Help - Can't reconnect emergency brake

[texasbryan]

I disconnected the emergency brake on my JL 392 in order to replace the shocks. I did reroute the cables to make future axle drops easier.

Now, I can't reconnect them for some reason. The connection tabs on the brakes are still held out with vice grips on each side. When I connect the cable on one side, the other side is super tight to connect. If I force it in, the emergency brake is basically already engaged even without the handle in the cab being pulled up. I can pull the handle up one or two clicks but that is it. However, cables do not seem to be bound up on anything.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[JTCO]

I disconnected the emergency brake on my JL 392 in order to replace the shocks. I did reroute the cables to make future axle drops easier.

Now, I can't reconnect them for some reason. The connection tabs on the brakes are still held out with vice grips on each side. When I connect the cable on one side, the other side is super tight to connect. If I force it in, the emergency brake is basically already engaged even without the handle in the cab being pulled up. I can pull the handle up one or two clicks but that is it. However, cables do not seem to be bound up on anything.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Post some pics please. Why did you remove those cables for shock replacement?

 

[texasbryan]

I also put in some coil spacers so I needed to drop the axle enough to free up the springs. You can see in the picture below that the cable is very close but not quite long enough. Keep in mind the other side is already connected and the handle in the cab is all the way down. So if I force this cable into the connection tab, you really can't pull the parking brake lever up at all. I lifted the center console up a little on the back side and the cables appear to be connected properly on the other end.

It's like the cable is all of a sudden too short...which I know is impossible!

 

[texasbryan]

I ended up adjusting the tension under the center console to get it to work. I still don’t understand what happened. Oh well.

 

[BlueRubicon]

Not understanding what happened is not good. What you are describing sounds like you re-routed the cables and now they are a little shorter.