Technical Changing a handbrake cable

[CMaughan96]

After changing out my exhaust I was pretty tired of working under my car.

And then it goes and fails an MOT cos the handbrake cable snapped during testing. Now I was gonna get a garage to do it, but the cheapest around here will be £60 just for labour.

I'm not paying £60. How do I do it myself? Is it easy?

edit: so I've had a little look. It doesn't seem too hard at all. Two questions:

1. Do you have to take the wheel off to get the cable off the brake?

2. The bracket that holds the rubber bit on the cable (nearer the brake side, that's the best I can describe it) - it's very rusted looking and I don't quite know how it holds the rubber part. i.e. what way to I need to push / pull the rubber piece on the cable to get it free?

 

[CMaughan96]

This bit. How do I get it out?

 

[Ziggy122]

The handbrake cable can be a little fiddly, but its totally do-able diy

The dumb-bell shaped rubber bushing is easy to remove - just push's out
If its never been removed before to - spread the bracket very very gently
My advise is to also lube it up (grease) notorious for squeaking in summer as winter road grime flushs the grease off

And Yes
You do need to remove the wheel
And drum ( 2x 12mm hex or if stripped easily removed with vice grips)
Unhookin the cable is usually my P.I.T.A....

Depending om style some are push fit - originals are sprung clip locked in

Take your time
And youll be fine

Ziggy

 

[CMaughan96]

Unhookin the cable is usually my P.I.T.A....

Depending om style some are push fit - originals are sprung clip locked in

I can't even work out what I need to do to get the cable off ��
It seems to run behind one of the brake shoes... Do I need to take it off?

I guess I have to pry something to take tension off the cable, but I can't really see what.

 

[CMaughan96]

I've now got the handbrake lever side of the snapped cable off, I just cannot work out how to get the brake part unhooked.
Gonna go get some copper grease from Halfords, and maybe some silicone lube (for the rubber bushing?).

 

[jimboy]

As said this is, although fiddly not a difficult job. I would suggest you purchase a Haynes manual, that would be a good reference point & for other jobs later. Your explanations are not clear. I'm guessing the shoes lever may be corroded & sticking. Do the shoes still have sufficient meat on them? Perhaps it may be time for a full refurb since you are at this stage, I don't know I'm only guessing!

Patience, decent tools ie long nosed pliers, long flat screwdriver etc . Brake cleaner & a wee paint brush to get rid of the crap to see what your doing.

 

[CMaughan96]

I could really do with this done today to be honest I can't really get a Haynes manual soon enough.

Your explanations are not clear.

Apologies for my vague descriptions. I'll try to get across what I'm saying with pictures.

Here's where I'm at currently. So I've got the brake drum off, and a piece of the cable attached. The rest of the cable is off.

The cable enters from the back.

It then runs behind everything and goes in behind the left brake shoe

Simply, do I need to remove the brake shoes to get to the cable?

 

[jimboy]

A pair of long nosed pliers will sort that out to release the springs. Looks like those brakes ain't seen a service in a while. To be honest the shoes could do with replacing unless my eyes are wrong. It would be far easier to strip everything down clean, replace & lube.

 

[CMaughan96]

To be honest the shoes could do with replacing unless my eyes are wrong. It would be far easier to strip everything down clean, replace & lube.

Unfortunately that will have to wait. I just need to get it through an MOT for now. I'm really behind on my university work at the moment so I'm doing the bare minimum... which is still taking too long

Not sure I have any long nose pliers actually maybe I'll have to make another trip to halfords

 

[jimboy]

Working on brakes especially on mature motors is a job that needs regular attention. Having the right decent tools makes the job far easier. On my diesel hack, I did a brake service twice yearly, preferbally on a nice day. Took my time & cleaned everything plus lube & obviously replaced anything that was required. Sometimes all that was needed was a spray of brake cleaner & wipe off. This saved me money as well as feeling satisfied.

This was the difference of having a decent working handbrake.

 

[Ziggy122]

Yes shoes have to be removed to make it easier to fit/remove

Removing the hub makes it easier yet again
But i prefer to keep it in and use the g
Hub as a lever point to lift the shoes off the bottom anchor point and over so there is a hella lot less tension on that bottom spring

Also ensure you remove any adjustment out tje cable via the adjuster under the rear seat ash tray
This is where you can also extract the handbrake cable from inside the half moon equaliser

Also dont refit the drum if there is any form of a lip on them - get it ground away as this makes readjustment and refitting easier


Ziggy

 

[CMaughan96]

Okay, thanks guys

I'm almost done. I managed to get the springs off without needle nose pliers, fitted the new cable, and now I think I need the proper tools to get it back together

Man those springs are ridiculously strong.

 

[CMaughan96]

Working on brakes especially on mature motors is a job that needs regular attention. Having the right decent tools makes the job far easier. On my diesel hack, I did a brake service twice yearly, preferbally on a nice day. Took my time & cleaned everything plus lube & obviously replaced anything that was required. Sometimes all that was needed was a spray of brake cleaner & wipe off. This saved me money as well as feeling satisfied.

This was the difference of having a decent working handbrake.

Honestly, now I've had it apart once I'd be pretty happy to do it again for maintenance, more regularly. It's really not actually that bad

I'm just a bit time restricted today.