Did I miss anything? I looked how the cable is put together and you are right it will have to be crimped at the ends. I had a FJ62 with the same trouble but I just lived with it I would like it to be perfect with this rig.
Without the truck in front of me it is hard to say,
In post 4 I said to leave a little more in the star adjustment, considering that "a little more" is wide open to interpretation, and considering you are out of cable adjustment maybe this should be revisited, maybe go back through everything and see if it clears up on its own, here is a more complete write up.
1. Transmission in park, lock the center diff (CDL switch or T-case in low),
2. Block front tires
3. Jack the rear axle put it on stands
4. Remove the wheels, calipers and rotors, inspect everything
5. Reinstall the rotors and at least 2 lug nuts on the rotor to make sure it is seated and running true
6. Enjoy a cold frosty beverage.
7. Remove the cable ends off the bell cranks by removing the "R" clips and then clevis pins,
8. take the bell cranks to the minimum by loosening the jam nut and then back the rubber pads all the way out and bring the bell cranks all the way down to the backing plate so they will not interfere with the next step,
9. Adjust the star until the shoes just start to touch the rotor but produce no noticeable drag, check for contact by rotating the rotor and listening, when you first get contact actuate the bell crank by hand, this should square up the pads and allow them to clear again so you can continue adjusting tighter.
10. Repeat step 9 until there is no change in contact after actuating the bell crank,
What we are looking for here is the shoes to consistently just barely touch the rotor with very little travel to make full contact, do not worry about major slack in bell cranks for now, fixed in next step,
11. Remove the rotor, look at the bar just above center with a flattened coil spring at one end, actuate the bell crank by hand slowly until it just about to lift the pad, notice a small gap from that bar to the shoe disappears as you actuate the bell crank, adjust the rubber stops on the bell cranks until that gap is almost but not completely gone (as in a few thousands) make sure the pads are still seated against the post at the top and the adjuster (with star) at the bottom, lock the jam nuts on the bell crank stops,
What we are looking for motion of the bell crank to quickly turn into motion of the shoes wit no slack,
12. Install and adjust the cable at the handle so that it is right at the point of about to lift the rubber stops but is not,
13. with the rotors in place pull the handle tight a few times to settle it out and check all your gaps again,
A. Shoes very close but not dragging the rotors, slight touching ok (adjusted at star)
B. Spring end of the bar very close but not touching the shoe, (adjusted at bell crank stops)
C. Cable taught but not lifting either of the ball crank stops off the backing plate (adjusted at handle)
If you still do not have a good parking brake, maybe your shoes are worn too low or the cable is stretched,
Examine both and replace one or the other,
Wile you are there a lot of northern salt owners report locked up bell cranks, might as well grease them (see other threads) to prevent future corrosion. you can also put a very small ammount on the 6 points where the shoes ride on the backing plate and the adjuster,
