I have a 2012 Ranger tandem axel. My brake release lever underneath the tongue is stuck and will not move. I even tapped it with a hammer to try and depress it but it won't budge. This happened several months ago. I have pulled it for many hundreds of miles since I discovered it and everything seems fine but I am a little worried and don't really know what to do. It tows fine and I still have brakes. How do I remedy this situation?
Did you accidentally pull on the emergency brake cable and have the "C" clip pop off?
"The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
That may have been what happened. I don't know enough about it to tell. Where does the clip go? I didn't see a clip on the cable.
If the clip is missing, you will be able to see a yellow warning tape on the cable just behind the bead the clip was holding in place. If the yellow tape is outside of the actuator, the cable has been pulled. Usually you can free up the pushrod with a screwdriver inserted in the round hole underneath. Find the end of the pushrod with a screwdriver and pry it toward the rear of the trailer while pushing up on the release lever. If that doesn't free it up, removing the rear pin should. Once the pushrod is free and the lever goes up and down freely, it should fit back in the hole in the housing and the master cylinder/solenoid can then be pushed back forward and the pin re-inserted.
Thanks, I will give it a try.
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