is a known issue on the Gen III/IV. Otherwise it is my understanding that it is self adjusting so just pump the ebrake lever and it will self tighten the pads to the rotor.

I just re-read and you said it started rolling even in gear - how steep was that hill? If you will be doing this often I'd consider carrying a rubber wheel chock or finding a different parking spot.

 

[Viper007Bond]

First check and see if your pad (inner / outer) are worn down as this is a known issue on the Gen III/IV. Otherwise it is my understanding that it is self adjusting so just pump the ebrake lever and it will self tighten the pads to the rotor.

I can see the pad and there's at probably 1/2 an inch of pad there. Certainly not worn down.

I use the hand brake every time I park so it certainly should have tightened itself by now you'd think.

I just re-read and you said it started rolling even in gear - how steep was that hill? If you will be doing this often I'd consider carrying a rubber wheel chock or finding a different parking spot.

Steeper than your average hill but nothing crazy steep. Someone was nice enough to swap spots with me (Mustang) and they had no problem parking on the hill.

Mine was rolling nearly as if it was in neutral and the parking break was off. Crazy.


I should note that at super low speeds I do sometimes hear a squeak coming from the back left but that could just be the normal brakes occasionally touching the rotors or something.

 

[ACRucrazy]

I use the hand brake every time I park so it certainly should have tightened itself by now you'd think.

That is the issue. I was told very quickly not to do that. I have learned ONLY to use the the hand brake when needed. The issue is it DOES tighten itself.. Too much so every time you use it. It drags the rear pads causing premature wear and possible damage to the rotor.

Get in the habit of not using it when not needed.

 

[Viper007Bond]

The issue is it DOES tighten itself.. Too much so every time you use it. It drags the rear pads causing premature wear and possible damage to the rotor.

Get in the habit of not using it when not needed.

Oh, well this would explain why it likes to squeak a little.

I'll try skipping using the parking brake when I have it on level ground. Thanks!

 

[Steve M]

Out of curiosity, what gear did you park it in? If it was first gear, you're giving the drivetrain the most leverage to overcome the engine compression, thus not holding the car as well.

 

[csmwiese]

If it rolls in gear you either have bad compression or a bad clutch/pressure plate.

 

[Viper007Bond]

Out of curiosity, what gear did you park it in? If it was first gear, you're giving the drivetrain the most leverage to overcome the engine compression, thus not holding the car as well.

I tried both first and reverse and I think you have it backwards. The lower the gear, the better for parking.

If it rolls in gear you either have bad compression or a bad clutch/pressure plate.

The clutch doesn't slip, no engine light is on, and the car only have 15000 miles on it. I would think it's fine, although it is odd that it rolled on me. I swear I had it in gear...

 

[JLorello]

Awesome, every time I park my car I use the E-Brake....

Guess I need to start throwing it in 3rd now.

 

[brantdw]

I think is a defect with all Blue colored Vipers. Paint it black. Should fix it.

-B