xantia hand brake cable
Moderator: RichardW
xantia hand brake cable
Could anyone explain how to change the above
Not a difficult job, but a bit fiddly!
First thing is to carefully study the routing of the cable - you'll kick yourself if you connect everything up and the cable's wrongly routed
The balancer lives above the exhaust shield, so you need to unclip the shield at the front end to gain access (of a sort). The cable inner nipples fit into recesses in the balacer lever: the nearside below, and the offside (the one you're doing) on top, if I remember correctly.
It sounds harder than it actually is to fit this end blind, as you have to unless you remove the exhaust. Feel carefully before disturbing anything to get an idea how it all fits together. Once you 'see' how it works, remove the old cable, and get the new one into place, making sure you don't miss any of the guide loops. Push the inner into the sheath as far as it will go at the wheel end, and make sure it stays there. Fit the outer into the sleeve at the balancer end, and 'feel' the nipple into its recess in the balancer. It's difficult to be sure when it's engaged, so when it seems to be there, pull on the inner at the wheel end to check - if necessary, get someone to pull the lever a bit while you put tension on the cable. Refit the exhaust shield once you're happy.
The rest is easy! Set the adjuster for maximum free cable at the wheel end, fit the nipple into the caliper arm (be careful to keep a bit of tension on the inner to ensure it stays engaged at the balancer end), then adjust the free play to match the other side, not forgetting to tighten the locknut. Check it all works OK, and that the cable doesn't bind when steering lock to lock - you might need to adjust the guide loops a bit, and it's worth spending the time doing so to avoid chafing which will shorten the cable life considerably.
a little spot of grease on the free cable inside the little gaiter, and that's it - job done!
Much easier to do than it sounds.
P.S. As always, be sure to support the car properly befotre getting underneath.
Hope this helps - others may well have some tips to add or corrections to make
First thing is to carefully study the routing of the cable - you'll kick yourself if you connect everything up and the cable's wrongly routed
The balancer lives above the exhaust shield, so you need to unclip the shield at the front end to gain access (of a sort). The cable inner nipples fit into recesses in the balacer lever: the nearside below, and the offside (the one you're doing) on top, if I remember correctly.
It sounds harder than it actually is to fit this end blind, as you have to unless you remove the exhaust. Feel carefully before disturbing anything to get an idea how it all fits together. Once you 'see' how it works, remove the old cable, and get the new one into place, making sure you don't miss any of the guide loops. Push the inner into the sheath as far as it will go at the wheel end, and make sure it stays there. Fit the outer into the sleeve at the balancer end, and 'feel' the nipple into its recess in the balancer. It's difficult to be sure when it's engaged, so when it seems to be there, pull on the inner at the wheel end to check - if necessary, get someone to pull the lever a bit while you put tension on the cable. Refit the exhaust shield once you're happy.
The rest is easy! Set the adjuster for maximum free cable at the wheel end, fit the nipple into the caliper arm (be careful to keep a bit of tension on the inner to ensure it stays engaged at the balancer end), then adjust the free play to match the other side, not forgetting to tighten the locknut. Check it all works OK, and that the cable doesn't bind when steering lock to lock - you might need to adjust the guide loops a bit, and it's worth spending the time doing so to avoid chafing which will shorten the cable life considerably.
a little spot of grease on the free cable inside the little gaiter, and that's it - job done!
Much easier to do than it sounds.
P.S. As always, be sure to support the car properly befotre getting underneath.
Hope this helps - others may well have some tips to add or corrections to make