Thanks for all the suggestions.
It is not too cold where I live (50F) but it has been raining off and
on for the last week.  If the rain lets up today I will try some of
the ideas you all posted.

Also, I had to replace the brake master cylinder about 2 months ago in
which the brake fluid was also replaced and bled, so that stuff should
be clean.

The e-brake cable does not seem hung up on anything, but the rust
possibility needs to be looked at.  I'll let the group know what I
find once the weather clears up and lets me get outside to work a bit.

Thanks a ton to everyone.
Chris

On Sun, 02 Jan 2005 05:01:12 -0600, Al and Sue Brase <albeeee@mchsi.com> wrote:
> Chris:
> The emergency  brake cable gets holes in the plastic sheath and then
> rust sets in and they bind up sometimes. Get a hold of the cable
> housing, maybe 12 inches ahead of where it goes into the backing plate.
> Bend it back and forth somewhat, even in a couple different directions.
> You will usually get it to release. Sometimes it helps to spray some
> penetrating oil into the cable housing, but be careful that none follows
> the cable down onto the brake drum.
> It is time for a new e-brake cable, it gets very tiresome kneeling down
> in the slush to do this in the winter.
> People in dry climates never experience such trouble.
> Putting a new one in is not too bad of a job. The most likely spot for
> trouble is that they also rust into the socket on the backing plate.
> Backing plates are made of sheet steel and the rust and can break when
> trying to extract the end of the cable housing. I always heat the socket
> red hot and work the stub  back and forth with a vise grips while
> pulling it out. I put grease into the cable housing when  i put the new
> one in. Probably waterproof grease would be a good idea.
> Al Brase
>
> Chris Agh wrote:
>
> >I have an 89 GL and just replaced the catalytic converter and oxygen sensor.
> >Everything sounded fine upon start up so I decided to go for a test
> >drive.  However, the van would not move.  It felt as if something was
> >locking up one of the rear wheels.  The e-brake also felt very tight
> >even when released.  I mean, I could only get one or two "clicks" when
> >trying to engage the e-brake and it was much stiffer than normal.  I
> >jacked up the rear end to see if the wheels would spin freely and with
> >the brake off in neutral the passenger side rear wheel would not spin.
> > It would move only about 1/2 inch and then it sounded as if something
> >metal was blocking it.
> >With the tight parking brake I assumed something was wrong there, but
> >in being a beginner at fixing the van I also naively assumed something
> >i did in replacing the cat messed up the wheel.
> >Also, the van drove fine 2 days before this happened - without the cat
> >or muffler connected as i just had to move the van across the street.
> >
> >Any help, comment or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
> >Thanks.
> >
> >Chris
> >89 GL
> >
> >
> >
>
>