[Eric L.]

As some of you may know, the parking brake on the Murano uses a "drum in disc" setup. This is the first vehicle I've owned with this setup, although apparently its not too uncommon. Wait a minute you say - its a four wheel disc brake right? Correct. So where does the drum come in?

Found this while browsing the web today.
Parking brake info.

The more relevant part of that link:
On four-wheel disc brake systems that have "mini-drums" inside the rear rotors, the parking brake works like a conventional drum brake. Pulling on the cable forces the shoes outward against the drum to lock the wheel. But unlike a full-sized drum brake, there's no self-adjuster mechanism for the star wheel to compensate for shoe wear because one isn't needed. The only time the parking brake is applied is when the vehicle is at rest so shoe wear is virtually nonexistent. The shoes should last the life of the vehicle -- unless the parking brake is binding and causing them to drag. The thickness of the shoe linings doesn't really matter as long as there is enough lining left to hold the car on an incline with normal cable travel.

 

[AlexD]

I didn't know the Murano had that setup, but I heard about it for the first time this weekend listening to Car Talk. One of the benefits of it is that if you've been doing any hard driving and the brakes are really hot, when you come to a stop and put the parking brake on there's less risk of warping the rotors. If the parking brake is simply the rear brakes, having the pads in contact with the rotor could lead to uneven cooling and possible warpage. The drum-in-disk arrangement eliminates that.

 

[GripperDon]

Remember this ?

http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2794&highlight=parking+brake+noise

 

[Eric L.]

I listened to this week's cartalk too. The caller who told the story about his father in law saying never use the parking brakes was pretty funny. While it is true that you should not use the parking brake after some hot lapping at the track or autocross, its perfectly fine to use in every other situation. Very cool idea for Nissan to use the drum in disc setup!

I actually wish the Murano had a lever handbrake. Even if I will never use it for a handbrake turn, it does give the vehicle a sportier image.

 

[Ohio Murano]

That is very interesting. I to would rather have the hand brake but I guess the floor will be fine. Tell me where do you guys listen to this car talk at and when is it on? Thanks

 

[Eric L.]

Its on NPR on Saturday mornings, or online

Cartalk website

A wonderful hour of comedy and a little car advice as well.

 

[GMTURBO43]

Yep - the 98+ Camaro also use this set up and I also belive the Corvette does. I just installed Camaro brakes on the Typhoon. Going from little 10" drum brakes to 12" disks is quite fun. It looks better and performs MUCH better.

 

[AlexD]

I've heard Cartalk both Saturday and Sunday mornings, depending on where I am. I was traveling from TN to southwest VA and back over this past weekend, and I caught different portions of the show in different areas at different times. Like Eric said, it's on NPR. Those guys are a riot.

 

[10413]

Maybe it's just me, but it feels like the parking brake doesn't grip hard enough. I press the pedal almost to the floorboard with not a lot of effort when I park, and if I'm on a reasonable hill, when I come out and shift out of park it feels like the MO has crept a bit and is leaning on the transmission locking pin (or whatever you call it.. sorry if that's not the right term, you know what I'm talking about) because I get that chunky CLUNK when I come out of "P"...

Is this normal or does my brake need to be adjusted?

...in other news: about a year ago I finally convinced my mother that she should use her parking brake. For forty*cough* years she never used it. Every time we'd park on a hill and she'd put the vehicle in "park" and let off the brake, I could feel the vehicle's pain as it rocked and slammed hard on the transmission locking pin... ouch. It also took me quite a bit of convincing to get her to stop gunning the engine and revving it hard as soon as it started to "warm it up"....... oi veh.

 

[GripperDon]

special-k

this is a good thread to read.

http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2794&highlight=parking+brake+noise


Grip



edit: Grip I fixed the link. -Eric L.

 

[HuskyFan]

When parking on a hill, my car rolls back after setting the parking brake. I set the parking brake before I put the transmission into park to reduce the forces on the transmission. Seems to me, the brakes should hold the car on the hill, not the transmission parking mechanism.

 

[10413]

Re: special-k

this is a good thread to read.

http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2794&highlight=parking+brake+noise

I didn't think to read that previously because, miraculously enough, with all the noises and rattles I *do* have, I don't have THAT rattle. LOL

I'll print out that TSB and ask the dealer to adjust the parking brake when I go in for the oil change.

 

[Halo]

Funny, I heard that Car Talk episode and I thought about the same thing regarding parking brake usage after driving (or rather the lack thereof).

Definitely, if you've been at the track and your brakes are glowing hot, don't apply the parking brake. Maybe if you've just come down a 10,000 foot incline don't use the PB. But for around town driving the rotors don't get THAT hot that you should circumvent a safety mechanism that might prevent damage or injury to someone else!

 

[tkris]

Yep - the 98+ Camaro also use this set up and I also belive the Corvette does. I just installed Camaro brakes on the Typhoon. Going from little 10" drum brakes to 12" disks is quite fun. It looks better and performs MUCH better.

Yup - The corvette does indeed use a drum - in - rotor parking break. I found this out when putting slotted/drilled GM rotors ($40 each!) on my y2k C5 Vette. I had not ever considered that they did this to prevent warping when putting on the parking break after driving, but it makes sense especially when considering that I replaced the rotors/pads not for wear, but for warping and/or heat glazing. Best $160 I ever spent on upgrades to the vette.

I don't have any breaking vibrations on my 2k3 MO, but if/when I get it, I'll be praying for good drilled/slotted rotors for $40 each to fix it!

I don't think I drive hard, but I only get about 8k miles out of a set of rear tires on my vette.. maybe that should tell me something...