Well, im in the same quest looking for this. What I should tell you is to dissamble the rod and glue it in place (I cant recommend you any product brand cause Im not from the US).

By the way... you mention rust; is there any maintenance that should be done to the parking brake assy? I can imagine to lube it... but where exactly???

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Paysandú, Uruguay
1996 Reg. Cab Ford Ranger, V6 3.0L, 5 speed manual trans.

THAT AWESOME MOMENT WHEN YOU REALIZE YOU CAN TAKE ALL THE PEOPLE THAT BOUGHT A JUSTIN BIEBER ALBUM, MULTIPLY IT BY 6 AND STILL DON`T GET TO REACH THE SELLINGS OF PINK FLOYD`S "DARK SIDE OF THE MOON"