C5 handbrake cable help

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BX
Posts: 476
Joined: 30 Oct 2009, 00:53
Location: Ireland
My Cars:
x 17

Re: C5 handbrake cable help

Post by BX »

I would guess that in a warmer drier climate that this guide or tube arrangement would make the replacement of the handbrake cable a piece of pie. Just remove the road wheel and disconnect the cable from the caliper. Remove the rear end from the centre console and release the handbrake cable inside. Pull out the cable from the wheel arch and as all the best manuals say replacement is the reverse of dismantling. However in our wet and windy land rust is the problem. As far as I can gather a lot of the time spent replacing these cables is spent trying to pull out the cable and if you do succeed trying to get the new one in without damage. Guess how I know. The next time one of these came along I got 2 cables from the autofactors and 2 tubes from the dealer in Castlebar and found the job relatively easy. I say relatively. A lot of what you save in having to remove worn drums on some other vehicles you loose in the fiddly bit in getting the new tube in place without bending it.
A number of farmers who dont have the L*** Cruiser type vehicles have got Xantias or C5s. As you point out they can be used to carry a varied cargo and they dont loose sumps like the competition from another major EU car manufacturer. However most of these (non 4X4) farmers seem to go for the Berlingo or Expert vans or their clones or else the VW Caddy. Road tax at over €700 has killed the demand for the older big engine cars.
sparksie
(Donor 2016)
Posts: 595
Joined: 04 Jan 2014, 22:35
Location: R.O.I.
My Cars:
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Re: C5 handbrake cable help

Post by sparksie »

Hi BX

Just noticed your location. Nice to meet a fellow Paddy on line.
Hi Estately
Granted, if you ARE able to reuse the tubes, the cable as supplied is a complete assembly.
However, you seem to be in a rather exclusive club, being able to do so.
As far as I'm concerned, if the tube is performing the job of the outer cable and, in the majority of cases, has to be replaced at the same time as the rest of it, then it is a part of the cable and should come with it.
To return to my head gasket analogy, in parts of Africa and India, there are people who do reuse the flame rings from used head gaskets, making their own new gaskets. The fact that such people exist does not make the flame rings any less a part of a proper head gasket!
Likewise, the fact that you and, no doubt, a few others are able to reuse the old tube (on one occasion, anyway) does not mean it's not required for everybody else. I'm still going to go with the majority and not attempt one on a customer's car without the tubes on hand!
Now if I own the car and I'm not pushed for time, that's a different matter! I'll experiment and think outside the box with the best of them.
Like you, I'll post my results in the hope of helping other owners.
But I remain hopeful that an improvement will be developed that renders handbrake tubes redundant before I ever have to deal with one.
In roughly thirty years in the trade, I have seen aftermarket parts that significantly improve upon, or simplify the design of the original countless times.
Up to now, I don't think Citroen has had a significant enough market share to benefit from this, but I suspect that situation may have changed with the current lineup.
Personally, I think it's a downright shame that people who design these kinds of flawed engineering continue to be employed by car manufacturers, especially those that aren't afraid to push the envelope a little. The fact that they are suggests that the bad habits of old have not yet been eradicated from senior management. Only the fierce brand loyalty associated with the niche Citroen ordinarily appeal to has saved them up to now. However, if they're serious about going main stream, they need to get a grip and fix these problems before production commences and introduce a programme of continuous improvement to redesign any such problems that slip through the prototype stage.
Based on what my trade colleagues tell me and what I've read on here in a Pro-Citroen forum, Citroen still deserve the reputation they've built up over the last 40+ years.
As one guy, ironically a French car specialist, wisely declares, "More often than not, different doesn't mean better"! He, like me, sees far more Pugs and Renaults than Citroens (and has a peculiar fondness for Simcas and Simca based Talbots, that I don't share!), so hasn't yet done a C5 handbrake cable, but is not at all surprised to hear people are having problems with them. He maintains that Citroen designers carefully examine the products of their competitors to see how they're put together and then set about seeing how to do it differently.
Given my recent experience with the Xantia clutch, which uses the same engine, gearbox and friction disc as much of the Peugeot range but different pressure plate and release bearing, I'm inclined to think he may be right! Odd purely for the sake of being odd!
Rambling off topic now, in danger of having a rant.
Time to call it a night, I guess
Sparksie

2000 Xantia 1.9TurboD
Northern_Mike

Re: C5 handbrake cable help

Post by Northern_Mike »

sparksie wrote: The fact that they are suggests that the bad habits of old have not yet been eradicated from senior management. Only the fierce brand loyalty associated with the niche Citroen ordinarily appeal to has saved them up to now.
I don't think that's the case. I think it's the "normal" cars that have saved Citroen, not the weird ones, nor brand loyalty.

ZX, Saxo, Xsara, Xsara Picasso, Berlingo. These were the cars that saved Citroen. Not one of them is odd in any way. Around here, there's Xsara Picassos everywhere. Great selling car, and as for the Saxo, it appears every 18 year old in the country owned one at some point, they were the Nova/Corsa of the late 90s and early 00s.
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