Review on Dorman 03006 Univ Brake Cable by James Edwards

I cleaned and lubricated the handbrake rods, then removed the drums to clean and lubricate the pivots and automatic adjustments. The braking distance was still very long and the right cable didn't pull very much. Tightening the nut on the Dorman adjuster to the end of the thread lowered the right cable 12mm and shortened it by 6mm. Now both brakes pulled slightly when I lifted the brake lever two clicks. However, the braking distance was still too long and the infrared thermometer showed that the right brakes now do most of the work. I missed a slight friction where the left cable ran through the two guides under the car. In fact, there was enough friction to prevent the left auto adjuster from working. A bit of silicone on the cable fixed everything. After all, I didn't need a Dorman controller. I could use a Dorman adjuster to line up the two brakes but I think that would do more harm than good. It's too heavy (78 grams bounce on my cable when I ride). The center of mass is too far away from the cable (approx. 25 mm). This means the cable twists back and forth on impact. One problem is that the screw is too long. The 30mm threads pass the frame before tightening. Another issue is that the bezel is too deep. Using a stack of washers 22mm high I was able to stretch the cable so it was 40mm shorter. Pulled this far, the cable is bent almost 180 degrees around the hook. Each pound of tension creates approximately 1.4 pounds on each frame arm. Between bending the cable and loading the frame, using shims seems like a bad idea. If the frame wasn't too deep and the screw wasn't too long, the adjuster could be lighter, stronger, and closer to the cable.