Parking Brake dilemma
 

2000 F150xl 4.2l std cab, short bed 5-speed

Has anyone had to change the parking brake cable at the foot pedal? Well I have. I’ve been working on this little repair for weeks now. I exhausted all sources to locate a new cable, and finally found out you can’t buy a replacement cable, you have to buy the whole foot brake assembly for $200 from a Ford dealer. I’m sure there’s cheaper places to find a new or used one.

For one thing, you can’t replace the cable (even if you had one) with the foot pedal installed. Since I already had the foot pedal out, I wasn’t about to pay for a whole new foot pedal assembly. So I researched for hours to find a cable of similar dimensions and the closest I found was a Dorman product which was 1 1/2” to long in both the cable and rubber housing and the termination ferrules were a bit different, but usable. It was still $50 shipped.

So I fought to get the cable mounted on the brake assembly and to get it in and out means taking the front drivers seat out, laying upside down and fighting to get it past the electrical cable/wires sand properly seated. Then there’s the 3 bolts that mount it. One on top ( I figured out earlier) you just don’t take it out. Just loosen it and it’s got a fork mount to slip it out. The other one that you can see needs a 10mm wobbly socket and the last is on the bottom but deep dive to get in.

Now I still need to deal with the longer cable under the truck. I can cut off the old bracket and weld it back on where it works, or I can just make one. Then the inner cable needs to be shortened too.

I pity anyone who has to replace one. It might be best to just cough up the money and get o e on EBay or an auto junk yard. You’d be miles ahead if you could just manage to pull your pedal assembly out and put another back in.

How about a replacement cable from a donor truck, from the junk yard?

That’s the way to go if the lead cable (at the parking brake pedal) breaks or gets scarred, mashed or seized up.

This thread should be required reading for all who say they won't buy a truck with an electric parking brake.

Take a look at DORMAN03006Brake Cable Adjuster - Universal it may solve your problem

Why? I had a 14 year old F150 that never needed a cable.
OP is working on a truck that could be almost 23 years old.
I'm sure climate matters somewhat -My truck had 5 Michigan winters.

Buying an electric parking brake vehicle today will benefit the driver in probably 20 years or so if they are a driver actually using the parking brake. The number of people it will affect is small.

Ironically, when I had the brand new 1993, the coupler under the truck broke. This is that part that takes the single cable and splits to 2 cables. I had a driver flashing me one night -he told me something was hanging down.
The bracket seemed weak, and the single cable vs the dual cable output made the bracket fold..... the truck was almost new, or at least in a year or so. I remember taking it in and they fixed the bracket under warranty.

Sorry, I reread the OP and realize Dorman makes a part for replacement whereas Ford doesn't make it a replaceable part.
That's why I figured just get it from the junk year. Sorry to confuse.

I’ve never had problem with parking brakes but I bought it that way. I expect they got stiff and the person stomped on it as hard as they could for some years. The cable was actually snapped in two.

I wont reassemble and call it good until I test it and/or cleanup the rear brake cable while I’m at it.

Thanks

Yep. I have an electric parking brake and never use it. My 2008 had a manual parking brake and was a 5 speed manual. Used that parking brake every time I parked the truck. Still worked just as it should in all of the 14 years I owned it.