Ford E450 round parking brake at back of transmission adding oil
- Thread starter chandler
- Start date
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rls7201
Guest
It holds 4 ozs. of Dexron ATF. Fill until it runs out of hole. Oil fill plug is on the left side, above the arm that holds the cable. 17 mm socket, 6" extension and ratchet. I use a turkey baster to fill.
Richard
Richard
Rene T
Site Team
Welcome to the forum.
So may I ask, how does the parking brake work on an e450? I know it does not squeeze the brake rotors like a car would and my mechanic said it "grabs" the driveshaft but maybe I misunderstood him.
In the northeast, I was asking my mechanic should I leave it on or off when parked for extended periods and he said it is not like a car.
In the northeast, I was asking my mechanic should I leave it on or off when parked for extended periods and he said it is not like a car.
John From Detroit
Well-known member
Many Truck type vehicles and this includes motor homes, have what is called a drive shaft parking brake.
If you crawl under the RV and look at the tail end of the transmission you will find a brake drum. That's it.
If you crawl under the RV and look at the tail end of the transmission you will find a brake drum. That's it.
John From Detroit said:
Thanks John. So my confusion came from the the title of this thread. Does the parking brake need some sort of oil in the transmission to work properly?
Based on your reply, I am assuming the parking brake is a cable connection as opposed to a hydraulic connection and simply squeezes the driveshaft as it exits the transmission?
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
It's a drum type brake and apparently has a small hydraulic reservoir as part of it. It uses ATF. The ATF seems to be an oil bath for the bearings inside. The driveshaft spins whenever the tranny is in gear, so the bearings are in pretty much constant motion.
I found this techref online but it's for a 2008. It doesn't say much about lubing, though.
http://www.justanswer.com/uploads/molurch/2008-03-12_095729_brake.pdf
It's true that it's "not like a car", which typically has an actual pin that slides in and locks the wheels when in Park. That mechanism isn't strong enough for heavy vehicles, so they use an "auto-park brake", basically just a brake that is automatically applied when the transmission is put into park or the emergency/park brake is set. But that's a technical difference and not one the driver is supposed to worry about. Just use transmission Park and/or the Park/emergency brake as you would in any vehicle.
I found this techref online but it's for a 2008. It doesn't say much about lubing, though.
http://www.justanswer.com/uploads/molurch/2008-03-12_095729_brake.pdf
It's true that it's "not like a car", which typically has an actual pin that slides in and locks the wheels when in Park. That mechanism isn't strong enough for heavy vehicles, so they use an "auto-park brake", basically just a brake that is automatically applied when the transmission is put into park or the emergency/park brake is set. But that's a technical difference and not one the driver is supposed to worry about. Just use transmission Park and/or the Park/emergency brake as you would in any vehicle.
R
rls7201
Guest
Gary RVer Emeritus said:
The topic is about a Ford E brake NOT a Chevy/Workhorse auto park system. Ford's E brake is manual. And the transmission does have a parking pawl (pin).
Richard
