emergency brake cable replacement

delux68 · Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 4:28 pm Post subject: emergency brake cable replacement

hi everyone i have a 68 bus and am in the process of replacing the e brake cables i have disconnected the cables from the handle and pulled them back towards the rear of the bus both have gotten stuck at the end of the tube near the rear suspension. there is a collar on the end of the tube that fits arount the tube and is about 3/4 in long. does that collar come off? how do it get the old cables out?
thanks in advance
jamey

Ry-dog · Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 6:39 pm Post subject:

Yes. I did this procedure with Colin on my 70 Westy last fall. I think the collar you are talking about runs the last bit from the back of the brake drum to the nearby bracket. Rear brake drum must be removed to unhook from the rear first - maybe you already did this.

We undid the cables from the front; Removed rear wheels and drums; Unhooked existing parking brake cables and pulled old cables from the rear. Problem we encountered was that the long tubes down the center were filled with crud since the rubber seals were gone. We sprayed lots of PB Blaster and worked the cable back and forth until it came out. You pretty much need two people if the cable is really stuck. One went pretty good, the other took a while. Important to clean that tube out since you have to go back in with the new cables. Added lots and lots of grease in with the new cables so they slid through the tubes well. Added thick plug of grease to cover the hole to prevent more crud from getting in (I didn't have the new rubber seals to replace when we did the job). Hooked them up and did adjustment with tires on, bus jacked up - after adjusting shoes first. Good luck.
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'14 Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel

Schmooey · Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 6:40 pm Post subject:

I recently did this on my 71. The collar is part of the cable housing and is quite sturdy. A small section of it slides inside the metal tubing on the frame. Try soaking it with penetrating oil and twist it with visegrips or channelocks while tugging on the black cable housing the protrudes from it. It should pop right out. I wouldn't use a propane torch that close to the tank. Be sure to grease the new parts.

delux68 · Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 9:49 pm Post subject:

http://thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=108468
I might just cut the tube and use a piece of rubber hose to connect the cut of piece to the main tube. here is a pic of the collar in question and the new cable. copy and paste or go the the gallery
thanks janey

Schmooey · Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 9:24 am Post subject:

Can see the thumbnail, but not the full sized pic.

jeb1978 · Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 4:08 pm Post subject:

I have the same issue right now (I think, but the thumnails are too small to see).

This is the driver's side rear brake backing plate from my '69 Westy. I had to cut the parking brake cable just to the left of the tube sticking out in order to get the backing plate off the axle, and now I can't get the leftovers of the cable out (the tube in the red circle).

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

I haven't figured out how to remove the leftover tube. It seems to be permanently rusted to the collar in the backing plate. I've been able to turn the tube with a pair of vice grips, but both pieces turn at the same time. I was able to remove this same piece from my passenger side backing plate, but it pulled out the collar at the same time.

This is the good side (replacement part for the passenger side) showing how the cable fits into the backing plate. The red line is where I cut the cable at.

Any other hints?

Schmooey · Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 5:03 pm Post subject:

I'd try drilling it with successively larger bits until there's very little metal remaining. Tedious, but would protect the backing plate.

delux68 · Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 5:05 pm Post subject:

i dont know why the pic is not showing up, the place where i am having the problem is the end of the tube that runs along the underside of the bus
a piece was stuck in my backing plate also and i used a screwdriver and a hammer to get it out

jeb1978 · Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2005 7:56 pm Post subject:

Well, I had the same problem on my '69 Westy with the emergency brake cable being stuck in the tube. I ended up heating it with a propane torch, and it gave way pretty quickly after that with a good tug.

What the collar and other associated emergency brake cable fittings looked like confused me until I got the new parts. The red end is what fits into the tube on the chassis; the blue end fits into the tube on the brake backing plate. Both of my old cables were so rusty I couldn't figure out how it was supposed to work. And they were both rusted on so badly I was convinced that they were both threaded or bolted on somewhere.

Two other questions on emergency brake cables...

First question: My replacement cables had this collar (circled in red) about 18" from the threaded end of the cable. It is clamped directly to the cable and cannot be moved or removed. The old ones didn't have this. It caused me some grief since the tube on the chassis had a bend/divot (circled in yellow) that wouldn't let the collar past. I was able to straighten the tube with a large phillips screwdriver, but I still don't know the function of this part. It looks to be a very close fit to the ID of the chassis tube, and it did a good job of cleaning all the old grease and gunk out when pushing it through. Is this a feature of the replacement parts (I used 211-609-701P)?

Second question: Where do you get the seals for the end of the chassis tube near the front? The ones that were on my bus were gone except for a few pieces rusted to the tube. I don't recall ever seeing them in any catalog or website I've looked at.

Schmooey · Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 9:47 am Post subject:

That swaged-on collar is meant to fit into a 6" bracket that connects the two cables between the brake lever and the chassis tubes. It holds the two cables parallel to the center line of the bus and just floats there as a link between the two cables. From there the cables branch out to the chassis tubes.You may find your cables are a bit long without this part.
I bought a pair of cables with the same 701P part number, and one did not have the fitting while the other did. I ended up re-using my best old one until I can get time to find a new one.

Apparently some buses don't have the little bracket at all.

Amskeptic · Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 9:58 am Post subject:

BumbleBus · Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 1:30 pm Post subject:

Dealing with the exact same issues as in this thread so revived it. Hope that's okay. Drivers side sheath that I can't get out like above (will see if I can scrounge up a propane torch Shocked

)...

Passenger side is free and clear now (sorry for blurriness)...

Re-installed to the hand brake lever...

BUT... and I'm the first to admit I'm not the brightest bulb in the shed... but there is no way the threaded end is going to fit through the inner diameter of this tube (which is free and clear of all gunk by the looks of it). Since neither end of my replacement cables seems to screw on or off the cable itself to make one end "thin" WTF am I missing here? There is nothing in the Bentley/Muir/online about this so I can only conclude I'm an idiot and missing something dead simple here. Laughing

busdaddy · Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 2:41 pm Post subject:

You still haven't gotten all of the old cable flex ends out of the tube, have a look at the front of the tube, the rear end and the hole in the backing plate should look the same.
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BumbleBus · Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 4:28 pm Post subject:


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