Well came out of the house a week or two ago and released my parking brake...and nothing. Pedal was limp, and the truck wouldn't move! It was cold, that morning so I figured they had froze up. Under the truck with the small propane torch and heated the cable...they started working.

I've since been limping this along but cables are not lovin' me lately. Now I have to release the park brake in the cab, then pull up on the pedal, then reach under the side of the truck and manually push the park cables in the last 2 inches to fully release them. Not too bad but it's getting tiresome.

These are still the originals from 1984. They were in rough shape when I got the truck. But with a little perseverance, and lots of penetrating fluid, I managed to free them up and get them working well enough....but knew it was only a matter of time before they decided to stop working all together.

So I finally got off my duff and ordered a set of Raybestos units from JC Whitney...best price I could find, AND I used an on-line coupon and got 15% off as well!! But not looking forward to pulling the axle hubs and stuff to swap these out.

 

While you have these cables out, submerge them in oil, in a drain-pan or such, for several days, working the cables in and out occasionally.

It would be best if the oil was quite warm and the whole mess kept close behind the stove for the duration; don't burn down the house.


Old cables can also benifit from this.

 

I know what you mean. I pulled mine apart to replace a leaking wheel cylinder. Figured while it's apart I'd just replace everything. Wheel bearings were still good, but all the cylinders, adjusters, shoes, springs, parking brake cables, and seals are getting replaced, and the drums turned. $500, but I shouldn't have to tear into it again any time soon.

 

Do you mean the new ones, or the old ones, or both?

 

Both.

Soak the new ones for several days before installing and then toss the old ones in the oil and leave them for months.

 

Sounds like a plan. I have a pail of used oil sitting ready to go to the recycling depot so I guess it will get "used" a little more.

 

I got a RH brake cable from NAPA last winter for $19.00. Cost more for the wheel seal.