Hydro parking brake

I wasn't sure which board to put this under, so I put it under both. Not to offend anyone- just thought you might want to know.

For any of you who are using the NP200, but the hand brake is crap- or have switched out to the 205 then this might help.

I'm running the 205 on mine, but have stock axles. I wanted a parking brake, but didn't want to go to the trouble (or expense) that some members have by adding a disk and caliper and all that. What I did was put my stock master cylinder back on and made it a one circuit system. I then extended the main feed line into the cab and to a point right below teh steering wheel and toward the door. There's a blank area there. I got a 1/2" ball valve from Home Depto ($6.73) that said it was rated at 1200 psi. It's small at only about 3" long and about 1" wide. I then got two thread adapters from the same source to change the thread from 1/2" NPT to a 7/16" compression fitting.
I then got 2 7/16" female to female 90* elbows so that the brake feed lines can come at the switch straight and poke through the dash. I ran both lines into the switch and screwed it to the dash and in 30 minutes I had a line-lock.

You push the brake pedal down, switch the switch and it holds all the juice in so that all 4 wheels are locked up. It holds really well, maybe even better than the stock parking brake.

I liked it and was pleased to finally have a parking brake for winching and such...................and for only $21 and about 2 hours total.

Feel free to e-mail me with any questions.

Also- I'm not sure abotu the 7/16" line. You might want to take your brake line and match it up- that's what I did.

-B.

edit: the fittings weren't comression fittings, I was mistaken. Also this type brake is illegal (in some areas) and unsafe. If you loose pressure for whatever reason then you use your brakes entirely. I would NEVER replace a parking brake with this and also would NEVER use a truck with this type brake on open roads. BEWARE!

hey brian any pics? does that valve hold for a long time or does it bleed off after awhile? thanks

That set up is not "legal" in some states as a parking brake. B.

Brain, Barry is correct,you have an illegal set up.The second you mentioned compression fitting, on any vehicle braking system,that made the whole thing nul and void.Compression fittings cannot take any vibration,they will leak in short order.You must change those fitting to flair fittings to be legal.PerkM715

Actually the non legal part I think Barry was talking about was having the hydrualic Ebrake part. The compression fitting itself is not legal, but the 'law' usually states that you have to have a mechanical brake to be used as a secondary 'emergency' braking system. In other words, no way if you spring a leak somewhere will the Ebrake fail.

In the good ole land of taxes , PA. State inspection laws state that the parking brake must be a mechanical link ( NO hydraulics ) and work independently of the service brakes. I'd bet that some other states have similar laws to this too. B.

Like I said,if brian has any compression fitting in the breaking system,at all it is not legal! PerkM715

So my mechanical link to a separate isolated master for the juice disk E-brake is illegal in PA? I'm screwed when my buddy dies.

Yup, no luck on that being legal. Of course some inspectors might not know the difference between mechanical and just a completely seperate braking system, which you do have.

Didn't some of the early 90's GM cars with four wheel disc brakes, like the Riviera and Cadillac, have a line lock type e-brake? They were the ones that you pushed the pedal to lock it and then pushed it again to unlock. I will look it up on Mitchell later today.

I looked it up and I was wrong. They had cables just like everything else.

It is a completely separate system that used the stock 715 E-brake handle with linkage that pushes on a 69 Camaro Drum-drum master with both lines T'ed into one going back to a juice caliper one the transfer case. I've got pics in that briefcase link you've been patiently helping with.

O.K. to clear it up- it wasn't a compression fitting. I don't know what they are called- but it is the same type fitting that all my brake lines use. What is that- flare? Anyhow, all the adapters and such that I used are standard brake parts that I got at NAPA. The valve part is the only real part that I question in this as the PSI rating may or may not be right.
I don't know about the part where you have to have a seperate circuit for the brake. I had none and not really an option to put one on unless I changed my axles, or did a transfer case brake like some others. I thought that a booty-fabbed brake was better than none.

I did, however use this same valve for a few months on the truck and it never blew out or leaked. I will use it around the farm for a while and keep and eye on it.

I guess this is what I needed to add to the original post-
This type brake may be illegal in your area and even if it's not- it's not the safest idea and as such should be used only on mud trucks where you might have brake failure.
Sorry. I'll edit now.
-B.

Spicer, I hate to tell you this . But , your system is not Pa State Inspection approved. Your parking brake system has the ability to leak down , releasing the brakes. Most Pa Inspection Stations that I know of don't even check the parking brakes. Now having said that, with all the new emissions testing that is going to be required , I expect the Inspection Stations to start to get a little more observant. --- B.

I gotta see this Booty Fabbing.
Shoot me some pics

I think if that's a seperate circuit in the real world you'll probably be ok... and in -b's part of the world, it's sort of flat anyway, not a huge deal if a PARKING brake fails. I'm checking out the newer drum in hat setups since I am starting from scratch anyway. We'll see.

Here, it's supposed to be a mechanical e-brake too, but the safety inspections are somewhat lax. My ebrake inspection consisted of them pushing the racheting pedal down. Done! Think, then act. And since I heard some Barry White tonight, "Make sweet, sweet love to tha Poe-leece!" hehehe. Moderate THAT yo!

I guess that's moderated alright! points for Barry White.... hahahha

Topical content: attach a lever to the hydro ebrake and inspectors may not notice, they'll just think it's a regular parking brake. Might take some tinkering though.