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The other day I went to apply my parking brake and I heard and felt something snap within the system. From then on the pedal can go to the floor and not put enough tension to hold the vehicle. I pulled the rear wheels and drums figuring something failed in there...everything was good. Also inspected the parking brake cables where they attached and all seemed peachy-keen. Then I checked the cables themselves and aside from a little slack they don't seem broken. Then I moved into the cab, unbolted the pedal assembly and visually inspected it as best I could from my awkward, inverted position and couldn't find anything out of place.
After doing some research and finally finding a diagram for the complete system I may have narrowed down the issue. from said diagram I think i am missing the Parking Brake Equalizer Cable Spring. I have attached the diagrams for your viewing pleasure and to aide in my explanation.
Does anyone know where I can get one of these spring? Would the removal of this spring prevent the system from working properly?
Already tried Rockauto. They are the first place I check when I need an OEM part. I also checked a few Ford specific parts suppliers with no luck. The diagrams were from a Google image search and were a dead end as well. Unfortunately I do not have a part number.
I see. Looks like I need to slide the equalizer up to the bare cable and cri.p it down a bit. Thanks for the addition picture. I'll try that when I get out of work.
You hit the nail on the head. My equalizer had slid back on the cable sleeve which released all the needed tension in the parking brakes. I was able to slide it back up and squeeze the crap out of the end to keep it in place. I now have a parking brake again!
Part number is e3tz2a651a - made of 100% pure unobtanium. A place in Peurto Rico claims to have it available for something like $38 plus about $20 shipping.
Looking for an available McGuyver replacement.
Hello. Can someone please get a measurement of the length of the equalizer for me? Mine was missing when I bought my truck and they don’t make them anymore. Trying to find one that will work. Thank you!!
Hello. Can someone please get a measurement of the length of the equalizer for me? Mine was missing when I bought my truck and they don’t make them anymore. Trying to find one that will work. Thank you!!
I'll measure my truck and see what spring might fit.
Like I expressed above, I've never had issues with my E-brake system regardless of missing this spring
I realize this thread is 2 years old now but I thought this might be a good place to put this info:
The parking brake equalizer on my 2000 ford Ranger was broken before I bought the truck and the driver side cable was held in with a small hose clamp. Like many others on here I couldn't find a replacement from Ford but during my search I found this one from GM-
Several of the reviews are from various year Ranger owners who all reported this equalizer worked on their trucks so I ordered one. It's almost identical to the one found on Rangers with one slight difference: On the Ranger equalizer, the seat for the passenger side cable housing is at roughly a 45° angle whereas it's essentially flat on the GM equalizer.
That's the only difference. GM Genuine Parts 25515645 partially Installed; cable end not yet seated OEM Equalizer with missing retaining tab for driver side cable
As seen in the pictures the GM part is almost a perfect replacement.
My problem is one or both of the new rear cables are too long so even with a slack adjuster I still don't have good parking brake. Since I don't want to take the rear brakes back apart I'm going to measure the intermediate cable and order one an inch shorter, hopefully that will solve my issue.
Anyway, I just wanted to post this part for anyone trying to find a decent equalizer for their Ranger.
Note- This part may have already been posted in this forum somewhere but I couldn't remember for sure.