Can I get away with handbrake cables as they are

[MrChris]

Hi all, been away for a while and finally got a weekend to start putting new calipers on to try and get the car back on its wheels... to no avail. I've loosened off the handbrake cables to check the situation there and found that they were not moving brilliantly.

I've sprayed a load of lubricant down the cables and they are moving but there is resistance. I can move them one handed from the caliper end but it's not easy. Two handed is fine. A lot of brown rusty muck is coming out of both but more so the off side.

If I keep squirting stuff down and trying to free them (as I said they do move), put some machine oil down as per a guide I found from Carolyn etc. do you think I can get away with it? Or should I really be biting the bullet, getting new cables, dropping the fuel tank (really didn't want to do this) and replacing them?

Appreciate thoughts on this.

TLDR: Handbrake cables a bit rusty inside but move, albeit not smoothly - what to do?

[Ardent]

Time may be the issue.
If you have it, perhaps keep going with the oil. May still ultimately end changing.

Just makes me think, do they stretch? Does the hand lever to saddle stretch?
Because of the routing path are the cables eating themselves inside. Internal sheath rubbage/friction/wear.
Trying to pull a straight line through an S curve. There has to be pinch points.

[Gaz mr-s]

Are you lubing from inside the car?  I assume they have muck inside because the rubber boots have perished?  Have you sorted that?

[Bossworld]

Have you got the time and patience every MOT time to deal with the headache?

If not, and you're planning to keep the car, get a pair of original Toyota cables and hopefully it's resolved once and for all.

—

I've documented my experiences with third party cables extensively and I suspect my mum's 2004 car is going to need a third set in six years (will go Toyota cables this time). I did all the adjustments and dancing but it takes effort to move to six clicks and the offside doesn't hold as well as the near.

The bolts at the mounting points were rusted in place, and as Jason notes, the S curve isn't particularly conducive to easy movement, so the slight deviation we followed from the stock path is probably compounding it on the offside.

—

In comparison, the 2003 car we just sold is still on the original Toyota cables which moved nice and smoothly at the console end as you pull the lever.

[Gaz mr-s]

Have you got the time and patience every MOT time to deal with the headache?

I had a barely-moving cable in 2018. Freeing it & fitting a protective rubber worked.

[Carolyn]

Hi all, been away for a while and finally got a weekend to start putting new calipers on to try and get the car back on its wheels... to no avail. I've loosened off the handbrake cables to check the situation there and found that they were not moving brilliantly.

I've sprayed a load of lubricant down the cables and they are moving but there is resistance. I can move them one handed from the caliper end but it's not easy. Two handed is fine. A lot of brown rusty muck is coming out of both but more so the off side.

If I keep squirting stuff down and trying to free them (as I said they do move), put some machine oil down as per a guide I found from Carolyn etc. do you think I can get away with it? Or should I really be biting the bullet, getting new cables, dropping the fuel tank (really didn't want to do this) and replacing them?

Appreciate thoughts on this.

TLDR: Handbrake cables a bit rusty inside but move, albeit not smoothly - what to do?

If you have them fully disconnected at both ends, let them sit overnight and then get more WD type stuff down them, while moving them back and forth.  They will come loose - eventually.  then add some more light machine oil.

As Gaz says, then get rubber covers on the calliper end of the cables to keep the crap out.  I did mine about five years ago and they are still fine.

[2 of the left]

Handbrake tension is without doubt the Achilles heel!! The times and tribulations I've had over the years with my 2's with this problem - After sorting out both ends you still may not get the result you desire - Which means dropping the tank and running fresh well lubed cables Such an expensive pain!!

[JohnGee]

If you do go down the genuine cable replacement road, then can I suggest Amayama as a much more cost effective option than sourcing from within the UK (even with the significant delivery charge).

[MrChris]

Thanks all for the replies, I really appreciate it. I'm going to go with the advice from @Carolyn to come back to it and keep trying to free them up a bit more. I really, really don't want to be disconnecting any more stuff from the car right now if I can at all help it.

@Gaz mr-s - yes the boots have perished both sides. The driver's side of the car generally is worse than the passenger side weirdly. But I have replacement boots. I'm also lubing from both ends (ahem), and they are moving, just not as smoothly as a video I saw on YouTube.

@2 of the left - I'll be doing it myself as I'm fairly comfortable with most jobs on the 2, it's just a pain.

@JohnGee thank you for the tip, if I replace the cables I'll be sure to use Amayama.

[Gaz mr-s]

Thanks all for the replies, I really appreciate it. I'm going to go with the advice from @Carolyn to come back to it and keep trying to free them up a bit more. I really, really don't want to be disconnecting any more stuff from the car right now if I can at all help it.

@Gaz mr-s - yes the boots have perished both sides. The driver's side of the car generally is worse than the passenger side weirdly. But I have replacement boots. I'm also lubing from both ends (ahem), and they are moving, just not as smoothly as a video I saw on YouTube.

You've got rubber boots?  What have you got?
The method I used was dropping the rear ends to the ground...there's a cable support further forward, undo it if you haven't. The muck accumulates in the lowest-hanging part of the cable, so I only lubed from the inside with 3 in 1 oil & 'worked' the inner with the caliper-end on the ground & it gets the muck out.

[Gaz mr-s]

These are quite handy for forcing fluid down scabby old cables...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/OXFORD-Cable-Lubrication-Lube-Motorcycle/dp/B00GC1OBC4/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1PYK2AG7OAPON&keywords=cable+lubrication+tool&qid=1653305683&sprefix=Cable+Luber%2Caps%2C74&sr=8-4

Not big enough for the handbrake cables, I've been told.

[Gaz mr-s]

The one I have fits onto the caliper end where the little rubber nipple is (and the gator should be).

Rubber nipple?   "Gaiter should be" suggests gaiter 'gone'.  Do you know about MGF gear cable rubbers?

A bike pal told me that it wouldn't fit on a handbrake cable...?

[MrChris]

You've got rubber boots?  What have you got?
The method I used was dropping the rear ends to the ground...there's a cable support further forward, undo it if you haven't. The muck accumulates in the lowest-hanging part of the cable, so I only lubed from the inside with 3 in 1 oil & 'worked' the inner with the caliper-end on the ground & it gets the muck out.

Thanks for the tip, I'll look to remove the cable supports later and hope gravity helps things along. I popped out at lunch briefly and found the driver side one was stiffer than yesterday which doesn't bode well.

Regarding the boots I've got the ones for an MG, they look a bit bigger than the MR2 ones but I guess I can stretch them over the end of the existing cable and zip tie them on.

[Gaz mr-s]

Thanks for the tip, I'll look to remove the cable supports later and hope gravity helps things along. I popped out at lunch briefly and found the driver side one was stiffer than yesterday which doesn't bode well.

Regarding the boots I've got the ones for an MG, they look a bit bigger than the MR2 ones but I guess I can stretch them over the end of the existing cable and zip tie them on.

MGF.....yes. A bit of trimming & lube them inside & 'screw' them on.