I did the repair last year on my '05, but I honestly don't remember if my cable (which was purchased in 2010 - yes, I waited 3 and a half years with no parking brake at all to do this job) had the crimp or not.

The hardest part of the job for me was working with that #%^@ pedal assembly. I have read on these forums of people who do the cable swap without removing the pedal assembly, but my hands are not that nimble. But getting the pedal out of the car and then back in is not fun. As far as the cable goes, taking the old one out and putting the new one into the pedal assembly was fairly straightforward. I don't know that it would be any different with or without a crimp fitting on the cable at the end of the plastic sleeve.

Nate

 

To keep the ends from unraveling?

 

The crimp joint is in the middle of the cable. The original version did not have this, and the braiding of the two joined cables are unique, too. I guess I'm trying to understand if this was an "improvement", or an approved "re-worked" part from Mopar, and has anyone else used these for a repair successfully. My concerns are two-fold: 1) is this joint a potential weak-point for failure later, and 2) will the joint cause probelms with how the cable winds onto the pulley in the brake lever assembly when engaging the parking brake (to my look, the cable could roll off to the side because of the crimp joint).

I swear, when I first saw it my inclination was to call the dealer, or Chrysler, and ask what the heck is going on with this part. I still may, but I held off because some of the images of this part number online also show this odd mid-cable crimp joint.

 

I've figured this out, finally. The correct part number for my van (LWB, with Stow n Go), is 04721310AE . For others replacing their brake cables, I would recommend contacting your local dealer who will use a lookup tool with your VIN to verify the correct parts for your van. There's confusion out on the web, especially with the 2005 as it was right at the transition between the mid-platform changes that included the introduction of Stow n Go.

So, 04721310AE is for the front cable, and then 04721311AF is for the left rear, and 04721312AF is for the right rear.

I finished installing all the new cables, and then I adjusted the parking brake shoes. It's nice to have a working parking brake, again