Any GM gurus?

[RowdyRebel]

Wife wants her Suburban back, but I've got to finish the brakes first.  Did the front calipers & pads when I first bought the thing, but finally getting around to tearing into the rear drums.  Had bought new parking brake cables because the previous owner had removed them...little did I realize he not only removed the cables, but also the hardware inside the drums.  There is SUPPOSED to be a lever the cable end attaches to (#7 in the attached image), and a strut that stretches across to the other shoe (#14 in the pic).  I got these from a guy in town who has a mud-truck hobby and doesn't really spend much time/effort on rear brakes (if he leaves them on at all)...problem is, they are for the 11-ish" drums, not the 13" drums I've got on the Suburban (JB8 brake code) and they are just too small.  I was able to get the strut I need from LMC, but they don't carry the lever.  I've been able to track down a GM part # for the LEFT side lever ( 15649193 ), but coming up empty on the RIGHT side lever.  That and the parking brake cables LMC sent me aren't the right ones...apparently I need the ones like #31 in the image, not the kind with the spring clips that locks into a round hole.  Even the Auto Zone website is showing the cables like LMC sent me...

 

Anybody around here able to look up the part numbers for the RH lever and the LH & RH cables?

[j hancock]

RH is more than likely 15649194.  What year is the Suburban?

[RowdyRebel]

Awesome!  Was able to find it looking it up with that P/N.

 

1990 3/4 ton V2500 SLE...8600 GVWR

[j hancock]

Sorry, don't have GM numbers.  Here are some NAPA numbers for a 1990.  If your vendor is someone else, they should be able to cross the numbers.

LR cable UP 93898  52.56" long and RR is UP 93254 at 77.6" long.

These cables are for various 3/4 and 1 ton GM products including the 1990 Suburban 3/4 ton 4WD with the corporate 14 bolt rear axle.

Had some experience with a 1986 K2500 Suburban with 13" brakes but I can't remember what the cable ends looked like where they attach to the backing plate.

[RowdyRebel]

I think the previous owner who said he had the axles rebuilt actually swapped them out. The cables need to be routed like the 1984-1991 cables (along the driver's side frame rail) but go into the drums like the 1973-1983 cables that bolt in rather than snap into a round hole. Problem is, those earlier cables are the same length coming out of the drums running up their own respective frame rails, through a guide, using intermediate cables to reach the pedal. Gotta find the right length cables with the right ends...

[41chevy]

http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=538767&cc=1144415

 K series suburban It's a place to start. 

Edited May 8, 2016 by 41chevy

[j hancock]

Ahhh, mix and match parts just to make things easy!  Here are a couple of numbers for 1983 GM 3/4 and 1 ton rear cables to add to the might work dept.

NAPA UP 92882  43.11" long

NAPA  UP 93228  45.25" long

[RowdyRebel]

Stopped by NAPA and they flipped through their book. NOTHING! So I emailed a custom cable maker and it is prohibitively expensive. So, looks like I'll either be fabricating some sort of adapter to weld onto the backing plate or finding the right backing plates.

 

I also got an email from the place I had ordered the parking brake levers from...both are discontinued and out-of-stock, so they were refunding my payment. Guess I get to look for those again, too.

 

This project is turning into quite the headache.

[j hancock]

What a pain.  The rear cable numbers I gave you (92882-93228) also fit the 1983 P series step van chassis and the P series came in different wheelbases.  I would think get a longer intermediate cable and cutting to the correct length from that chassis would marry the two set ups together on your Suburban.

First stop is to find a salvage yard to snag the actuating levers.

[41chevy]

New levers for the 11+ inch rear brakes.

Last link is for the only years that cable was used. 50 1/2 inch long with extension rod.  3/4 ton rear

http://www.classicparts.com/1976-98-Brake-Self-Adjust-Kit-RH/productinfo/71-664/#.VzIpVdQrJpQ

http://www.classicparts.com/1976-98-Brake-Self-Adjust-Kit-LH/productinfo/71-663/#.VzIpmtQrJpQ

http://www.classicparts.com/1947-54-Parking-Brake-Cable-3_4-Ton/productinfo/71-712/#.VzIsNdQrJpR

[j hancock]

Another way to go would be to see if the 1990 backing plate fits your earlier axle.  If the backing plate swaps then you could get everything for the 1990 application and the cables will fit front to rear.

