Parking brake cable removal

[R.O.B.]

I need to remove some serious slack in my cable, yes plans are to buy a new one, but how do I remove the cable from the cable holder? The rod connecting to the frame on the passenger side.

[RustyPile]

Originally Posted by R.O.B.

I need to remove some serious slack in my cable, yes plans are to buy a new one, but how do I remove the cable from the cable holder? The rod connecting to the frame on the passenger side.

"Cable holder"??? "Rod connecting to the frame"??? There are means for adjusting the slack in the rear cable. Worn out drums and overly thin brake shoes affect the cable adjustment. Post some pictures of what you're talking about so we can better help you..

[Jason Banks]

Is this what you are talking about in this thread:
https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...ht=brake+cable


Edit: Now I read you say passenger side. Are you talking about the U shaped cable that connects to both sides and is pulled by the cable coming from the dash? You basically just thread it back through to get it of he bracket on the rod.

[kev2809]

you have to back off the driver side main cable from your cab, under the truck. there are 2 jam nuts on that rod, if you tighten/loosen them, it will adjust the slack in the cable. unless the brake shoes are too far gone.

the passenger side rod is held up by the cable. you would have to disconnect the cable from either side of the rear brake cable, and fish it back out. then the rod can slide down out of the small bracket and come loose. but that rod is not adjustable, if your looking to cut out the slack, you need to adjust the jam nuts on the driver side

[kev2809]

#15 is the adjustable nuts

[R.O.B.]

Originally Posted by kev2809

the passenger side rod is held up by the cable. you would have to disconnect the cable from either side of the rear brake cable, and fish it back out. then the rod can slide down out of the small bracket and come loose. but that rod is not adjustable, if your looking to cut out the slack, you need to adjust the jam nuts on the driver side

That's what I needed to know, must slide the cable out.

I need to replace my cable because I've got new shoes on and the adjuster is maxed out and I've still got so much slack that when I pull the lever, the cable just tightens up, not enough to actually move the lever in the brake assembly.

[Accelo]

Hum, the cables don't really stretch as they typically fray and break.
I suspect you have something else going on but anything is possible.
The cables going to the back of the rear breaks are typically the biggest culprits.
If they have internal issues you will not be able to identify it.
After some hard lessons every time I do a brake job I confirm the cable is loose and works correctly while it is disconnected. The early trucks even had grease fittings on the cables! As a work around, the looseness issue, you could use a piece of 1/4" or 3/8" pipe on the threaded portion of the front cable. It would act as a spacer and give you more adjustment. They also sell aftermarket cable shorteners that would do the same thing. One from Napa is pictured below:
Cheers.

[dmjlambert]

I'm kind of wondering if something is wrong about how the brakes went together or in the cable routing. There are a lot of adjustment threads on that rod under the cab on the driver side. Do you have the cable going through these guides? There are 2 of these guides, one on each side of the truck. If you don't put the cables through these guides there will be a lot of slack.

[kwmech]

When you put the brake shoes on.........did you adjust them all the way first?

[R.O.B.]

Good advice guys. I did the shoes correctly, and now I'll pull on each cable to make sure it's not the ends.

I should point out that at one time, when I first got the truck, one brake drum was missing a big chunk (HOW!). And when I pulled the E-brake because the master was also shot, well I pulled it good to stop and wham! I completely shredded and twisted around everything in the brakes on the drivers side. Hence new brakes now.

The adjuster was already maxed out before, but the big wham might have snapped a guide hook or something. I'll really inspect it good after I run some errands.

Thanks guys

[R.O.B.]

Turns out it was the cables going into the drums. The drivers side would barely move back and forth, and the passenger side was maxed out like it was pulled and wouldn't go back. No wonder I had so much slack. New cables on order.

[Extended Power]

Originally Posted by kev2809

#15 is the adjustable nuts

#8 rod in this picture....how do I remove the cable, and/or the rod without cutting one end off the rod?
It’s the passenger side rod. It doesn’t appear to have a removable nut on either end, and the cable is not going to come through the shoe, so I can pull the rod out...and if it did, I still have to cut one end off to remove it from the frame.

[kev2809]

same problem I had. I ended up cutting it since I had a new one. my original was so pinched I couldn't get it out. I would imagine if you wanted to maybe could spread the bracket open enough with some pliers and a flat head screwdriver? I didn't bother much with it