I am doing a complete mechanical restoration on a '89 Dakota convertible. All was going well, new pretty much everything on the back half, then I hit a snag.

Seems the new hardware kit I purchased, looks correct in every way but one. The small cable that wraps around to the self adjuster seems about 1/2"-1" to long.

Checked with parts house, they confirmed I have the right parts for the drum size and year make etc... but I can't figure what else I might be doing wrong.

My mechanic friend, a 30 year veteran of a GM service garage... can't figure it out either.

Anyone else experance this...? I keep thinking I'm missing something stupid... love your feedback.

Bonus question: Can I put 91-96 fenders and hood on the 89 core support... are they the same? Thanks

 

Is the cable to long, did you compare it side by side to your old one?

 

No on the support, you will need the newer core support as they are different.

 

The fenders will bolt on but that hood is longer (to fit the V8)

 

How long is your cable ?
I pulled the E brake cable off my rusted parts truck with 9 x 2.5 Drum brakes
The cable measured 82.5" from end to end (that includes the soldered ends but not the clips that connect it to the rear brake cables.

Maybe some of the hardware is missing ?

The cable runs as follows:
Passenger Side Brake Cable Attachment-->metal fairlead on framerail--->Adjustment rod (connected to frame at passenger corner of cross member)--->metal rod/fairlead in middle of crossmember--->driver side triangle shaped piece that connects to the cable that runs into the cab---->metal fairlead on framerail-->Driver Side brake cable attachment clip.

Here a image from the factory parts manual for reference.


The image is NOT 100% correct.
The cable runs much closer (6-7 inches I guess) to the cross member that it shows in the image, but its shows the basic routing.
If you need close up photos of the hardware just PM me.

Good luck with the project
I'm putting a complete set of new metal brake lines, hoses, calipers, cables etc on my convertible right now. If you need any other info just ask.

Cheers