Parking Brake Cable Replacement

[David Layton]

While we have the Motor, Gearbox, Front Subframe out of the '73, we are also going to tackle the Parking Brake Cables which are  stretched and petrified.  I have a pair of replacement cables.  There are not a lot of guides on pulling these out and replacing, but these are not commonly replaced.  

Under the hoist with new cable in hand and looking up, I see metal tubes on the chassis with cables going out to the rear wheels.  The cables look a bit different than what is in my hand.   I suspect that the angled sleeve on the latter portion of the replacement cable goes into the metal tubing, so there should be something similar inside the tubes.  Are the replacement cables different than the originals?  I saw a post mentioning that the sleeve may need to be trimmed.  

I suspect that the cables get pulled out from the rear.   I would gladly take any advise on getting these out and the new ones in.

 

Edited November 27, 2018 by David Layton

[joysterm]

Hi Dave,

 

My memory is a lil sketchy  but I recall having to heat up the tubes a little, around the fluted end.I found the cables sleeves have a tendency  to weld themselves to the tubing over time. A pair of channel locks will come in handy as well.

 

Don't recall having to make any alterations to the new ones........hth

[Guy Cocquyt]

The nylon on the cable becomes brittle and can bunch up and jam in the tubes and the threaded end in the cab at the handle will get stuck in the tubes. Mine were so stuck I ended up replacing both tubes. If I did this again I would cut off that threaded end inside the car and extract from the rear as normal, avoiding the end bunching up the nylon.

Sent from my STH100-1 using Tapatalk

[wegweiser]

I've done several of these but it's been a few years, so here's what I can tell you, from memory:

 

Remove both 6mm (10mm hex) nuts from cable inside car. 

Often I'll remove the central large pivot from the handbrake handle itself - makes fishing the new cable up and in MUCH easier, but make mental notes as to how it all goes together. Once you remove this pivot, the handle / pawl mechanism will sort of fall apart, since it's no longer under tension. Re-assembling this part can be a bear, that first time you do it.

 

From rear hub of car, remove brake shoes, so that the eye of the cable can be pulled FORWARD and out of the backing plate. Cable should have a slight angle to it, where it passes through the backing plate. There should be a small "P" shaped clip holding the housing of the cable to the trailing arm. Don't lose that critter. Once you have the front and rear ends of the cable free from the mechanisms, you may find that the cable is stuck to the tube - especially at the rear end of the tube. 

 

I've had the tapered "ferrule" end of the cable get stuck inside the tube that is welded to the floor pan. I apply penetrating oil as much as possible for a day or two, then warm things up slightly with a propane torch - just forward of the end of the tube - so the penetrating oil will wick forward an inch or so. Parafin wax works GREAT for this sort of thing BTW!!! I grab the ferrule of the cable where it enters the tube with vise grips and SLOOOOWWWLY start twisting it / wiggling it, until I get a tiny bit of movement. Once it moves, you know you can get it out without breaking off the end of the tube. Work slowly and patiently. It may take 50 or more "wiggles" to finally extract it from the tube. I haven't had the plastic sleeve get stuck like others here describe, so I have no great wisdom there. For me, it's always the metal collar / ferrule that get's bonded to the tube. Once that's free, the thing should slide right on out. 

 

Installation is the reverse of removal, except the puzzle of re-assembling the hand brake lever AFTER you get the cables up and in. If the cables get hung up and don't naturally bend upward - even with the lever out, you can use a long pair of hemostats to pull them up and forward. In fact - you will probably NEED some long hemostats (10"+)  / pliers to accomplish this.  You have to time the pawl, button, and "J" shaped rod just right, so that you can re-install the pivot pin in the handle. (HINT: hold the button down to apply tension to the spring / rod / pawl with one hand while your other three hands insert the pivot ) I hook the rear end of the cable up to the rear shoe last, once the front threaded end is attached. Plenty of slack to accomplish this, by the backing plate. 

 

ALWAYS adjust rear shoes BEFORE adjusting hand brake cable nuts. Cable may stretch initially, after first adjustment / week or so of use. Re-adjust as necessary. A properly adjusted shoe / cable will allow tenacious parking brake function on even the steepest hills with only 3-5 clicks. I never pull up on my handbrake without FIRST pushing the button. Saves wear on the teeth of the pawl! Hearing someone violently yank those things upward ("gritttttttt!") makes the hair on my neck stand on end. Mechanical sympathy saves money and cars. Push the button in, folks!

 

If you get too aggressive and break off a portion of the tube on the floor, you can sometimes add a piece of tubing to the end, to make up the lost material. I think back in my careless youth, I once used a sway bar end link tube or something, to restore the length of the broken tube I ham-fistedly snapped off. If you're careful, you will not break the tube. 

