Recently picked up a '95 F-150 XL with a flatbed, heavy leaf springs, and low mileage. Got a great price on it, knowing it had some kinks to work out(a list that I'm sure y'all will get to hear about sooner or later!).

The intermediate and right rear brake cables were broken off, the equalizer missing, and the left rear froze up beyond help.

Got new cables, and tried the equalizer off my '87 roll-over donor. Way too much slack, and couldn't tighten the threaded rod up enough because the threads were practically rusted off the first inch. Got to looking at another truck of the same vintage as mine, and apparently the newer ones have a one piece equalizer anyway, no threaded adjuster on them. Well, that made my day easier, or so I thought. Went down to my scrap pile, found some steel tubing, drilled holes for the cable ends, and cut slots for the cables to set in. Didn't do much measuring, just eyeballed it from memory, but it has to be damn close.

But no joy. Can't get the rear cables to pull forward enough to mate everything up under there.

Furthermore, I threw the truck out of gear, crawled under there, hooked my homemade part around the back cables and practically hung off the thing while pushing on the rear tire with my foot. I had enough tension on the cables, I could have played a few chords on them, but the brakes weren't locking up. The shoes are wore a bit, but when I had the drums off and worked the brakes, everything moved the way it was supposed to.

Thoughts?

 

Check and be sure that the cable hasn't slipped off the cable guide on the shoe. Also adjust the brakes before you tighten the cable.

 

I'd just put new cables on, they're hooked into place properly.

Even if I keep the old shoes on, I still have to adjust? What exactly do I adjust for them, the same auto-adjuster that the regular brakes use? My Haynes book doesn't seem to cover the parking brakes all that well.

I didn't have to take the brakes apart to put the new cables on, I managed to use pliers and a screwdriver to put the cable in place, as per the suggestion of a buddy of mine.

 

The first problem I see is that your truck has the infamous auto adjuster for the parking brake cable, hence no threaded adjuster at the equalizer. There is a way of getting it to release the cable a few inches at the pedal but I don`t know how. Some guys on here have applied serious force to the cable coming from the pedal and got it to lengthen enough to attach it to the equalizer.
You need to have the cables connected to the pedal to see if the parking brake is good.
If you do an advanced search here you may find the proper way to extend the cable fron the pedal mechanism.
Good luck.

 

Don't suppose I could rip the parking brake pedal assembly out of an older donor, could I?

 

Don`t see why not other than you will probably need the front section of cable from the donor truck. The old threaded adjuster was just so simple, provided it was not rusted.
However try to get the auto adjuster to give you some cable, even if you have use a lever on the cable.

 

Is there any way to disassemble the auto adjuster and reset it? I took a good long hard pull on it and it only gave me about a quarter of an inch or so.

 

You're going to have to start by taking the brakes apart and cleaning everything up good. If you have rust and other crap inside the drum and on all the parts they just aren't going to work very well no matter what you do. Lube up the adjuster (white lithium grease works good) and also where the shoes sit on the backing plate. You will see a couple raised spots on the backing plate where the shoes ride. When you put the adjuster back together, put it about where it was when you took it off. This will at least give you a good starting point. Put the drums and wheels back on and jack up the wheel. Spin the wheel with one hand and use the other hand to move the starwheel up or down, whichever way is easier to turn. This will adjust the shoes outward. When you can hear the shoes lightly rub the drum all the way around, you have adjusted the brakes. Do the same to the other side. Now see how the cables fit together. Once you get it back together all the way, step on the ebrake. You shouldn't be able to push it any more than about halfway down. If it goes too far, use the adjusting mechanism to shorten the throw a little bit. New cables will stretch out and you will probably have to do this again in a few months.

You will also have to keep the brakes adjusted manually. No matter what you do, the factory auto adjusters will never do a good enough job.