Just throwing out another option for all those reading this-
My ebrake was not working- it would stick and not move when I released the lever. The linkage at the drums was fine, though I lubed it anyway. I wasn't sure if I wanted to replace the cable, simply because I don't use the brake much anyway, and I can think of other things to spend $50 on.
So I figured- if I'm not using it, I might as well pull it and see what the heck is going on. I already had the console out from another project, but it probably took me about 20 min to pull the whole works.
1- Remove the two 10mm bolts holding the lever to the floor.
2- Remove the two 10mm nuts from the end of the cable, pop cable loose from lever.
3- Use a 13mm box end wrench to release all the tabs on the cable housing, then slide housing below floor.
4- Disconnect cable at each drum. Remove spring pin thingy (looks like a paperclip) then pop out pin. Reassemble without cable so you don't loose parts.
5- Remove 12mm mounting bolts along axle housing.
6- Remove the one 12mm bolt holding cable housing above gas tank. This one was a PITA, no doubt. If I owned a gearwrench, this would be the place to use it.
7- Slide the whole works out over the rear axle.
-So here’s what I did- I hung my cable from over my workbench and slowly dripped/sprayed Liquid Wrench into the cable housing.
-I did that for about 10 minutes, until I felt like there was sufficient lube inside the housing.
-Then I went inside the house and ate some chocolate chip oatmeal cookies my wife made, along with a glass of milk (yummy)
-By the time I made it back out to the garage, the lube had worked it’s way through the entire length of the housing and was dripping out the bottom end.
-I then worked the cable back and forth with a couple pairs of pliers and loosened the whole works up
-I noticed in the process, that the mount above the gas tank had worn through the rubber coating on the housing, which probably allowed enough moisture through to rust part of the housing and cause the whole works to become sticky
-I worked it back and forth enough that I could move the cable with my hands, though still not easily.
-Then I re-installed the cable on the truck, adjusted the pull, and Shazam! It works just fine!
I don’t think it will work forever this way, obviously, but I think I got another year or two for sure. I’ll just stay on top of using it, making sure the linkage is lubed, and periodically dripping more lube into the front end of the housing.
This is just to let you all know it can be repaired, and even replacing it isn’t a super tough job. I’d rate it a 2.5 out of 10 on difficulty, mostly because of the hard to reach bolt above the gas tank.
