Case 580se e-brake handle restoration

I am following the sage advice of a member and instead of living with a broken braking system on my Case 580se, I’m attempting to repair it. The e-brake handle was rusted thru at the base so I cut off the old and welded on new base legs. In order for the e-brake to work , the aluminum handle/grip needs to turn and tighten the cable so it has the right tension when pulled up into the locking position. The handle doesn’t turn , the internal bolt is frozen with rust , I’m thinking that I’m going to have to cut the metal and separate/remove the top and bolt to unfreeze it. I don’t think the e-brake will work without this adjustment function. Anyone have suggestions on doing this repair ? I can’t even get the aluminum cap off. My guess is that this style lever was used on many models of Case equipment. Thanks !

A long soak in a bucket of diesel would be the first thing I would try. I think the aluminium cap will come off if you drill that dimpled area right through.

“Soak in diesel fuel” , thanks , Ill give that a try . It’s a lot easier than cutting thru welds and taking it apart.

If I remember right the aluminum handle is attached to a steel shaft that is threaded and goes through a stamped sleeve that is also threaded. That is where it rusted and stuck. It is at the end of the link between the handle and the base that attaches to the floor. That second pic almost shows it. The best access to oil it is from the floor side, or the bottom of the handle. Keep soaking it with penetrating oil and twisting the aluminum adjuster back and forth and you will get it unstuck. Jim

Thanks Although I should know better , pre any soaking , I put a pipe wrench on the aluminum hand piece to see if it would move at all….it didn’t , I stopped before marking it up too bad. Then I tried drilling thru a slight indentation in the aluminum thinking I’d hit steel and the aluminum cap would come off…I didn’t hit steel and the Al cap didn’t come off. So, hopefully the oil/diesel soak will free it up .

I've saved some stuck linkages soaking with a 50/50 mix of ATF and Acetone. Let it sit over a weekend and everything moved freely again.

That looks like the same brake handle used in a lot of International trucks as well as a few other brands for a lot of years.

https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-924-5617-Parking-Brake-Handle/dp/B00Z7NNEGC Would something like that work?

That’s an amazing find Edgephoto ! It’s hard to tell if the size or the strength matches but it’s good to know it’s available. Thanks.

Buy the one on Amazon. Take the handle off of the mount and put it on yours. If that doesn't work, Amazon is quite good at taking returns back.

For that price why waste time trying to fix yours?

Free if interested just pay the shipping. New bought for my hoe never used it.

That is your best deal ^^^^^^^^

Wow ! Thanks for the offer Billrog , sent you a PM. I’ve been away for a spell. After a weeks soaking the part in diesel and a lot of fussing and banging, I got the cap off but tightening mechanism is actually rather complicated and not as simple as I thought. It’s a close fitting shaft inside a tube that’s pretty well frozen with rust. Maybe if I heated it cherry red , it might free up but it’s going to be a small battle. I’d gladly replace it with a new one .

I ended up getting the Dorman 924-561 unit sold on Amazon . After removing the supplied base , it’s an exact replacement in my base. Hand grip tightener works nicely, all steel construction too although description on Amazon says ‘plastic’. @edgephoto , thanks for the Amazon tip !

Glad to be of assistance!

Birdseye said: I ended up getting the Dorman 924-561 unit sold on Amazon . After removing the supplied base , it’s an exact replacement in my base. Hand grip tightener works nicely, all steel construction too although description on Amazon says ‘plastic’. View attachment 266109 View attachment 266110 @edgephoto , thanks for the Amazon tip ! Click to expand... Can you post a picture from underneath the bottom of the adjuster handle? Trying to figure out if I can make this work on my 580B. Thanks

After welding on a new base , I re-used the original CASE floor bracket for the ebrake. I cant recall if the Dorman lever came with a base or not. The Dorman handle has a plate with a single hole that is held by a bolt thru the floor bracket. There is a hanging arm that connects to a yoke at the end of the ebrake cable. The adjuster in the handle turns to pull the arm up or lower it . The handle has been installed so I cant take a picture of the underneath side . If a topside photo is any use I can get that in is a few days.

Birdseye said: After welding on a new base , I re-used the original CASE floor bracket for the ebrake. I cant recall if the Dorman lever came with a base or not. The Dorman handle has a plate with a single hole that is held by a bolt thru the floor bracket. There is a hanging arm that connects to a yoke at the end of the ebrake cable. The adjuster in the handle turns to pull the arm up or lower it . The handle has been installed so I cant take a picture of the underneath side . If a topside photo is any use I can get that in is a few days. Click to expand... I saw your couple side shots of your handle adaptation above. I'm trying to do the same thing but to an older set up for a 1975 580B. I'm Sorry I don't think I was clear on what I was asking for. I'm looking for a picture of the brake handle straight on with the handle up so I can see the under side of the handle and how the arm interacts with the handle and also how the original parts in the base are structured. My arm is straight and I have a plate on the bottom of mine that the arm pulls on. My adjuster is rotted away so it does not work at all and I'm trying to see how similar the set ups are or not so I can figure out if its a direct adaptation or if I'll have to modify something to make it work. Here's my handle and base.

Not sure if this is similar but I had to replace the actuator boot on the transmission end (of the cable) recently and have these four of the top end brake handle. The grey fibreglass housing beyond the 4WD dog clutch lever is the glove box, on its side, just a bit confusing in these images, had I removed the steering wheel it could be lifted out of the way, but wasn't necessary.