[RowdyRebel]

10 hours ago, 41chevy said:

New levers for the 11+ inch rear brakes.

Last link is for the only years that cable was used. 50 1/2 inch long with extension rod.  3/4 ton rear

http://www.classicparts.com/1976-98-Brake-Self-Adjust-Kit-RH/productinfo/71-664/#.VzIpVdQrJpQ

http://www.classicparts.com/1976-98-Brake-Self-Adjust-Kit-LH/productinfo/71-663/#.VzIpmtQrJpQ

http://www.classicparts.com/1947-54-Parking-Brake-Cable-3_4-Ton/productinfo/71-712/#.VzIsNdQrJpR

Those aren't the levers I need...those are the adjusters (which NAPA was happy to sell me when I bought the shoes, drums, springs, cylinders, and seals).  What I need is the parking brake lever which has a pin which passes through a hole on the shoe and an E-clip secures it.  The parking brake levers I got from the guy across the highway were off an 11" drum....and the pin isn't long enough to pass through the shoe to get the clip on...and it is REALLY short when next to the shoe....TOO short.  I need the parking brake lever for the 13" drum.

 

I've pretty much given up on the cable...prohibitively expensive to have one made, and there doesn't seem to be one the correct length already on the market.  So, I'll either find some backing plates to swap on there to use the cables I've already got or I'll get the welder out and fabricate something (all that's needed is a round hole for the spring clip to lock into...at a slight angle...should be easy enough).  The backhaul I'm picking up tomorrow delivers not too far from a junk yard, so I'll swing in there on Thursday after I deliver and see what they have (or what they can get).  I need to get this thing back together....

[fxfymn]

The Suburbans of that era are also notorious for rusted out rear brake lines. Make sure you check them closely. (Good luck with that, they are inside the frame tubes.)

[41chevy]

11 hours ago, RowdyRebel said:

Those aren't the levers I need...those are the adjusters (which NAPA was happy to sell me when I bought the shoes, drums, springs, cylinders, and seals).  What I need is the parking brake lever which has a pin which passes through a hole on the shoe and an E-clip secures it.  The parking brake levers I got from the guy across the highway were off an 11" drum....and the pin isn't long enough to pass through the shoe to get the clip on...and it is REALLY short when next to the shoe....TOO short.  I need the parking brake lever for the 13" drum.

 

I've pretty much given up on the cable...prohibitively expensive to have one made, and there doesn't seem to be one the correct length already on the market.  So, I'll either find some backing plates to swap on there to use the cables I've already got or I'll get the welder out and fabricate something (all that's needed is a round hole for the spring clip to lock into...at a slight angle...should be easy enough).  The backhaul I'm picking up tomorrow delivers not too far from a junk yard, so I'll swing in there on Thursday after I deliver and see what they have (or what they can get).  I need to get this thing back together....

I see, I looked at the correct # and gave you the wrong #. 

Break out the welder and make the cable mount and hope you find the arm in a yard.

[RowdyRebel]

Well, the scrap yard had the levers, but no luck getting the backing plates...so, looks like I'll get to do a little parts modification with the ones I've got. I figure a piece of 1/8" angle with the proper size hole drilled in it and welded onto the backing plate ought to do the trick...probably put a couple pieces on the sides, too, in order to close it in...or I'll just leave it open so it won't collect water/mud/road crap. Simple and functional, which is all it needs to be...besides, it'll just make the list of unique features on this truck a little bit longer. One thing's for sure...ain't another one like it!

[TeamsterGrrrl]

Had the same problem with my '98 Ford Ranger... E-brake parts rust out, Ford ran out of cables by 2003, Rangers used at least two sizes of rear brake and NAPA lists three. I ended up getting all three cables from NAPA and returning the ones that didn't fit. Curiously enough, the cables that fit were not the ones listed for my Ranger...

