Parking brake problem

[Healeyboy81]

2000 Sport. My parking brake barely holds. I checked the cable, and the middle cable loos funny like it has slack, it looks bent. I ordered one (Dorman C95383) and it's too long. It's 28" but is supposed to be 27". Either way, the old cable 26" in its current form, so I'm really at a loss here. I did check the shoes after that and they are good, I adjusted them and did notice a minor improvement. Does anyone have any Ideas??

 

[drdoom]

Have you checked the actuating arms? They commonly rust and seize up...

 

[96eb96]

Do all the cables move freely in their sheaths? You may have to unhook things. To remove cables you have to pull down on the center cable to create slack, and put a pin or drill bit into the ratcheting mechanism on the pedal assembly. Aftermarket cables are total garbage. They fail in different ways.

 

[Healeyboy81]

Yes The cables move freely in theie sheeths and the actuaing arms move as well.

I went to the junk yard yesterday and the new cable matches in lenth to the truck in the junk yard so this cable has been replaced before. My uncle was the original owner but when I asked him if he had it worked on he didn't remember...

Anyway, when removing the cables, the crimps were so tough I had to snip the cables so nowwill have to replace the entire left side. I found another brand of intermideate cable that comes with the crimps to make the job a little easier, will only have to do two crimps to connect but what but what the heck kind of tool do I use?? I looked at tools online and can't figure what to do. Any help appreciated!

 

[96eb96]

To remove the crimps? They are difficult. I spray them down with silicone or whatever, then I use locking pliers (one on the cable and one on the clip) and a small sledge. Even works with the corrosion here.

The cable swaged ends slide into the clips. Once you have slack you may have to pull it a bit with a locking plier (or regular plier if you are strong!)