brlowe
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Joined: 10/18/2006
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I have a 2002 tioga on an E450. I have replaced the parking brake because of a mistake I made while replacing the transmission. The parking brake is completely mechanical. It is a drum brake mounted on the rear of the transmission like staded above. It is a sealed unit that Ford does not sell parts for. Some people have taken them apart and rebuilt them but there is not a lot of info on this. The retail price on the brake is around $1200 not including the cost of having someone install it. I was lucky and got an employee discount and only paid $700 for mine. I installed it myself as I had the engine and transmission out of the car for replacement. There is quite a bit of adjustment on that brake so if it is just worn down you may be able to climb under and adjust the parking brake.
As for you rear brakes and all that I would have it looked at and fixed. Replacing\rebulding the brake system on my Tioga is next on my list of things to do.
Brandon
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Dusty R
Charlotte Michigan 48813
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Joined: 04/05/2003
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I just looked at mine, it has disk breaks on all four wheels. I also checked the manual and it has ABS breaks on both axles.
From the sound of repair costs I think that I'm glad that the parking break is on the rear wheels.
Dusty
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Cool Mike
Mendocino. Calif.
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Joined: 06/24/2006
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So the only thing we know for sure, is all E-450 (mentioned hear) have the expensive parking break on the drive shaft, and even Ford is not sure where the PB is located on some E-350s.
Brandon, I recall you mentioning the cost of that PB unit before in a different post, and I have the same unit, and adjusted it once, and seldom use it. But when I was adjusting it, I did look it over, and I thought it had its own little master cylinder and slave cylinder on the drive shaft band, and by pulling on a cable it depressed the little master cylinder, making it an hydraulic unit, and maybe explaining the high replacement cost.
I wish someone could tell me how the E-350s with the PB on the rear disks works, Im not doubting anyone's word, I'm sure its correct, I just would like to know how it works.
And to stay on topic, the OP has an E-450 and his problem is not in the Parking break unit. And I wish him the best of luck at Ford, and hope its something simple, and cheap XW#SX@#?%$ to repair, so please keep us posted. There's a lot of interest in this problem, as this could happen to almost any of us.
PS: The GM cut away RV chassis has a breaking system vary similar to Fords, with a Hydraulic not a Vacuum booster coming off the power steering pump, as do most diesels.
Mike.
2001 27' Four Winds Class-C E-450 V-10.
Buick Park Ave Ultra, Ford Ranger PU, JD 500 backhoe.
1941 Farm All "A"
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rockhillmanor
On the Road
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Joined: 12/06/2003
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First of all what I have found out in the past 6 days just TRYING to find someone to just work on it IS.....
Ford Dealership won't work on MH's,
Semi Truck Service Depts. - used to work on them but it seems after a coach builder gets the chassis they DO change parts out and your Ford MH may not have 100% Ford parts on it.
2 -repair shops said they were SURE it was the torque converter.
4 -repair shops were sure it was that my V10 just couldn't handle towing a 2,000 lb toad.
1 -repair shop replaced a vacumm module that regulated fuel on demand AND checked all the brakes and found them to be ok?
0 -NOT one RV dealership in three states would even look at.
I finally found a shop thru referral from a small shop in Smyrna TN.
(The one and only funny thing about this is when you call dealerships and repair shops when asked if you are a light truck or heavy truck you say heavy truck......here I said heavy truck and was transferred to the heavy truck division, said it was E450 and they laughed and said you want the light truck division.)
MID-TENN FORD TRUCK Nashville, TN GREAT repair shop.They work ONLY on big trucks. Fast, efficient, and I was treated with great respect and they understood I was on the road full time and they made arrangements to work on it asap. AND they are open and work until 1:00 a.m, and 'welcome' MH's.
They found the parking brake leaking and found one rear caliper hung up, all in 10 minutes. Funny none of the others found the leak or caliper problem.
And YUP my MH has the driveshaft parking brake, and it is all one assembly. Emergency Brake assembly holds about 1 1/2 quarts of the fluid so if you loose that, nightly night.
So the drive shaft was half frozen along with the left rear brake.
Poor old V10 still tried to push her up those hills towing, all the time being held back by the rear axles. Who'd a thought the emergency brake was part of the trans and stops the whole axle?!!
Bottom line $2,613.60 and I am back on the road.
