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Subjective Sensibility
- Thread starter Polymath
- Start date
A handshake agreement and a 2500 mile drive later, I have my work cut out for me. The goal is a reliable camping and hunting truck with good off road capability and potential for a daily driver.
Rebuilt the yoke and pinion with some RTV, then did this:
(Try not to be too judgy on the welds, it's flux core mig. I don't have gas for it.)
(Try not to be too judgy on the welds, it's flux core mig. I don't have gas for it.)
As I start pulling the old axle out, I realized the ebrake cables are different. What is the common strategy here? Can I hook the existing blazer ebrake cables into the 14BFF brakes? Or do I have to use the 14BFF cables that are on here and adapt those to the Blazer somehow?
Typically if your axle brakes are different than the vehicle it's easier to change the vehicle setup.
But I have successfully adapted the new cable setup on an older axle.
Can we see what we are working with here?
You mean not all axles are the same? 
My 14bolt has equal length cables coming out of each drum.
The Blazer has a long cable coming from the passenger side that snakes up into the frame next to the driver side cable.
My 14bolt has equal length cables coming out of each drum.
The Blazer has a long cable coming from the passenger side that snakes up into the frame next to the driver side cable.
Your axle is pre 81, I am trying to remember if the sheathing is bolted on the outside of the backing plate or pushed through?You mean not all axles are the same?
My 14bolt has equal length cables coming out of each drum.
The Blazer has a long cable coming from the passenger side that snakes up into the frame next to the driver side cable.
View attachment 500674View attachment 500675
Yup. This one is '76 I think.
It's a plate with two bolts on the outside of the backing plate that holds the cable in there.
It's a plate with two bolts on the outside of the backing plate that holds the cable in there.
I say make the current in truck cables work with the new14bff.
That's what I was kind of hoping would work out since it means I don't have to change any of the adjusters and levers and such on the blazer. I just have no idea at the moment if the blazer cables will slip into the 14bff drums in any kind of secure fashion as well as be the right length internally to connect them to the parking brake levers in there.
I guess if push came to shove I could cut the blazer cables and fashion some kind of connectors to mate the 14bff cables to the blazer cables mid-stream.
I guess if push came to shove I could cut the blazer cables and fashion some kind of connectors to mate the 14bff cables to the blazer cables mid-stream.
Three choices
1. Find brakes from an 81-91 squarebody 14FF (most options are 1-ton) everything from the backing plate and drums
2. Convert to disc brake
3. Convert your trucks ebrake system to the 70's style.
1. Find brakes from an 81-91 squarebody 14FF (most options are 1-ton) everything from the backing plate and drums
2. Convert to disc brake
3. Convert your trucks ebrake system to the 70's style.
Converting to the later style brakes with push in cables, it all is a direct swap and fairly easy to do. Hardest part is removing the drum due to weight.
Converting to disc brakes has pros/cons. Good for deep mud and self cleaning/adjustment but harder to get a working ebrake.
Converting to the 70s style ebrake cable would involve drilling holes in your frame for the cable holders and you may find the cables interfere with drivetrain parts that were not designed around that routing for both sides of the truck.
Converting to disc brakes has pros/cons. Good for deep mud and self cleaning/adjustment but harder to get a working ebrake.
Converting to the 70s style ebrake cable would involve drilling holes in your frame for the cable holders and you may find the cables interfere with drivetrain parts that were not designed around that routing for both sides of the truck.
FML.
After all the hell I just went through finding parts to get these drums back together with fresh parts....
I'm going to sleep on that one.
After all the hell I just went through finding parts to get these drums back together with fresh parts....
I'm going to sleep on that one.
I have not done what I am about to propose, not sure if it has been attempted. Since the older 14bff cables have a bolt in clamp, why couldn't a push in cable plate be made to bolt on to the old style 14bff backing plates
I remember on mine I had to build a little bracket to make the push in cable work on my 14b. Actually found a picture on this forum of someone else who did it. I’ll grab a pic in the morning when I head to the shop.
I guess it is technically possible to cut the cable attachment point out of your old backing plates and weld it into the new backing plates as well.
I think that is one way
LMC lists this as 73-83:
This as '84-'89:
So if you have the bolt-in plates (4), can you just weld a washer on with the right ID to take the snap-in style (center of image below)? Or if the backing plate isn't contoured wrong, isn't it just a piece of plate with 3 holes in it (example on the right)? Is the end of the cable that pulls the shoes any different between the 2 styles? (Maybe my center hole is in the wrong location, but you get the idea).
They discuss it here, but they're going in the opposite direction, which implies the cable end is the same.
https://ck5.com/forums/threads/e-brake-cables-14-bolt-full-float-swap-pics-added.320206/
https://ck5.com/forums/threads/k5-parking-brake-cables-in-14-bolt.340907/
This as '84-'89:
So if you have the bolt-in plates (4), can you just weld a washer on with the right ID to take the snap-in style (center of image below)? Or if the backing plate isn't contoured wrong, isn't it just a piece of plate with 3 holes in it (example on the right)? Is the end of the cable that pulls the shoes any different between the 2 styles? (Maybe my center hole is in the wrong location, but you get the idea).
They discuss it here, but they're going in the opposite direction, which implies the cable end is the same.
https://ck5.com/forums/threads/e-brake-cables-14-bolt-full-float-swap-pics-added.320206/
https://ck5.com/forums/threads/k5-parking-brake-cables-in-14-bolt.340907/
Sweet. I think I will try something like centexk5 did and make a push in bracket converter.
Some scrap metal cut to fit the back plate, 1" square tube cut at 60 degrees, a few 3/8 washers bored out to .55" and a lot of fiddling around to get it all fitted and welded together. The original bolts are welded in there so the nuts will attach from inside the backing plate. Just need to clean and paint them now. I don't see why it won't work but i'm really hoping it all goes well. Axles take up a lot of room when they aren't under the dang car.
