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1961 - 1966 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Slick Sixties Ford Truck

E brake cable

Old Mar 5, 2019 | 08:07 PM
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E brake cable

I suddenly find that my emergency brake is no longer working. When I crawled under the truck, I found that I have about 2 1/2" of play in the cable that runs from the cab to under the bed. I'm stumped. I'm trying to think of what might have fallen out or off. I did an axle swap about 6 months ago, but I swapped the cables to the wheels at that time. ????
john
 
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Old Mar 6, 2019 | 03:28 AM
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Have you checked under the truck at the cab/bed intersection to see if the linkage is still there. There should be a pivoting bar that attaches the rear cables to the front. Its too dark for me to take a picture right now. Maybe the pin holding the lever fell out?
 
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Old Mar 6, 2019 | 03:45 AM
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Originally Posted by john jamieson
I suddenly find that my emergency brake is no longer working. When I crawled under the truck, I found that I have about 2 1/2" of play in the cable that runs from the cab to under the bed. I'm stumped. I'm trying to think of what might have fallen out or off. I did an axle swap about 6 months ago, but I swapped the cables to the wheels at that time. ????
john



 
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Old Mar 6, 2019 | 06:38 PM
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Thanks for the replies. Here is a pic of what it now looks like. I'll be able to dive into it more this weekend. It is moved when the handle inside the cab is operated.
 
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Old Mar 6, 2019 | 11:02 PM
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I have a '66 F100 LWB truck and live in Tucson. If you'd like to come over and see how my e-brake is configured you'd be welcome to. Send me your e-mail address or phone number and we can set it up.
 
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Old Mar 7, 2019 | 07:09 AM
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Thanks for the offer SuperSabre, I realized when I did the damage while I was taking a shower. Last weekend I replaced the front spring shackle bushings on both sides. I did them one at a time, putting one side up on stands and then working on replacing the front bushing. When I would lower the wheel I was working on, it must have stretched things out. Now I need to check the damage.
 
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Old Mar 7, 2019 | 08:15 PM
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Update. I started checking things this afternoon, The e-brake cables are not releasing at the wheels. I'm not sure yet if the springs on the end of the cables are now overly compressed or if they are hanging up inside the brake assembly. When I get the cables to release, all the slack goes away.
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Old Mar 8, 2019 | 11:35 PM
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Hey John,
You have two trucks listed on your profile; I am assuming u are speaking of the 66. If the cables are sticking within the housings, then both the rear assemblies can be sourced from NAPA - When I revamped a 66 F100 2WD e-brake system about 5 years ago each rear cable was about $20. The front cable from hand control to junction point is a bit more difficult to find. When I did the other truck and the rear cable assemblies were a bit sticky; I had months b/c was a slow rebuild so left them in a pan of old engine oil for several months which freed them up. You said in a post below that you had replaced leaf spring bushings and thought you may have stretched the cables; did you replace leaf springs at the same time? When I replaced leaf springs on one truck it actually lifted the ride height in the rear two inches - maybe you just need to adjust the threaded rod that mates the front cable to the spreader that connects the two rear cables and adjust the shoe to drum clearance on the rear brakes. Just a few thoughts; good luck and hope you solve the issue soon.
 
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Old Mar 9, 2019 | 08:53 AM
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Thanks for the reply. I added short helper springs to the back to level things out after replacing the bushings. I'm going to pull the cables off this morning and check for replacements.
john
 
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