Emergency brake cable replacement

grant schaffer

New member
Sep 5, 2013
94
1
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The bad thing is it is no longer made so some of us are now stuck with the under Engineered Factory system with new cables.
--
1974 GMC Sequoia 26'
 
> The bad thing is it is no longer made so some of us are now stuck with the under Engineered Factory system with new cables.

Husker,

I guess you skipped a groove somewhere back. Al Branscombe has been supplying full cable sets with sheaves at the turns and all Stainless for a very
long time. Unless you have had problems with the stock system? It can be made to work just fine with some attention to details and basic
lubrication.

Matt
--
Matt & Mary Colie - Chaumière -'73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan with OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Near DTW - Twixt A2 and Detroit
 
Why dont you go to appliedrv.com and see all the parts that are available.

On Fri, Feb 26, 2021 at 5:22 PM Matt Colie via Gmclist <

> > The bad thing is it is no longer made so some of us are now stuck with
> the under Engineered Factory system with new cables.
>
> Husker,
>
> I guess you skipped a groove somewhere back. Al Branscombe has been
> supplying full cable sets with sheaves at the turns and all Stainless for a
> very
> long time. Unless you have had problems with the stock system? It can be
> made to work just fine with some attention to details and basic
> lubrication.
>
> Matt
> --
> Matt & Mary Colie - Chaumière -'73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL,
> GMCES
> Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan with OE Rear Drum
> Brakes with Applied Control Arms
> SE Michigan - Near DTW - Twixt A2 and Detroit
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>

--
Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
jimk
http://www.gmcrvparts.com
1-800-752-7502
 
Try appliedgmc.com

> Why dont you go to appliedrv.com and see all the parts that are
> available.
>
> On Fri, Feb 26, 2021 at 5:22 PM Matt Colie via Gmclist <

>

>> > The bad thing is it is no longer made so some of us are now stuck with
>> the under Engineered Factory system with new cables.
>>
>> Husker,
>>
>> I guess you skipped a groove somewhere back. Al Branscombe has been
>> supplying full cable sets with sheaves at the turns and all Stainless for a
>> very
>> long time. Unless you have had problems with the stock system? It can
>> be made to work just fine with some attention to details and basic
>> lubrication.
>>
>> Matt
>> --
>> Matt & Mary Colie - Chaumière -'73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL,
>> GMCES
>> Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan with OE Rear Drum
>> Brakes with Applied Control Arms
>> SE Michigan - Near DTW - Twixt A2 and Detroit
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> GMCnet mailing list
>> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
>> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>>
>
>
> --
> Jim Kanomata
> Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
> jimk
> http://www.gmcrvparts.com
> 1-800-752-7502
>

--
Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
jimk
http://www.gmcrvparts.com
1-800-752-7502
 
As JimK said, once you get it working, you have to use it. I used to run a small repair shop in western MA, and told all my customers to use the
parking brake EVERY time they parked, and release it EVERY time they drove. That way, it "will be there when you need it". Whether that be stopping
in an emergency, or passing state inspection.
IIRC, Massachusetts required the inspector to apply the parking brake, place the car in first gear, and release the clutch. The parking brake was
supposed to then stall the engine. Try that with a diesel Volkswagen! Especially if some fool had set the idle just bit high, some of them would
drag the rear wheels across the floor!
With automatics, I think they applied enough gas to make the car move, then released the gas and the car must stop immediately. If EVERYTHING is
right, our GMCs should have little trouble doing that. Just be sure to adjust the rear brakes first, with parking brake cables slack, THEN adjust the
cables. Replacing the OEM cable guides and "equalizers" (if only they did!) with pulleys should help too. Good luck!

Rick Staples
--
Rick Staples, '75 Eleganza, Johnstown, CO

"Advice is a dangerous gift, even from the Wise to the Wise, and all paths may run ill." -Tolkien
 
I believe Albert Branscombe is no longer making his kit. The Applied website shows what looks like his kit as being currently unavailable. Re: line
lock; A friend acquired a coach with that system and once set, could not release it. Had to briefly bleed a wheel cylinder to release pressure. A few
folks are using linear actuators to set the rear drums; downside is that the cable length has to be re-adjusted as brake shoes wear. I drove an ice
cream truck in the 60s that had the same lever operated e-brake as our GMCs and it worked just fine holding on a grade in Pittsburgh so that I could
go to the back and send milk shakes out of the side window. Shorter truck and just two rear wheels.

It's always seemed strange to me that the OEM system relies on steel cables making turns under tension by sliding over a steel hook. More tension,
more friction.
--
Bill Van Vlack
'76 Royale; Guemes Island, Washington; Twin bed, full (DS) side bath, Brazilian Redwood counter and settee tops,455, 6KW generator; new owner a/o mid
November 2015.
 
I have a pneumatic cylinder beneath the brake pedal (outside) with a tube
extension enclosing the rod and a chain to the brake pedal. A switch
selected tiny air compressor supplies enough pressure to pull the pedal
down with 150 lbf. 6-wheel (10 if towing) parking brakes!