[RowdyRebel]

Well I'll be dadgummed.  Guess the wife ain't getting her Suburban back tonight.  Got the adapter brackets welded onto the backing plates and everything put together easy enough...went to put the drums/hubs on and they wouldn't go on far enough to get the hub nuts onto the spindle.  Drums NAPA sold me are 2" wider than the hubs that was on it...which further reinforces the idea I've been having that this axle isn't the one that was on there when it was new.  The 1990 gets a brake drum that's 7" wide....where a 1975ish would have a brake drum 5" wide.  Guess what?  The old drums were 5" wide...which follows along with the backing plates being from that time frame as well.  So, I guess I get to press these new drums back off the hubs and swing through NAPA on my way to deliver tomorrow to swap them out for the correct drums.  This $#!+ is starting to get old....REAL fast...

[RowdyRebel]

Everything was going SO well...until...

[j hancock]

Ummmmm.......nice new parts!

Aarrgh!  Wrong new parts.....  Johnny Cash must have built Suburbans too.

[RowdyRebel]

I WISH this thing didn't cost me a dime...reality is, I'm into it for more than I'll ever dream of getting back if I sold the thing. Could have bought a much newer one for what I've spent getting this one road worthy...but then it'd be like umpteen million others on the road. I can honestly say there ain't another one like this one, and the more I fix, the less likely I am to be wrong in saying that.

[TeamsterGrrrl]

Common problems with couple decade old vehicles, especially when bought used with no history. Vehicles pretty much fully depreciate by the time they're ten years old, so buying older ones is seldom worth it. If you're looking for a daily driver and not a restoration project, best to buy something less than a decade old and don't put more $$$ into it than it's worth.

[RowdyRebel]

Drums for a 1975 K2500 Suburban seem to be the same size, so I swapped the ones I bought for the 1990 for the 1975's...find out when I get a round tuit if they'll really work. Hopefully tonight, unless it's raining.

[RowdyRebel]

...and we THOUGHT we knew the history.  The brother of the property owner where we've got 3 of our horses boarded bought it new...drove it all over the country...put a new engine & transmission in it, then sold it to the property owner's kid. The kid drove it a little while before deciding he wanted a mud truck...6" lift & 35's, then had the axles rebuilt with 4.10'.   Put long tube headers on it...then parked it in the machine shed for 9 years after he bought a more fuel efficient jeep. Farm hand got the thing running a couple years ago for the kid and he just parked it again. So, the body was in immaculate shape, and the drive train ALLEGEDLY only had 30K miles on it.

 

First thing I had to do was put an exhaust on the thing.  Of course transmissions don't like sitting, so when the TH400 went out, I swapped in a 4L85E with a TCI flexplate and Hughes HD Towmaster 2200 stall torque converter. I also pulled the 6" lift out and put new 3/4 ton springs up front and 1 ton springs in the rear, both 2" over stock height. I'm thinking the rear needs 2 more inches, though...as much as I hate blocks, it'll probably get them when the time comes to do it. Still need to go through it and get all of the power windows and door locks working, fix the stereo, and have the AC system converted, checked out, and charged. Then, I'll probably get some Vortec heads and the matching TBI intake, along with a Comp Cams Xtreme 4x4 cam and some timing gears to bump it up into the mid to upper 200's instead of the 190 HP it is sitting at right now.

 

Sure, it's going to be an $18K+ truck by the time I'm done, and it books for around $3500...but there won't be another one like it anywhere. That would drive me nuts having a car that looked, felt, and drove like EVERY OTHER car on the road.  

[j hancock]

Maintain it and it will outlive the newer stuff.

[TeamsterGrrrl]

True, but buying used you're often buying somebody else's screw ups. For example, I regularly drive a 19 year old Ford Ranger and ride a 32 year old BMW motorcycle... But I bought them both new, maintained them religiously, and know their entire history.