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Warwagon
Dodge Dakota
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9/11/2003
23:11:43
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 Subject: Gen1's - Anybody's parking brake draging
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I've got an '88 4x4 longbed that goes through rear brake cables every 2 years. They simply gall in place and refuse to release. I've repaced them with Mopar units, and aftermarket ones and yet this behavior still continues. The OEM units lasted 7 years of hard PA winters (Penndot only knows about SALT for a traction aid here). I'm getting tired of having to rattle the brake cables to free my brakes after as little as 9 months to keep the rear from hopping. I've fried shoes and egg-shaped drums beacuse of this and sick of it. The replacements always come through a bit longer than what I remember the OEM's being. Anyone else run into this? Are there any spec changes in the early Dak's that I and the parts-monkeys might be missing?
This truck continues to be a trusty rig and I love her rust free carcass dearly. At 140kmi, she still gets 20mpg on my commute. So I treated her to a faceLIFT. 3"Trailmaster body lift, 2" add-a-leaf in rear and 2000# torsion bars up front to replace the weary stock bars. Her next reward for being a trusty steed will be a new set of bigger diggers. I wouldn't trade her for a newer one. As with good people, I try to keep them around for as long as I can!
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EBL
Dodge Dakota
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9/12/2003
10:02:29
|  RE: Gen1's - Anybody's parking brake draging
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I'm glad to hear about another faithful and trustworthy Dak!
Have you tried coating the cable with a heavy grease at all the contact areas? The grease would have to be replaced every so often, but it should keep the salt and moisture out of problem areas.
Every other thing I could think of would quickly wear away if you set your parking brake often.
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Warwagon
Dodge Dakota
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9/13/2003
20:31:21
|  RE: Gen1's - Anybody's parking brake draging
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Thanks for the comeback EBL. I've tried that. I've even gone to the trouble pf finding little rubber accordians to slip over the cables on the frame end of things to seal out the crud. I may just pull them off and go to the parts store and see if I can match up a set that are a couple of inches shorter. The ones on there now are so long that there is sort of a reverse bend thing going on. Maybe that'll fix the beast.
Well I got my lift on. Raised the front bumper and painted up the grille. The only thing that remains to be done is to make up some new brackets for the rear bumper. Boy does it look nice sitting up on the old 9.50X30's. I measured for new rubber today, jacked her up on stands and did the axle stuff trick. It should look great on the new BFG 9.50X33 M/T's
M
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EBL
Dodge Dakota
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9/14/2003
10:31:50
| RE: Gen1's - Anybody's parking brake draging
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http://www.techlinecoatings.com/Retail.htm
Check out the lubricant offered here. This lube is designed for cyl bores and piston skirts and such. It may work on the cable or on the pieces it is binding to.
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buck
Dodge Dakota
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9/14/2003
10:42:43
| RE: Gen1's - Anybody's parking brake draging
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How often do you use your E brake???
Buck
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Joe E.
Dodge Dakota
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9/14/2003
15:28:27
| RE: Gen1's - Anybody's parking brake draging
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In PA and if with a stick, probably alot!
I cant wait to see the 33x9.50s. Shoot me a pict asap! to: joelliott82@hotmail.com
Thanks and good luck...
Joe E.
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buck
Dodge Dakota
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9/14/2003
16:54:45
| RE: Gen1's - Anybody's parking brake draging
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Just curious...If you dont us them very often they will freeze up. Also you might want to check the return spring in the drum and make sure it is ok
Buck
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Warwagon
Dodge Dakota
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9/14/2003
22:45:44
|  RE: Gen1's - Anybody's parking brake draging
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Well fellas, I use the parking brake all of the time (unless it's bound up and I don't feel like climbing under it to free them up). The truck has the 3-speed automatic with the lock-up converter and thus far has done really well on our "hills" on the Alleghenny Pleateau. As a commuter vehicle I seem to average in the neighborhood of 19.5mpg for my runs to work. I'm in the process of getting a 5-speed out of a parts truck and having it reworked. If the auto ever gets weary, I'll have everything I need to switch over. Hope to have the 33's on in the next coupe of weeks. I'll post pix to my webshots account so you can see the end results. Thanks for the input.
M
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Warwagon
Dodge Dakota
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9/21/2003
23:01:18
| RE: Gen1's - Anybody's parking brake draging
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Well here you go Gen 1 fellas. I just recently had to replace the tired torsion bars on my '88 4x4 Dak, so I upgraded to the 2k bars, installed the 2" Trailmaster add-a-leaf and the Trailmaster 3" body lift. After cranking up the new bars to get the rig 1 degree short of level (I still have 1-3/4" of screw left after initial sag) I carefully measured and found that 9.50x33x15's would just barely fit. So I mounted a new set of BFG AT's ( I know I said MT's but I changed my mind - just fickle I guess) to the stock rims and it works fine. Noticed the slightest bit of fender rub at the bottom rear where the spot welds joins the inner and outer flange at hard articulation. Angled that with the Dremel, and whala. No rubbing when articulated and wheel at the max interferance angle.
You'll still get the standard rub on the front crossmember (heck I had that with my 9.50x30's) at full lock. The trick is to position the cab EXACTLY so the wheel well centerline and the axle centerline are the same when you install the body lift. If you're a little ansy about 33's, you may want to try 32's. They ARE out there, you just have to spend an evening doing your research. So far, it appears that the mileage is about it's normal 20mpg while commuting and burning premium fuel. Here's a link to some pix.
http://community.webshots.com/album/91231214JHxvgi
Enjoy
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