EMERGENCY BRAKES

[jfp3205]

Hey everyone,

The emergency brake pedal would not engage on my truck so i just left it alone. Not to long ago, i had to have the brake shop disconnect the cables going from the rear brakes since somehow the brakes had been applied (at another shop i think) and never released so they burned off the pads.
I needed the e brake the other day and realise I need to fix them. Can anyone tell me how hard it is to replace the parking brake assembly and where I can get it from? What about the cables? Money is an issue like always but not sure how hard to pull from junk yard or what shape it would be in
Thanks

 

[BrandonMag]

My recommendation would be to buy new brake cables from NAPA or Rock Auto.

The installation is not terribly difficult, but I would get a Chilton's or Haynes to help you through the process. For a job such as this, it will pay for itself the first time you use it.

 

[franklin2]

I think it's a fairly big aggravation. I have tried and tried to replace the rear cables without tearing the brakes all apart, and I can't seem tofigure out how to do it. So I end up pulling all the brake shoes and hardware off, and then replace the cable. The cable has those little fingers that spread out after it goes through the hole, and they can be a pain to deal with also. Someone suggested a boxed in wrench that just slides over the end of the cable, and then driven onward compresses the fingers. It works sometimes.

For the spreader bar in the middle, I usually end up making something up with threaded rod and calbe clamps for that part. I have never had to replace or repair the front part under the dash though. It has two bolts that go through the firewall, and they look like they would be fun to get to.

 

[kpj]

If you have to replace the front cable also from the pedal, then i would suggest to only use Motorcraft cable. For the rear cables aftermarket ones work also, but not as long time as the original, they are made cheaper way than the original. IMO for front the Motorcraft is the only one you should look. Below there's few pics what happened to aftermarket front cables. First when i installed them i thought that i've made some mistake, because after only few times of using the parking brake i noticed that cables starts to stick and drums got quite hot also. So for a while i didn't use my parking brake, cause didn't have time to look into them. Then when i started to look for a reason why cables stick i noticed that the plastic wrap moves on the cable and after that it starts to stick. First one i used was made by Raybestos, so i thought it must have been an error during manufacturing process and i bought a cable made by AC Delco. Well it lasted about 5 times till it started to stick too and with the same reason as Raybestos one also. After both those times i installed the original cable that had been on the truck for almost 20 years and that worked. So for the third cable i finally bought one Motorcraft cable. And when i opened the case, there was one big difference to those aftermarket ones, cable was lubricated with some kind of grease. So i installed that one and no troubles since, if i remember right the price was about $80 for all three cables from Tousley Ford Parts.

And pics,

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