1970 - Ebrake Catch 22
hi all - my right ebrake cable is frozen in the rear Cable Assembly (UPC5C2 - 2) - unfortunately, it is stuck with the rear ebrake engaged - I have disconnected the equalizer plate and spring (UPC5C1 - 6, -5) so there is slack on that side of the rear cable assembly - but pull as i might on the cable (without wanting to put a bend in it), nothing come through on the caliper side of the cable assembly - in order to get the ball end of the cable, I need the ebrake not only fully disengaged, but additional slack - I have neither - to get the cable assembly out of the cable guide, which would provide the necessary slack to disconnect the ebrake, i need the ball out of the ebrake - CATCH 22 - in thinking about a way out, would pulling the rotor allow additional access to the ebrak and allow me to disconnect it without the necessary slack? - how do you remove the rotor, once you have unbolted it on the inboard side (bolt revealed once you pull the half shaft out)? - can this even be done with ebrake engaged? - as for unfreezing the cable, I have sprayed a bunch of Kroil down the cable assembly - not too much penetrates, most just spills out - any thoughts welcomed - thanks! sl
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Re: 1970 - Ebrake Catch 22
Remove the mouse ear clips at the frame and the control arm (UPC5, C2, Item 3) and feed the entire cable assembly toward the spindle housing. If you still don't have enough slack to "unhook" the ball, loosen or remove the equalizer (UPC5, C1, Item 6). -
Re: 1970 - Ebrake Catch 22
thx chuck - i had already disconnected the equalizer and removed the inboard cable hanger by removing the bracket (UPC5C2 - 4) - so full slack on teh inboard side of the cable assembly (UPC5C2 - 2) - in order to remove the cable from the other hanger (the one where the mouse clip UPC5C2 - 3 is illustrated), the ball has to be out, as the cable assembly slides inboard to come out of the hanger - and, of course, to free the ball when the cable is frozen, you need to get the cable off of that hanger, which is the catch 22 - the only options i can think of are to either free up the seized cable (all suggestions welcomed) or to remove the rotor and somehow disengage the ebrake there - thoughts? - thanks!! slComment
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Re: 1970 - Ebrake Catch 22
The mouse ear clips slip into a groove on the housing assembly. I think what you're trying to tell me is removal of the mouse ear clip won't help you on the control arm end because the housing assembly is flanged, and tension is holding it against the bracket. My bad.
I would try to recover the cable if possible, but it's possible you'll never be able to restore the cable to even a functional condition. The last resort, brute force method is to simply cut it, and don't look back. If the boots are still in whole condition (not likely), repros to my knowledge are obviously incorrect unless the repros have improved over the years.
I believe that housing is simply a wrapped steel tubular armour; try wrapping the short cable housing in rags, soak them with Kroil, then go do something else for about three days. Check it every now and then, and keep the rags wet with Kroil. Maybe the Kroil will soak through the armour tube and loosen the cable. You'll want to put a drip pan or raised lip cookie sheet down under to minimize the mess.
Now you know why your rear wheel wouldn't turn.
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Re: 1970 - Ebrake Catch 22
exactly...what you said! The mouse ear clips slip into a groove on the housing assembly. I think what you're trying to tell me is removal of the mouse ear clip won't help you on the control arm end because the housing assembly is flanged, and tension is holding it against the bracket. My bad.
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indeed!Now you know why your rear wheel wouldn't turn.
in terms of cutting and not looking back - are these items repro'd - or do i need to find them NOS or at a swap meet? - thanks!
p.s. is there any reason to keep the brake pads?
p.p.s. one other thought on fixing this that occurs, is to rehook the whole ebrake up, and then go in and crank up on the ebrake handle at the console...either that or use a crow bar at the rotor - these are the only 2 ways i can think of to put straight line pressure on the seized section.
p.p.p.s. is taking off the rotor a possibility - if yes, then i can put the whole cable once off in a bucket of penetrant and per some archive threads i came across, that has been known to unfreeze them...Comment
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Re: 1970 - Ebrake Catch 22
You KNOW what we told you...don't ever throw anything away; the corollary is...don't destroy any part you can restore and reuse.
I think I bought the last NOS specimen from an obscure collector on epay about ten years ago! It's an interesting story...buy me a beer at the Waco regional and I'll tell you the story...You ARE coming aren't you?!
The cable is available as reproductions; like I say, the boots were always obviously wrong before, and that's why I was desparately looking on epay. Order one and compare it against your original...send it back if it ain't right. Of course Brown's high shipping rates may discourage comparison shopping now.
Maybe someone else knows the best repro. Try the Kroil soak trick first...maybe it'll work for you.
Edits:
Brake pads...your call. If they have a majority of the original thickness, there is no reason not to reuse them. But...if you can find new Delco pads, it would tempt me to go new with everything else. You will have a little time to think about it...you aren't going to need them soon, but NOS parts are dwindling away. If you mean parking brake shoes, they will be replaced when the control arms are rebuilt. Since all of the hardware is hidden, stainless steel is probably the way to go, but confirm the protruding cable arm is not stainless.
If your ebrake handle is in good condition, I would not use it as a lever to break free a frozen cable. You would find soon enough that a pristine ebrake handle is hard to come by. I think they are being reproduced, but I have no information on how the reproductions judge. A crowbar positioned in a smart way might help the process.