Admittedly not a "legal", independent system but at least f/r redundant.
And MUCH more dependable than a line lock since it compensates for any
hydraulic linkage until both f & r are empty. Its weak point is the
battery -- I figure the 3 sec run every minute will deplete the battery in
maybe a month.

Ken H.

On Sat, Feb 27, 2021, 12:29 PM Bill Van Vlack via Gmclist <

> I believe Albert Branscombe is no longer making his kit. The Applied
> website shows what looks like his kit as being currently unavailable. Re:
> line
> lock; A friend acquired a coach with that system and once set, could not
> release it. Had to briefly bleed a wheel cylinder to release pressure. A few
> folks are using linear actuators to set the rear drums; downside is that
> the cable length has to be re-adjusted as brake shoes wear. I drove an ice
> cream truck in the 60s that had the same lever operated e-brake as our
> GMCs and it worked just fine holding on a grade in Pittsburgh so that I
> could
> go to the back and send milk shakes out of the side window. Shorter truck
> and just two rear wheels.
>
> It's always seemed strange to me that the OEM system relies on steel
> cables making turns under tension by sliding over a steel hook. More
> tension,
> more friction.
> --
> Bill Van Vlack
> '76 Royale; Guemes Island, Washington; Twin bed, full (DS) side bath,
> Brazilian Redwood counter and settee tops,455, 6KW generator; new owner a/o
> mid
> November 2015.
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
 
If, as I've often contemplated, I installed a linear actuator for the
parking brake it's tension would be applied through a "strong enough"
spring to eliminate adjustment worries.

Ken H.

> I have a pneumatic cylinder beneath the brake pedal (outside) with a tube
> extension enclosing the rod and a chain to the brake pedal. A switch
> selected tiny air compressor supplies enough pressure to pull the pedal
> down with 150 lbf. 6-wheel (10 if towing) parking brakes!
>
> Admittedly not a "legal", independent system but at least f/r redundant.
> And MUCH more dependable than a line lock since it compensates for any
> hydraulic linkage until both f & r are empty. Its weak point is the
> battery -- I figure the 3 sec run every minute will deplete the battery in
> maybe a month.
>
> Ken H.
>
> On Sat, Feb 27, 2021, 12:29 PM Bill Van Vlack via Gmclist <

>
>> I believe Albert Branscombe is no longer making his kit. The Applied
>> website shows what looks like his kit as being currently unavailable. Re:
>> line
>> lock; A friend acquired a coach with that system and once set, could not
>> release it. Had to briefly bleed a wheel cylinder to release pressure. A few
>> folks are using linear actuators to set the rear drums; downside is that
>> the cable length has to be re-adjusted as brake shoes wear. I drove an ice
>> cream truck in the 60s that had the same lever operated e-brake as our
>> GMCs and it worked just fine holding on a grade in Pittsburgh so that I
>> could
>> go to the back and send milk shakes out of the side window. Shorter truck
>> and just two rear wheels.
>>
>> It's always seemed strange to me that the OEM system relies on steel
>> cables making turns under tension by sliding over a steel hook. More
>> tension,
>> more friction.
>> --
>> Bill Van Vlack
>> '76 Royale; Guemes Island, Washington; Twin bed, full (DS) side bath,
>> Brazilian Redwood counter and settee tops,455, 6KW generator; new owner a/o
>> mid
>> November 2015.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> GMCnet mailing list
>> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
>> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>>
>
 
Ken,
How big (lb/in) and long would expect a spring need to be to just apply the two rear (not mids) shoes? Nice thing about the linear actuator is that
it doesn't need power to stay applied. The other side of that is that it needs power or crawling under the coach with a wrench to release.
--
Bill Van Vlack
'76 Royale; Guemes Island, Washington; Twin bed, full (DS) side bath, Brazilian Redwood counter and settee tops,455, 6KW generator; new owner a/o mid
November 2015.
 
Bill,

I've never gotten far enough into "consideration" to determine the force
needed on the brake cables to lock the brakes. It would be a simple enough
task with a scale and a way to pull it (even an improvised lever):
disconnect the single line going to the two (where you'd install the linear
actuator) and connect the scale. Pull the scale while someone turns the
wheel with a long lever. When they can no longer turn the wheel, double
(or maybe triple, depending on what the number is) the force and get a
spring that will extend under that force by maybe 1" (figuring 1" to be
more than the range of normal adjustment).

JWID, if I wuz doin' it. :-)

Ken H.

On Sat, Feb 27, 2021 at 3:49 PM Bill Van Vlack via Gmclist <

> Ken,
> How big (lb/in) and long would expect a spring need to be to just apply
> the two rear (not mids) shoes? Nice thing about the linear actuator is that
> it doesn't need power to stay applied. The other side of that is that it
> needs power or crawling under the coach with a wrench to release.
> --
> Bill Van Vlack
> '76 Royale; Guemes Island, Washington; Twin bed, full (DS) side bath,
> Brazilian Redwood counter and settee tops,455, 6KW generator; new owner a/o
> mid
> November 2015.
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>