2004 E-350 E-brake Cable Removal

[ScrapIron]

Does anyone happen to have a workshop manual that shows how to release the park brake cable from the caliper bracket so i can remove the caliper bracket and park brake assembly from the axle housing?
I thought it would have the metal tabs you compress like on a F-series pickup but it doesnt.

[ScrapIron]

Looks like there are two plastic tabs that have to be depressed in order to slide the cable fitting out of the bracket. Problem is i cant get to them to press them down because the spring is covering them. Anyone know of a tool to compress that spring so its out of the way?

[86Scotty]

It seems like I did this once many years ago but I dont' remember how I did it. Maybe post this question on the FTE forum?

[ScrapIron]

I posted it over there the same day i posted here, but no replies.
Worse case i guess i just cut them and buy new ones.

Im doing a big project on the rear axle. The last of the machine work should be done this week so they gotta be off before i can install the new caliper brackets and park brake assemblies.

Its that dam spring on the cable where it connects on the lever at the backing plate. If i had some kind of tool to compress that spring i could get enough slack to disconnect it.

[fw500a]

Yeah, that's a miserable and, IMHO, the hardest part of the rear axle replacement. There are a couple of tools that purport to help but I found them of little use. It's been a few years since I put my FF in, but I recall getting some slack in the cables by going upstream on the cables to a section mid-frame where the cable is exposed between sections of housing. Some creative use of straps and pliers is what I recall. Sorry I can't be more specific.

[ScrapIron]

Well i decided i couldnt wait any longer so i drove to the Ford dealership and asked the mechanic to look up the procedure in their computer and print the pages for me. I have it in PDF format but the forum wont allow me to post it because its 2.21mb and exceeds the forums allowed maximum size of 1.91mb


Maybe a mod can bypass that limitation and make the PDF a sticky post so everyone can just click it to find out how to remove the park brake cables when swapping in a sterling axle or just replacing park brake parts?

[ScrapIron]

Unlike the E-brake cable spring i was able to compress the PDF file so here it is...

The key to removing or disconnecting the cables at the caliper is to release the cable tension at the E-brake foot pedal assembly first. The PDF is for an F series because the guy apparently didnt listen when i said "E-350". Regardless the procedure is the same.

[1der]

Thank you for digging this up ScrapIron - definitely a different instruction set than in my 2002 factory workshop manual. The '02 manual requests the parking brake pedal assy be unbolted from the kick panel area.

Also learned from the manual - it seems 2002 model year E250's had rear drum brakes vs the E350 that has rear disc brakes?? The E350 parking brake is a small drum/shoe arrangement on the inner side of the disc.

Is your 2004 parking brake system the smaller shoes inside a drum setup? Looks like it.

[ScrapIron]

Yes my rig which is a Chinook has rear disc brakes with the small brake shoes inside the back of the rotors. It has the Dana70HD axle underneath it and im in the process of converting it to custom rear bearing hubs with 8x200mm lug pattern which utilize 2019+ Dodge Ram 3500 dually wheels. I can also run any 05+ hubcentric dually wheels by simply inserting 1mm thick hubcentric rings on the hubs.

It uses all OEM ford parts but the Hubs had to be custom machined for my application. The Hubs will be ready to pick up at the machinist by the 21st of this month so im getting a bit giddy. I been waiting to get these new wheels and tires on it for 2 years now

I put a 2005 F 350 dana 60 dually axle under the front which comes with the 8x200mm lug pattern so the front wheels have been on it for a year now. But the rear axle is an entirely different issue since the vans are all 8x6.5 lug.

I spent countless hours taking the big heavy factory dually hub/rotor assemblies off to make all kinds of measurements at least 50 different times because i would forget to write down a measurement. But i now have all the measurements needed to convert the dually ford van chassis to the 8x200mm lug pattern using ford parts and the existing dana70 axle. Of course none of this is an issue for Sportsmobile owners because they arent dually trucks.

[Ben10281]

Originally Posted by ScrapIron

so i drove to the Ford dealership and asked the mechanic to look up the procedure in their computer and print the pages for me.

Is this a normal request of the service Ford service department or do you have an established relationship with them??? Please tell me more!