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So I got home from my first boat ride/fishing trip of the season and got in Bridget to take her ’round the block before beginning the pre-Carlisle spruce-up. Pulled the e-brake handle up to release it and it stuck. A little jiggle put it down, but when I got home and went to set it again while opening the garage door, there was no tension–and no e-brake.
Pulled the boot off and found one of my cable-shorteners had let go. OK, no biggie. Got out the allen wrench and cinched ‘er up again…
No go.
Come to find out the set screw won’t bottom in the hole. Weird. So I chase the threads with a tap. Still not good. So I chase the threads on the set screw with a die. Damned if it isn’t still no good.
OK, so on to plan B. I get out a short bit of cable and some handy dandy cable clamps. Figure I’ll just loop them over the stick and it’ll be good.
So does anyone else not have a 9/32-inch open wrench? The socket works–as long as the nuts on those clamps are widely separated. When they’re in close together, like they have to be for the clamp to clamp anything? Then, not so much.
So after three times setting these buggers with needle-nose pliers and finding them too loose, three times loosening those tiny nuts and tightening the cables (used vice grips last time, took a lot of preload), I still got no e-brake.
My hands cramped up so I finally relented after 7:30. Gonna try a twist in the cable next. After that, I got nothing.
I swear this was working good yesterday….:x
edsnova 2012-05-13 21:29:28 Doncha hate it when what you knew was going to be a quickie to fix turns out to be a longie? Ed, if you can’t manually (with vise grips using the brake handle cable attachment stickie up thing as a fulcrum) supply enough tension to apply the brake, sounds like something let go inside the rear drum. eh?
HAR! Got me some wheel chocks already. I’ll be bringin’ ’em if I can’t settle this matter by Friday a.m.
Still would rather have the stick-stopper. Employing those chocks will be very inconvenient in the event of a hydraulic brake failure.
UPDATE: twist seems to have done it. Heading to the Despot for another set of 1/8-inch cable clamps to double ’em up.
edsnova2012-05-14 17:44:24
I actually did fix a vw cable with super glue once. It held the 3 years I drove it. The cable broke rite at the set screw and was too short to reattach, guled a 3″ piece to it and cinched it up.. I was young and needed it fixed quickly. I think I still have the new cable in the bottom of my tool box. Never did get around to replacing it. Anyone need a cable for a ’69 dub.
OK, we’re back. Put a twist in the cable again, like it had been before, set them up and it gave me e-brake. Got a second set of 1/8 cable clamps and slid them on there for good measure, then glopped some heavy duty sealant on all the nuts to discourage them from backing off. I’ll put the boot back on it tomorrow and you’ll never know it’s been modded. Hopefully those cables last a while.
Yeah, I think I bought another set of those too, so if they don’t it’s just work.
Speaking of cable clamps, my clutch cable was shortened for TD use by looping it and clamping it together. You take the floor out of the well behind the seat and there it is, right on top. I guess it’s been holding like that for 30 years or so.
…oh crap, I hope I didn’t just jinx meself.
edsnova2012-05-14 21:58:29
🙂
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