Parking Brake Cable Booties

[Jeremy D.]

Ok, how do I get my NOS Parking Brake Cable boots onto my '71's parking brake cable....going over the little swedged balls at the ends and over the tension release springs without shredding the boots? Applying heat comes to mind, but that could get bad really fast. Thanks in advance!

[Joe C.]

Re: Parking Brake Cable Booties

Ok, how do I get my NOS Parking Brake Cable boots onto my '71's parking brake cable....going over the little swedged balls at the ends and over the tension release springs without shredding the boots? Applying heat comes to mind, but that could get bad really fast. Thanks in advance!

Jeremy,

I remember an article in the Restorer 3-5 years ago, dealing with this.
I do it a different way. I remove one ball, then strip everything off of the cable, clean/lube/plate what needs to be done, and reassemble using new boots. I then make a new ball, and swedge it on using a heavy ball peen hammer, while compressed in my vise. I make the new ball slightly larger than the original, so that after deformation, I'm able to re-shape it to spherical again with my bench grinder. First one I did looks exactly like the original ball on the opposite side, and has stood the test of time for 5 years now. I like to apply the e-brake, and usually apply it very firmly.

Joe

[Jeremy D.]

Re: Parking Brake Cable Booties

Sounds like boiling water and heating the ball up a bit is the key, as per other posts. Hmmm, now I gotta convince my bride to let me use her cook top to boil some water.......

[Alan S.]

Re: Parking Brake Cable Booties

Hi Jeremy,
I was never able to get the boot over the ball, so I did as Joe has done. I found the right size replacement "slug" at the local sailboat store.
I have a hot plate in my garage, or I'd be looking for a new bride.
Regards,
Alan