Morning all !

As per title took it for a service and both handbrake cables are split

Dealer wanted to charge £310 for the pleasure of changing it which I declined.

Are they easy to change or what should be the real cost of this? I’m guessing it could be an mot failure ?

Thanks in advance for the advice !

Easy to do just very frustrating as you have to disassemble the rear drums and shoes to get to the end of the cable and attach it to the handbrake leaver on the shoe

Hardest part is getting the main springs back on as they have a lot of force and a habit of springing back when you try and get them in position

Half the battle is having the right decent tools, sturdy strong long nosed pliers for instance, & of course if you are working under a car, safety first. At this stage it's worth hanging up the brake cables & spraying down inside with the likes of graphite oil &/or extra lubricating oil, & let them hang overnight.

Dead easy if the rear back plates have the round inspection holes. If so it can be done without taking off the wheels. If you have the small oval inspection holes the wheel and drum have to come off but you dont need to strip the shoes off. To be honest it does the hand brake no harm if the outer cable is split. It is not an MOT fail just a good earner for a garage as a pair of cables is dirt cheap and a 20 minute job to fit. I've done loads.....

Bluetruck said:

Dead easy if the rear back plates have the round inspection holes. If so it can be done without taking off the wheels. If you have the small oval inspection holes the wheel and drum have to come off but you dont need to strip the shoes off. To be honest it does the hand brake no harm if the outer cable is split. It is not an MOT fail just a good earner for a garage as a pair of cables is dirt cheap and a 20 minute job to fit. I've done loads.....

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The 500 doesn’t have inspection holes though and it’s not that easy..

Handbrake cables are about a tenner a side, I would be surprised if they’ve actually split though...

306maxi said:

The 500 doesn’t have inspection holes though and it’s not that easy..

Handbrake cables are about a tenner a side, I would be surprised if they’ve actually split though...

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Every 500 I've ever seen and that would be in the hundred have inspection holes, apart from rear disc versions. Time you visited Specsavers.
They can split at less than 2 years old, usual problem of Fiat using poor quality parts.

Yeah parts are 20 pounds so surprised they wanna charge £300 if it’s a 20 min job ! If they’d charge me an hours labour at around £80 then I’d understand.....

Struggling to find any decent guides on replacing the cable, anyone have any possible links ?

gaurav500 said:

Yeah parts are 20 pounds so surprised they wanna charge £300 if it’s a 20 min job ! If they’d charge me an hours labour at around £80 then I’d understand.....

Struggling to find any decent guides on replacing the cable, anyone have any possible links ?

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I'd imagine they also be changing the shoes and adjusters as they they are basically off to do the job


I'd have sent you pictures from the section in my Haynes manual but I think they don't like that and have an habit of chasing people who out pictures of them online to get them removed

Bluetruck said:

Every 500 I've ever seen and that would be in the hundred have inspection holes, apart from rear disc versions. Time you visited Specsavers.
They can split at less than 2 years old, usual problem of Fiat using poor quality parts.

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Guarav never actually said if there were brake drums or discs, anyway.
Every 500 I’ve seen has had rear discs
Only the 1.4 and Abarth were sold in NZ (plus literally a few TwinAirs), some imports from Japan are 1.2 with drums.

-Alex

Ones with rear drums have no access hole near the hand brake cable to access them to fit it without removing shoes
Well at least mine didn't

Contrary to what people are saying they can be a pain, the rear hubs can be a serious issue getting off even with the use of bolts and you don't get the tiny spring retaining clip with the new cables and have to fashion a fox (cable tie) also note they are different lengths but by only about 30 mm complete removal of the shoes is required too .
Bank on it being a why did I start job and hopefully it'll go more smoothly?

alexGS said:

Guarav never actually said if there were brake drums or discs, anyway.
Every 500 I’ve seen has had rear discs
Only the 1.4 and Abarth were sold in NZ (plus literally a few TwinAirs), some imports from Japan are 1.2 with drums.

-Alex

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Mine are drum brakes as it’s a 1.2 sport. I thought only abarth ones have discs! Oh and just to clarify it’s a 2014 model if it makes any difference

gaurav500 said:

Mine are drum brakes as it’s a 1.2 sport. I thought only abarth ones have discs! Oh and just to clarify it’s a 2014 model if it makes any difference

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Great

Yes, all versions with 1.4 have rear discs and in NZ, the Sport and Lounge and early Pop only exist with 1.4 engine. I understand the TwinAir 105 has discs too. The later Pop sold here has a 1.2 and therefore drums.

Anyway, as the drum brakes are probably similar to those on a Mk2 Punto (?) - I suggest the task will be to take the drums off, and then separate the cable from the lever attached to one of the brake shoes. I don’t think the rear hubs will have to come off, as it’s usually possible to remove the shoes without removing the hub. There are cutouts in the back of the hub flange to facilitate this. I hate working on drum brakes, so it stands out quite clearly in my memory.

-Alex

I'd try a local indepentent garage for a quote, should be cheaper.

My best advice is, new cables new shoes, NEW FITTING KIT, plenty of time, both cables , TAKE A PICTURE of the shoes before you take them all apart I've had issues that the auto adjuster not working after reassembly.
I used a cable tie to keep the cable end in place at the hub end, I also put some pipe insulation on the cable where it crosses the axel as it's a potential rubbing point, I replaced the hubs too as ours were shocking