Subject: Re: DML: General question: parking brakes
Andy Levy <andylevy@yahoo.com> wrote:
: I park this same way. Sometimes, maybe once every 10 days, the parking
: brake won't release when I pull the handle. Cable getting stretched?
: What's a new cable cost, so the price doesn't shock me when I really need
: it?
Andy,
The winter conditions that we both have to contend with could be a
contributor. It hasn't happened on my current truck yet but on a previous
vehicle, many years ago, after several winters, the parking brake cable
would be so corroded that it wouldn't release. This was an "umbrella handle"
type parking brake and the leverage that I could apply would pull the rusty
cable through the sheath but the return spring wasn't strong enough to
overcome the rust. The result? Parking brakes locked on. I would have to
rock the truck back and forth to get the shoes to release slightly inside
the drum. On one occasion, the truck wouldn't budge and I had to crawl
underneath and take a big pair of side cutters to the cable where it exited
the backing plate. After that, I replaced the cable every two years.
Advantages to a dealer-supplied part are; the length will be correct and the
connectors on the ends will be the right type.
Neil
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