Parking Brake dosent work

[boulky12]

Hey guys. I just recently picked up another square body for 600 bucks. This one's a Lwb 83 GMC 1500 2wd 305/700r4.

Does run and drive but needs a little work and a little love on the body. No rust though.

But anyways, one of the first things I want to fix is the parking brake because I hate not having one. I can press the pedal all the way down and it dosen't get hard.

One of the first things I tried was to tighten up the adjuster under the cab. I tightened it up a bunch and no change.

I tried taking off the brake drums. I cleaned all the little parts with brake cleaner. I tried adjusting the brake shoes so that the drum goes on tighter. No change.

I noticed that I can take the brake drums off with the parking brake pedal all the way down. So it seems like they aren't making the shoes expand at all.

The pedal springs back when I pull the release lever so I think that's all good. Everything looks like it's all there and connected.

What do you guys think?

Thank you

[VileZambonie]

Never adjust the brake cable until your brakes are thoroughly inspected and your shoes are properly adjusted. Back the cable way off and ensure the shoes are fully seated on the anchor pin. Adjust the shoes appropriately and then adjust the cable slack.

[bd]

In addition, have you verified that the cable is moving as the park brake pedal is depressed?  Are the cables connected to their respective levers inside the drums (Item #7 in the upper illustration)?  Are the transfer struts (#12) properly installed between the shoes (#6) and engaging the levers (#7)?  Is the e-brake cable correctly routed through all of the original cable guides (Items 6, 7, 12 & 13 in the lower illustration)? 

The pedal assembly contains a stout return spring, so even if the cables are disconnected, the pedal will return when released.

[boulky12]

So the shoes are fully seated on the anchor pin.

The cable does tighten up when the brake pedal is depressed.

The cables are connected to the levers inside the drums.

The transfer struts are properly installed between the shoes.

I believe the problem is that I'm missing a few of the cable guides. I'm missing the 3 guides under the cab that look like bent rods. Guides 7,12, and 13 in the illustration.

Here's a pic. Once I saw that cable wrapped around the exhaust like that, I felt like something was off.



Here's a pic from an 82 we have and I circled the 3 guides I'm missing



It seems like somebody took these off because the Dual exhaust got in the way.

I was going to try to get those guides of an 82 4x4 we have but quickly found out they are different from a 2wd.

I feel like if I do get those guides the cable might still be hitting the exhaust because of the Duals, but as long as it works it'll work for me. I'm probably going to end up flipping this truck anyways.

Do yall think I can find those guides online or is my best bet going to the junkyard?

Thank you guys for the help and the pics.

[bd]

Junk yard or pick up some 1/4" rod stock and fabricate them so that they better fit around the exhaust w/o interference.

[boulky12]

Junk yard or pick up some 1/4" rod stock and fabricate them so that they better fit around the exhaust w/o interference.

Alright thank you

[75gmck25]

The cable guides were missing from my '75 K25 and I was able to bend 1/4" steel rod from Lowes into a shape that worked.  There were already holes in the frame in the right places and I just hooked the rods into the holes.  Tension on the cable keeps the bent rods in place if you orient the bends right.

Bruce

[boulky12]

I ended up making a couple guides out of some strong metal wire I had laying around. I know it's a mickey mouse fix, but it works.

[Greybeard]

It's under the truck...if it works *reliably* who cares how it looks? From the looks of it it isn't going to to be parked with mirrors and lights under it in the near future...