Hello all,

So a couple of questions here as I was working on my 86 2wd pickup yesterday......

-I replaced the front parking brake cable. Pretty easy. I noticed that it locks up the passenger side rear wheel, but not the driver side. When moving the rear passenger side cable by hand, I can lock up the wheel. When doing the same on the driver side, I cannot (although I hear some clicking in the drum). Any idea what might cause the cable to not lock up that wheel before I remove the drum at some point???

-I looked into the screeching sound that comes from the truck on acceleration. I should note that, otherwise, it runs perfectly. I replaced the belts as they had not been done in the 5 years I have owned the truck.....not that, but needed to be done. I also replaced the power steering pump idler pulley bearing......not that, but also a cheap fix and was the original one so likely a good move. I removed the power steering pump belt and ran the truck.....screeching sound still there, so that eliminates the pump. I then removed the water pump/alternator belt and ran the truck for a few seconds (from stone cold) and the screeching was gone. So, it is the alternator or the water pump. Any way to check which it might be? I am betting on the water pump, but not sure. Any thoughts (I tried a stethoscope, but still can't tell accurately). 85K miles on the truck.

Thanks,
Julian

 

The driver's side rear brake may not be "adjusted" yet. Even though there is an automatic adjuster, you need to adjust the adjuster on installation. http://web.archive.org/web/201203161...9-2wdleadi.pdf

 

Thanks scope103 - I did check whether the pedal firmly locked both sides before posting this as I thought about adjustment too. The pedal firmly locks both sides.....the parking brake does not. I should have mentioned this. Is there still some adjustment based upon this information? Thanks again....Julian

 

The parking brake assembly has one or two pivot points and sometimes another short cable inside the drum, any of which could be froze up with brake dust or rust and causing that side to not apply the brake, you will have to remove the drum to see what isn't working.
With regards to the belt issue, just spin each by hand to feel for crunching bearings, or use the stethoscope while running the engine with the belt to pinpoint which is louder.
If you still cant figure it, do the cheaper one (water pump) first, or find a real short belt that only runs the alternator and start it that way.

 

Any update?