What's with the line running under the driver's side of the rear axle?

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JasonPAtkins

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I thought it was just incorrectly repaired, but have since noticed it on other Av/Tahoe/Suburbans on the road: What’s up with the (I assume brake line) that runs UNDER the axle on the rear driver’s side? I drive in some rough paths, and I can GUARANTEE that it's going to end up getting rubbed over a rock at some point and severing. For an otherwise tough looking vehicle, it seems like an obvious oversight. How can I protect it? I assume there’s a reason GM didn’t route it over the axle so it’d be protected, but what is that reason? If it can’t go over, maybe I’ll need to fab some kind of small skid plate to protect it?
 

iamdub

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That's the emergency (parking) brake cable. Is that two cables zip-tied together?
 
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JasonPAtkins

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The previous owner had some kind of aftermarket light controller back there, that's all that's attached to it. That part, I'm removing once I get back there to work.

I guess if any kind of brake component is going to get rubbed over a rock and ruined, the e brake is the best choice, lol - but why didn't they route it over sway bar to protect it? Any reason I can't disconnect the sway bar link, run the cable above it, and reconnect?
 

Doubeleive

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after looking at my 2012 it runs under but no where near as tight as that one, has the suspension been changed somehow? just from looking at it I don't see why it couldn't be moved either up over the sway bar or closer to the rear axle, it's just a ebrake cable.
 

iamdub

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after looking at my 2012 it runs under but no where near as tight as that one, has the suspension been changed somehow? just from looking at it I don't see why it couldn't be moved either up over the sway bar or closer to the rear axle, it's just a ebrake cable.

It may not be tight. I was looking for pics online and found one that looked like his but it was actually where the left and right side cables met together and they were zip-tied, forming a "Y". The two cables continued forward over the axle, presumably to the single cable that pulls them simultaneously. I'm thinking in his pic, there's two lines coming together but it looks like one line being stretched tight by the routing under the sway bar.
 
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Rocket Man

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Are you lowered? It looks like maybe the truck was lowered which would push down on the swaybar and make the cable tight. Either way, I'd just disconnect the end link and reroute the ebrake cable.
 

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