BIG BIG shout out to Mid-Tenn Ford Truck Repair, Nashville, TN.
If you ever need MH work when in TN, head out to them.
31 ft Four Winds
Chevy Tracker 4x4 Blue Ox
We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
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Cool Mike
Mendocino. Calif.
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Joined: 06/24/2006
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Do I understand that you had two problems, (1)- the parking break unit was stuck on part way, dragging down the drive shaft. And (2)- You had only one bad caliper stock on, on the left rear wheel?
Did they have to replace the parking break unit? And was the left rear rotor, caliper, pad's and bearing all replaced?
I can hardly believe the guesses made by other repair shops about what was wrong, two said the Torque Converter ???, the V-10 cant tow 2000 lbs, and one even worked on the fuel system.
Were in trouble, if this is as good as it gets with the RV repair business today. We all better become our own mechanics, have lots of time and money to wast, or sell our Motor Homes. Un F---ing believable.
I hope for $2600.+ all is well now, and dont loose there phone number.
This is a lessen we all should not soon forget.
Mike.
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dmatt
Ventura County, CA
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Joined: 07/29/2003
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Wow, can these things be any MORE complicated? Glad you got it taken care of
2007 Four Winds Dutchmen 29R-Ford E-450 V-10 towing a 2008 Toyota Matrix XR
2007 Toyota 4Runner(V-8) towing a 2006 Reinell 220LSE, 5.0L, 280hp GXI
Our camping photos
 under the stars
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rockhillmanor
On the Road
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Joined: 12/06/2003
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dmatt wrote:Wow, can these things be any MORE complicated?
YUP! They did.
Got on the road and everything seemed back to normal. Climbed the hills no sensation of being held back.......until 3 hours into the trip. It was no where's near as bad as it was before repairing the brake assembly and rotor on the left rear but she was struggling to get up small hills again.
Really bummed I pulled into a rest area to do some serious thinking what I was going to do next.
Early on with these problems we took the toad out of the equation of being the problem by dropping it and trying some big hills which 'proved' it was the MH.
Sitting there on the park bench I just said to my self all that was left WAS the toad. Walked around and stuck my fingers between the hubcabs to touch the rotors on the front, they were cold. Round to the back first one cold. Over to the last rim stuck my fingers in and it was so hot it burned my finger prints clean off!
Being anal about safety before I left I had new brakes and new tires put all the way around the toad.
Long story short took toad to Chevy dealer and they found the idiot that put my new brakes on didn't put the spring back on that brings the shoes back after you apply the brakes. Soooooo, for a thousand + miles the toad had the shoes up against the drums and only after about 3 to 4 hours of being pulled they would heat up and dragged the wheels.
My MH was fighting the axle being held back by the broke emergency brake,caliper pins stuck, AND the rear wheels locking up on the toad. I'd say that's one big hoorah for the ole V10 since she played 'tracker-pull' up and down hills for weeks and didn't blow up! That V10 is so powerful it took it 'all' on which is why everyone was so convinced that it was not getting enough fuel.
We are finally on the road again and she's just gliding like butter up the hills. Ahhh, all 10 wheels are going around like they should be.
BTW: Regarding the parking brake. I use it all the time and it went down and released like it was in working order. So the pedal will not tell you if the assembly is broke. They found a small leak around the assembly which is the symptom that it needs to be replaced and that the guts are bad inside the assembly and most likely starting to drag on the axle. Hope some of the symptoms I decribed will help someone down the road to avoid all what I went thru to find it out.
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Cool Mike
Mendocino. Calif.
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Joined: 06/24/2006
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Man what a story, Im sure you wont soon forget, nor shall I. I dont even want to think what it all cost you, not counting your time and worry, Im just glad your on top of it now.
And I will agree with you about the V-10s power, that engine puts out torque in spades.
Back in 98 when I bought my first E-350 service truck with the V-10 option, and it was new and empty, it was unbelievable, you could hardly start out on gravel with out spinning the rear wheels, and it never new if it was climbing hills or not. And I have bought more service trucks just like it, and the guys that drive them every day just love them, and BTW we still have that 98, and its got around 150,000 hard miles on it, and with no problems, and the truck still looks like new.
So for me in a MH, the V-10 was a must.
I sure hope your done with that problem, and good luck. Its been a real adventure $$$ Not LMAO.
Mike.
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