Sid_the_Squid wrote:Hi everyone,
Can someone give me advice on how easy/hard it is to change a handbreak cable on a '99 HDi xantia, last night mine snapped
Check the BOL it talks about drilling out rivets on a heat shield and popping off gear selector rods, removing the mid section exhaust, sounds like a real PITA and beyond something I'd try at home, as I've a MK2 xantia the gear selector rods are replaced by cables (i beleive), but is the heat shield still present? do I need to drill out rivets? how hard/easy is the cable routing, and why remove the exhaust?
I don't know about the HD110, and it's probably different as the catalytic converter is different, but on my V6 the catalytic converter is so large I was unable to get sufficient access to the handbrake balancer box without removing the heat-shield, which is a bit of a PITA to be blunt, as you have to bend the shape of it to thread it out over the top of the exhaust, and one of the nuts that holds the balancer box is nearly impossible to get at. (Ratchet spanner highly recommended...)
I know some people say you can get a finger in the balance box through a hole in the side to unhook the old cable and hook the new one one, but I couldn't do it. Maybe you can on other models of Xantia. If you can do it without removing the heat shield thats all good, but be prepared to remove the heat shield as plan B...
Sid_the_Squid wrote:Good question,
I really don't have a clue, is there an easy way to tell?
I can't get under the car today, it will be dark by the time I'm done with work.
Symptons are handbreak totally inffectual, pulls all the way to the top with no resistance, no attempt to make the breaks come on.
Almost without doubt one of the cables will be broken near where it passes through the guide loop attached to the wheel hub, like this:
Here is what was left that was initially still threaded into the hub:
CitroJim wrote:Sid, if yours is a 110 be aware that the handbrake cable on one side (Nearside I think) is longer than on other models (except the Activa, 2.1 and V6 - the big engine models) and is not generally available from the likes of GSF who only do cables suitable for the small engined models so do make sure what you are offered is the right ones.
Simon (Mandrake) has been here and can advice...
Indeed Jim, getting the correct cables for a V6 (and HDI110 if its the same cables) was a real saga.
Sid, rather than duplicating what I've said elsewhere, have a read of the last post in the following thread:
http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... 3&p=328811" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The summary is that GSF are able to supply the cable for the right hand side (but their part numbers are wrong on their website, confusing left and right cables!) while the left hand one which is unique to the V6/HDI110/Activa is only available from Citroen themselves. (Citroen no longer stock the right hand one) Full details and photos in that thread.
Sid_the_Squid wrote:
any other tips, is cable routing fairly obvious or anything which is likely to catch me out?
It might be obvious, but take note of which way the two handbrake cables cross each other below the engine - its not obvious, and if they cross on the wrong side of each other (one goes above one below) they won't move smoothly as the steering turns which could lead to them snagging and pulling the handbrake on when turning on full lock. Check that both cables can slide sideways freely a few inches at the point where they curve around and cross each other.
If you're removing both cables at once take note of which one comes out of which side of the balancer box as this again affects the cable routing - there's more than one way to route the cables and cross them over each other and not all of them are optimal...I didn't take careful note and it took me quite a bit of trial and error to figure out the optimal routing to allow the cables to move freely.
Never heard of anyone having to replace a primary cable.