1. Welcome to Tacoma World!

    You are currently viewing as a guest! To get full-access, you need to register for a FREE account.

    As a registered member, you’ll be able to:
    • Participate in all Tacoma discussion topics
    • Communicate privately with other Tacoma owners from around the world
    • Post your own photos in our Members Gallery
    • Access all special features of the site

E-Brake Bell Cranks Replaced - Now a Question About Cables

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by vagabondmatt, Oct 25, 2016.

  1. Oct 25, 2016 at 9:00 AM
    #1
    vagabondmatt

    vagabondmatt [OP] Member

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2016
    Member:
    #183420
    Messages:
    16
    Gender:
    Male
    Greensboro, North Carolina
    Vehicle:
    2001 Red Tacoma 4WD TRD Double Cab
    I had some seriously siezed up and corroded e-brake bell cranks on my 2001 TRD that I bought earlier this month. E-brake light was on all the time, and the e-brake didn't work at all. Also, my brakes felt pretty mushy in general, even tho the P.O. just redid all the brakes before I bought it. Dealer wanted $598 to replace them...I did it for $35 and a few hours of my time. Here's the crusty ass bell cranks after I removed them...

    ebrake01.jpg ebrake02.jpg

    Truck was originally from Connecticut, and you can see the road salt deposits all up in those muthas. I replaced the whole assembly on each side with a complete set of new Dormans....this is what I bought:

    https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-924-751-Parking-Brake-Crank/dp/B00C89QV18

    They went on fine and were an exact replacement. Issue now is that I think the front and possibly the rear e-brake cables are stretched too much and probably need to be replaced. Right now I have some of the slack in the front cable taken up by pulling the cable to the side and tethering it to the frame. I was only able to adjust the front e-brake cable lever under the driver seat area so far before the nuts stopped moving, and the cable was too sloppy for what that adjuster was able to take up anyway. For now it all works....the e-brake holds after about 15 clicks, the the light goes on and off as it should, and even my brakes don't feel mushy anymore. But I know I need to replace one or both cables at some point. Anyone have any pointers for how to replace those two cables?
     
  2. Oct 25, 2016 at 10:50 AM
    #2
    Wyoming09

    Wyoming09 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2015
    Member:
    #153833
    Messages:
    14,277
    Gender:
    Male
    New Tripoli Pa
    Vehicle:
    2000 Work truck 5 speed 4x4 3.4
    Super Springs
    The front cable attach the front end first

    I tie the new cable to the old cable trying to get the old cable off just causes snapped hardware

    Search some threads about changing the cables

    Also check the the pivot point for the rear cable is moving free

    You did try cleaning the adjusting threads off ??
     
  3. Oct 25, 2016 at 10:56 AM
    #3
    SOMDTACO

    SOMDTACO Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2012
    Member:
    #73195
    Messages:
    207
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Sean
    Southern Maryland
    Vehicle:
    96 Extended Cab 4x4 2.7 MT
    New Taco: 96 DLX Extended Cab 4x4 2.7,MT, Bilstein 5100s at 2.5 and HS 3 Leaf AAL Old Taco: 11 Prerunner Maxtrac Spindles in the front, 2'' AAL with Bilstein 5100 extended in the back. 18'' Milanni Stellars wrapped in 265/70/18 General Grabber tires.
    I had a similar problem on my truck after purchasing it. Replaced the bell cranks like you did and rebuilt the drum brakes only to find my rear cable was barbed up and would not retract into the sleeve. I tried filing it down and lubing it up but had no luck. Eventually replaced it with a Raybestos BC95162 Rear Brake Cable (I have a 96 4x4 ext cab). The new cable was the fix for me.
     
  4. Oct 25, 2016 at 12:16 PM
    #4
    Wyoming09

    Wyoming09 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2015
    Member:
    #153833
    Messages:
    14,277
    Gender:
    Male
    New Tripoli Pa
    Vehicle:
    2000 Work truck 5 speed 4x4 3.4
    Super Springs
    I have never had good luck with After market cables I have quite a few that did not fit

    Since they were attempted to be installed they still hang here some place

    As Long as the factory cables can still be bought that is what i will use.
     
    vagabondmatt[OP] likes this.
  5. Oct 25, 2016 at 12:26 PM
    #5
    vagabondmatt

    vagabondmatt [OP] Member

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2016
    Member:
    #183420
    Messages:
    16
    Gender:
    Male
    Greensboro, North Carolina
    Vehicle:
    2001 Red Tacoma 4WD TRD Double Cab
    Yep, sure did...wire brushed them, and did several soakings with rust penetration for removing stuck hardware.
     
  6. Oct 25, 2016 at 12:52 PM
    #6
    Xbeaus

    Xbeaus Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2015
    Member:
    #166775
    Messages:
    1,486
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Beau
    Black hills South dakota
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma 3.4 5 speed SR5 limited TRD 4x4
    Toytec coilovers. Height adjustable Bilstein's. 265/75/16 MT. TRD wheels. Rebuilt r150f. Marlin clutch kit. All kinds of new parts...
    on my 98 extended cab I had to get the dealer rear e=brake line. AFtermarket crap didn't fit at all even though it said it would. My cable was stuck in the housing. It was easy to replace. I covered my bell cranks in some lithium grease and they work pretty nice after that. Nice having an ebrake on a 5 speed pickup. That's for sure.
     
    Arctic Taco and vagabondmatt[OP] like this.

Products Discussed in

To Top