 

Generic diagram of how the guts of the lever work… seeing it makes understanding it easier - at least for me, since I'm a visual learner. 

 

HTH!

Edited November 27, 2018 by wegweiser

[jgerock]

Good stuff already written. I'll add my suggestion of smearing a little anti seize paste to the metal ferrule to prevent them from sticking to the rear of the tube in the future.

 

Replacing these is similar to the e-brake cables in the VW Beetle.

 

[2002#3]

Weg's advice is spot-on: 

"I grab the ferrule of the cable where it enters the tube with vise grips and SLOOOOWWWLY start twisting it / wiggling it, until I get a tiny bit of movement. Once it moves, you know you can get it out without breaking off the end of the tube. Work slowly and patiently. It may take 50 or more "wiggles" to finally extract it from the tube.

 

My experience exactly.  Required 2 full days of soaking.  The post-soaking keys:  channel locks/V grips and 50-100 tiny, delicate wiggles.

[David Layton]

Thanks for the details!  Wegs, I had already replaced the pivot with a roller bearing improved pin (recommended) and found myself figuring out the puzzle of the brake lever parts after two tries at re-assembly.  But the drawings will help as I will take off the lever again, even though the cables are disconnected from the lever.

Edited November 27, 2018 by David Layton

[NYNick]

All good stuff here. I just re-did mine. It was so jammed in there (or "on" there as was my case) that I literally pulled the car off the jack stands while trying to winch the cable out. Didn't work. Argh.

 

Disconnect cables inside the car. Easy.

Disconnect cable from parking brake shoes...yes, you have to take that whole rear brake system apart and reassemble it later.

Pull cable backwards out of the tubes. Mine pulled 95% out and then got jammed. Everyone told me it was the rubber cable covering bunching up inside the tube. It wasn't.

There is a metal ferrule that is part of the cable that fits onto the tube when it goes back on and into the car. Mine was gunked up and stuck on there like nobody's business. I heated it up and slowly worked it back and forth. GOT IT!

 

Then you have to reassemble the brakes and reassemble the hand brake lever assembly that was engineered by the devil. Good luck with that thing!

[Guy Cocquyt]

A trick I tried was to depress the button on the handle, then I looped a zip-tie over it and another around the handle and the first zip-tie to keep the button depressed, then I removed the handle.  This kept the whole thing from "exploding" when disconnected from the mount (you will know what I mean if you don't hold the button in and keep it in).  Makes reassembly a little easier.

[NYNick]

2 hours ago, Guy Cocquyt said:

A trick I tried was to depress the button on the handle, then I looped a zip-tie over it and another around the handle and the first zip-tie to keep the button depressed, then I removed the handle.  This kept the whole thing from "exploding" when disconnected from the mount (you will know what I mean if you don't hold the button in and keep it in).  Makes reassembly a little easier.

My trick worked as well. I gave up and waited until my engineer son came home and let him figure it out!

[mac]

Now that we got the cables out..............

 

Any suggestions/recommendations for cleaning/scrubbing out the insides of the cable tubes?  and what sort of lubrication we use in the future so the cables never get stuck again?

 

Mac. 

 

PS.  What about using a gun barrel cleaning kit?

[jimk]

1 minute ago, mac said:

hat about using a gun barrel cleaning kit?

Yup.  That's what I used to scrub the main oil galleys in the block to remove any hardened deposits and scale.

[wegweiser]

9 hours ago, mac said:

Now that we got the cables out..............

 

Any suggestions/recommendations for cleaning/scrubbing out the insides of the cable tubes?  and what sort of lubrication we use in the future so the cables never get stuck again?

 

Mac. 

 

PS.  What about using a gun barrel cleaning kit?

I'm a huge fan of Würth shop products. I'd use their copper anti seize spray or brush-on paste, then push it as far in to the tubes as it will go. Barring that, good old wheel bearing grease, if you don't mind a little mess and are more of a "this is what I already have in my garage" type. I'm always nervous about getting too aggressive cleaning metal items like this. The Würth stuff is expensive but is far less messy than the garden variety silver anti-seize paste sold in most auto parts stores. I use it on the back / edges of brake pads, spark plug threads, and all kinds of things, on old BMWs. 

 

Walking the line between removing scale and corrosion, while NOT removing any "theoretical" paint, galvanizing, or other surface finish that will keep it from corroding. For Example:  if you take a steel part to a bench mounted wire wheel to clean it… it will start to rust immediately. 

[David Layton]

Where can I get Wurth products?  I will need Schutz for the paint set up.

[jimk]

Look at motorcycle chain lube products.  They are made to not gather dirt.