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Adjusting parking brake cable?

83K views 20 replies 15 participants last post by  spyder1957 
#1 ·
my parking brake cable is loose and even fully depressed it doesnt hold the vehicle. as far as i can see there is no in line adjuster. is it all done in the rear brake hub or is there an easier way? thanks
 
#3 ·
The adjuster is inside the Drum in Hat rotor. Usually, when the brake will no longer hold, you're also due for brakes all around too.
 
#5 ·
Thats correct...when we work on these types, we find that the park brake shoes are usually expensive also. Last set I replaced for a customer were close to $100.00. Yikes
 
#6 ·
Wow that sounded high :eek:. But I just checked our jobber rates, and for a set of Wagners list is 144 and my cost is 75. But we do have el cheppos available, made by monroe for $35 :rockin
 
#7 ·
is the brake cable seized? does it move the arms? are the adjusters in the rear calipers working?
 
#8 ·
and there is no way to adjust the shoe without taking the rotor off?
 
#9 ·
There is a rubber rectangle plug on backing plates. Remove the plug and you'll need a brake spoon to adjust the e-brakes.
I believe the drivers side you rotate the adjuster wheel up and the passenger side you rotate the adjuster wheel down. (or visa versa)
 
#12 ·
I bought an 02 LB7 a few months ago from a friend and I too have this problem. I am in the process of installing new brake lines, calipers, backing plates, rotors, pads, etc... as I was in the middle of it I noticed the left side parking brake cable was siezed up pretty tight however the right side looks good.

I put on new parking brake shoes and adjusted them as per the GM manual to .026" from the drum. I then tried putting the truck in neutral on a hill and still the brake does not hold. While reading the GM service manual it also has a park brake pedal adjustment. It states to remove adjustment pin and set and release the park brake 3 times for the cable to adjust. I can not find this pin anywhere as it is not shown in the book.

The book also says there is a cable adjustment EQUALIZER with a nut adjustment. I have loooked on both of my chevy pickups and can not find any adjustment on the cable! Why in the manual does it show this if its not there?

Anyways I ended up tightening the drum adjustment nuts even more and still no holding power. Anyone have any ideas?

Also I forgot to mention I have a really loud sound coming from the brakes as if the pads/drums are rubbing. Sounds like your going down hill on a bike while feathering the brakes. This noise is loud and the rotors were getting warm after only driving 100 yards and not a lot of braking.

Any help would be greatley appreciated. I'm wondering if I have ot replace all peices of the cable instead of just that one rusty one like I did. Perhaps the other links have too much stretch in them...
 
#13 ·
Update on my last post regarding the noise coming from rear brakes.... Friend came over and helped me diagnose it. Turns out the new backing plate (made in china) POS was bent slightly and the inner lip of the backing plate was rubbing against the inner drum on the rotor. Dont know why they make these things to flimsy. As far as the parking brake equalizer goes I spoke with a GM mechanic who says there is no adjustment on the cable they basicly tighten down the shoe adjustment until the rotor is tough to get on then they back off a little bit. I'll work on this tomorrow...
 
#14 ·
if the shoes are adjusted and the e-brake still doesnt hold you will need to install all new cables there isnt a adjustment the cables stretch and then need to be replaced just did shoes on one at work and it made no difference...need new cables
 
#16 ·
i went getto and cut my lines and installed a turnbuckle so i can tighten it as it stretches. just used the bolt on steel cable clamps from home cheapo and they work great again.
 
#20 ·
The automatic pedal actuator is probably weak. The way to resolve and bypass automatic actuator is on the actuator itself just to left of pedal arm is a small piece of metal that when the pedal is released it hits the position on the stop and resets pedal tension. Cut this tang off eliminating the auto feature. Push pedal all the way to floor and on the side of the trucl under drivers tail is the cable for parking brake. Hold the cable from moving and pull brake release. You now have full use of pedal arm and your parking brake works. This ONLY for defective actuators. This prevents having to replace it and gets brake working 100%.
 
#21 ·
I have had 2 of these trucks in the last 18 years. I love them but the parking brake always fails WAY! before the pads. The gm design of the p brake is atrocious. The foot lever barely moves the p brake shoes. I checked it when I had my 04 GMC 4WD Daully rear hubs off trying to fix the p brake.
Please, some one tell me I'm wrong and that there is a fix. I would love to be wrong on this. Hooking up trailers is a pain because the p brake is needed.
 
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