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sagging parking brake

29K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  Archie05764 
#1 ·
Hello all,

Hopefully someone has seen this before. I have an 09 Ram with a sagging parking brake cable. When the brake is applied, it is tight. Once i disengage it, the cable sags along the length of the truck. Everything seems to work properly, meaning that the parking brake is holding the truck in place, and i don't smell or feel anything that would indicate that one side or the other is sticking. However, i could be wrong.

Any ideas?

Thanks
 
#3 ·
Jack up the truck and use jack stands (safety first), check the parking brake parts under the truck for bent/faulty hard parts. Replace anything bent or bad. Adjust the cable underneath the truck until the slack is out, not tight enough to engage, just remove the slack. Engage the parking brake, check how it works. Hopefully it's just slack, let us know.
 
#4 ·
I believe that you just have a cable loop or bracket that is damaged or broken
it will be close to the frame
I believe the cable runs along the drivers side frame rail & at one point meets up with another bracket & sort of forms a Y, at that point the one cable becomes two cables, both run to each rear wheels backing plate.

If when you apply the emergency brake, the brakes are correctly applied & the vehicle does not move or is hard to move even in a forward gear & they release when you pull the brake release lever, they are adjusted properly
 
#7 ·
I've had the same issue for years (2011 w/30k miles)
I'm finally taking the time to look into it.. the cables all move freely. But the Levers that go into the back of the brake assembly are sticking. removed, replaced and lubricated parking brake shoes and hardware kit. still sticking.. it appears to be where the lever enters the brake assembly is just all rusty. Crappy part is that in order to really get to it, you have to remove the rear axle.. .not something I really feel like doing!
 
#8 ·
Problem Solved... not what you think it is...

Ok. so I finally dug into this over the weekend..
It was not the cables, it was not the pedal mechanism, it was not the springs or shoes... it was a little "Lever" that separates the shoes when the cable is pulled. The lever is supposed to pivot inside itself. but mine were both rusted in position. They are a pain to get out without removing the axles, but it can be done. They need to be cleaned and greased.
You may be able to get yours freed up by spraying some wd40/ pb blaster in the boot that the lever goes through the back side of the mouting plate, and moving it back and forth.. I was not so lucky, I had to disassemble the brakes, remove the part, and clean it up on the bench.
here is a picture of the Trouble making part.
 

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#10 ·
I am in the middle of exactly where you have posted the picture. That part does not move at all. Hope i can free it up so I do not have to remove it completely. By they way, I use my e brake 1x per year. 111,000 miles on it and the e brake pads are gone...Wonder if this is why i have such bad gas mileage....
 
#11 ·
Sagging emergency brake cable

I came out of the supermarket and saw my cable hanging also and was very concerned why. Got home and crawled underneath and saw nothing missing or broken. Had it to dealer for oil change a couple weeks prior and was told nothing. Went back to dealer, who said it would cause no problems , but if I want it fixed they would have to pull axles and free whatever you call it , but said it wouldn't hurt anything leaving it as it is till I needed brakes. Then getter done. Local garage confirmed that it was indeed so. What I did was go to hardware store and pick up a 1" S hook. There is as slot in the frame between the doors of my Laramie, on outside of frame. Put S hook into slot, put cable onto S hook, cable no longer hangs down. Easy as pie, brake works fine, will get fixed when I need work on rear brakes . LOL ART
 
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