The rotors, if unmolested, are riveted...I would discourage removal. Bair's would probably rerivet the rotors when the control arms are rebuilt.Comment
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Re: 1970 - Ebrake Catch 22
Stephen-----
If you've got that much trouble getting the e-brake cable to slacken up, I think you'll find that you've likely got massive corrosion in the e-brake assembly. So, whether you get the cable off intact, or not, you're very likely going to need to get into the e-brake assembly for rebuild/repairs.
To do this, you have to either:
1) Remove the rotor from the spindle, drilling out the rivets if they're still there, or;
2) Remove the rotor and spindle assembly from the trailing arm/bearing support.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: 1970 - Ebrake Catch 22
Joe/All - looking at this picture
am I correct that the various holes are where the studs would have been and that they have, in fact, been drilled out? - if yes, to remove, do i simply remove the castle nut on the opposite side (underneath where the half shaft bolts up) and then...what?...pry off?...use a puller of some sort? - thanks! slComment
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Re: 1970 - Ebrake Catch 22
The holes are the remains of where the rivets were. THe e-brake shoes are probably holding the rotor from coming off. Additionally, The center axle stub is a close fit and typically will seize to the rotor (3") center hole due to corrosion... so you need to overcome both of these obstacles to remove the rotor and expose the e-brake shoes.
A potential way to free the cable housing from the cable would be to heat it with a torch, pulling on the ball end of the cable. Make sure the center pullpoint is disconnected so that you have slack on the other side of the corroded area. This would be a last resort... if you try this, make sure you haven't soaked the cable in flammable liquid!!!!! If it still won't break loose cut the cable with the torch.Comment
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Re: 1970 - Ebrake Catch 22
Stephen - thanks - just so i understand...on the back side of the rotor (the inboard side facing toward the center of the car), there is a castle nut on a bolt/stud that looks like it is coming out of the center of the rotor...here is a picture:
do i need to remove this to get the rotor (or should i now say "rotor center?") off?
also, it is just the center portion that is coming off? - assume the rivets were holding it onto the section of the rotor that the calipers hug?
- and, of course, the next question is assuming i unsieze the rotor center hole from the center axle stub, how do i get the thing off? - this of course changes if i am just trying to get the "inner ring" (that housed the rivets and holes for the wheel studs - in this picture - http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h2...t=P1000353.jpg - the portion that appears a glossier black compared to the duller black outer ring ) or the whole thing off! I guess one thought that occurs is to try to get a hook of some sort (brake spring?) into the rivet holes? or a slim pry bar with an angled head? if i am trying to just get out the inner ring - if the whole thing, there are more spots to get a finger hold on...
thanks in advance for any and all assistance! sl
p.s. - assuming some of the Kroil has penetrated (or will after following Chuck's soaked rag suggestion), does anyone like the idea of reassembling the whole ebrake, and then cranking up on the ebrake handle in the center console? - i figure that would give more pull on the cable than using a pair of pliers on the ball end...but what do i know?!
p.p.s - what had the rivets fastened together? - and why are they drilled out - that is, obviously to unfasten the 2 things...and maybe when i know what the other piece is it will be clear, but if not, why did these 2 things need to come apart where the factory permanently fastened them? - does this pose an integrity issue (as in unsafe) for the rotor?Comment
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Re: 1970 - Ebrake Catch 22
Look in the vendors parts books for a breakdown of these various items. The breakdown may also be in your service manual.
The rotor was attached to a flange which is the end of the stub axle shaft. The rivets held these pieces together during assy. The lugnuts/studs keep these items secured.
You do NOT need to remove the castle nut on the differential side of the trailing arm to get the rotor off.
DO NOT attempt to pull the cable using the e-brake handle. You may destroy a good handle AND you are pulling against the brake shoes which (you indicated) are already tight; rather loosen the center adjusting point to get slack in the wheel to wheel cable.
If you can get the cable to move rearward by pulling on the ball end, THEN use the handle and ball to work the cable back and forth to loosen it. You need to start by getting some movement rearward to loosen the brake shoes inside the rotor.
The rivets were there to hold the stub shaft and rotor together during initial assy. Someone drilled them out to surface/replace the rotor or e-brakeshoes. It is perfectly OK to use this without the rivets. The lugnuts are holding these items together.Comment
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Re: 1970 - Ebrake Catch 22
Mmmm...OK...Stop!...STOP!!!
Do yourself a favor...IF YOU CAN"T GET THE CABLE TO BUDGE, then cut it and move on. Remove both the rear control arms and send them out to Bair's or some other shop for restoration to original condition. They'll know what to do, and will restore all the ebrake internals that you are concerned about as part of the restoration.
You don't need to think about getting into the rear wheel assembly to disconnect the ebrake cable. Removing that spindle nut will get you no closer to your objective...you'll still have to remove the spindle flange. That is a can of worms you do not want to open. If you are in over your head now, you'll be in the middle of the Pacific without even a life jacket if you get into that bearing assembly.Comment
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Re: 1970 - Ebrake Catch 22
ahh, c'mon Chuck - I've only broken one flange in 6 months of dismantling... ... how bad can it get!
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Re: 1970 - Ebrake Catch 22
HaHaHa... It's good you have a sense of humor...BUT...Yer supposed to get smarter with experience.
Seriously, you're just going just to waste your time, exhaust yourself, and be very frustrated. Let the experts do what they are good at, and turn your attention to other work...it'll be time efficient for you. Get your car restored, and then, in twenty years or so, you can consider rear wheel bearing setup.
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