You need them to support the cable sheath. No support, no cable action. They are available at the dealer and they are fairly cheap. They do sometimes wear if the cable gets messed up.

Dennis

----- Original Message -----
From: craig cowan
Date: Tuesday, January 2, 2007 4:17 pm
Subject: parking brake cable guide
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM

> On an '85 theres two plastic round guides that the rear parking brake
> cables go through immediately before combining/meeting the front
> cable. I lost one of these. Is it crucial, or can i just take the
> other one off and run it without either? If not, where can i get one?
>
> -Craig
> '85GL Sunroof
>