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Subject:Re: emergency brake doesn't work well? - Non VW content
From:Stan Wilder
Date:Tue, 26 Nov 2002 22:36:05 -0600

If you had an early 60's Chrysler product
---------------------------
The drum emergency brake on Chrysler goes clear back to the 30s, On my 39
Plymouth it had a drum with an external band at the end of the tranny.
Later models has internal shoes.
The emergency brake on my 83 Westy will skid the rear wheels and you know
immediately if you try to drive with the emergency brake set. I think the
effectiveness relates to how well your rear shoes are worn towards a true
fit to the drums and it could relate to the amount of brake dust your
drums are holding.
When my Westy was going through Texas State Inspection the inspector
locked the rear wheels at about ten miles an hour ......... it passed
that part of the test, and later all other parts of the test.
Being the paranoid maintenance freak that I am I always chock my wheels
any time I go camping, flat or inclined ground, its just part of the
camping setup routine.

Stan Wilder

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