ANyone know where i can get handbrakes cables made up for the old TP Wagon.
Got one for the drivers side at the wreckers about 8 months ago and it is now gone stiff even though it was soaked in innox and penetrated the whole length of it to free it up more!!
That side is closer to the exhaust and i think it hastens them drying out and of course the dust probably works its way in as the rubber boots perish on the cable pretty smartly.The outer steel corrodes as well with moisture that gets in too.
Genuine are $170 a side i think i found out!! Cheers Vee

while doing that

check to see why the cable broke

might be a siezed caliper
or worn outer cable

both may need looking at

I currently have the same problem.
I am finding that solvents dont give a good enough flow of liquid to flush out the crud.
What I am planning to do is to remove the piece tthat goes onto the handbrake equalising bar, remove the inner and then thoroughly clean the inner and outer. That's the plan. The inner cable is sheathed with a polymer of some kind. Dont know if its High density polyethylene, a flouropolymer or polyrethane but it does appear to become rough at the outside end and I think this causes the binding problem.
Lubrication I think should be a dry lube such as graphite or a silicon lube.
To reinstate the cable inner end. I propose to braze it back on to the cable inner. Will need some kind of a heat sink clamp around the inner to prevent heat getting to the plastic sheath on the inner cable.
There is a mob in Melbourne who do make these things and I wondered if they would be able to refit a new cable end; but i decided against it cos of tthe cost. The car is worthless, and to be spending more than the car is worth on bits sounds wrong to me. My hand brake hasnt worked for over 5 years, so to me, its a refinement to have it working again.
besides, I have still got problems with the carby; see my latest post.
rumpfy.

i have a number of sedan cable,s here not sure if they differ from the wagon . i have a wagon im wrecking but no time to pull it out this week

Like all cars nothing is interchangeable.
Brake cables are all different. The sedan cables are different to each other; the wagon cables are different to each other and the near side is different to the off side on both sedan and wagon. That means 4 different cables.
on the wagon, the cables are different by about 15 mm. Why they couldnt make a different brake actuating lever and have the same length cables beggars belief.
But that what car makers do. I continue to thank our creator that car makers dont make bearings; otherwise nothing would anything!
rumpfy

check to see why the cable broke

Did not break I thought I mentioned it had seized by dust and junk getting in it as well as moisture corroding the outer steel sheath.
Would not be an easy thing to break them unless rusted badly as a very strong cable.
Tracked down two companies that can make new ones when you send the old ones for them to measure up etc.
Both say about $85 per side which is half genuine price!!!
Also putting kits in the callipers as well about $25per side.
Wagon are different to sedan so cannot interchange them.


Like all cars nothing is interchangeable
Nowadays more and more manufacturers use common platforms so we are finding stuff that interchanges with other models.Also even between different makes as some are owned by the same parent company eg:Audi/VW and you can even get stuff cheaper by buying from the other maker!! Figure that one out!!! I used to have a BMW ex police bike years ago and the oil filter was $29 at any BMW bike dealer go to the local BMW car dealer and buy a filter the same that actually fits a 318 car and filter was $12. Vee

There are possibly 2 companies that make handbrake cables. I have been told that 'Speedscreen' (www.speedscreen.com.au can do them.
Another is Flexdrive. Both just near Melbourne.
However, I am still progressing the repair of these things.
Dismantling; Remove the lug off the INSIDE end of the cable inner. Do this by hacksawing the ALUMINIUM lug in line with the cable. Cut from each side of the lug. Then using a cold chisel, force the lug to break away from the inner cable. You will find that the ENDS of the wires will be entwined with the aluminium and will be IMPOSSIBLE to separate from the aluminium lug without damaging the lay of the wires. Using a small grinder, cut off the wire ends as close to the cable end as possible. You will shorten the inner cable by about 3 to 4 mm if this cutting is done carefully. By doing this process carefully, you will not disturb the lay of the spring steel wires.

Now you can pull the inner cable from the outer sheath.
Most of the crud will be within about 300 mm from the brakes end of the cable assembly and it’s a good idea to flush from the ‘inside the car’ end towards the ‘outside’ end.

Clean the plastic sheath on the cable inner and if it is lumpy at all, then use a Stanley knife to smooth off the lumps.I found that both of the cable inners had some small amounts of lumpiness and these were all pared back. Don’t remove the plastic sheath completely. Not sure what material it is but it has a purpose as a self lubricating material. The gap between the cable inner and outer is only about 0.5 mm. I will possibly use a dry lubricant on the plastic sheath (silicone door lock lube or a graphite; not sure yet. BUT it is critical for the cable inner to run smoothly at a low tension, otherwise the brakes wont release when the handbrake is released.
For the cable outer, I filled them with WD40 and used a pull through to clean out the crud. Pull in the direction from the 'inside the car end' of the cable outer, to the 'brakes' end. I found on one cable there was no roughness (or rust) on the cable outer, but the other (Near side), had some rust which damaged the plastic sheath of the inner cable. Nevertheless, the soaking in WD40 and giving it a day to work resulted in a nice clean inside surface.
When putting the cable inner back into the outer, the movement was free and easy.
I had thought that silver soldering a new made-up cable lug would be OK but I'm not sure what the heat will do to the temper of the high tensile steel wire inner.
I have two solutions; one is to make up a lug with a screw clamp; and the other is to get Speedscreen to swage a new lug on to the cable inner end.
Will report back when the job is complete.
Rumpfy.

Job now done.
Firstly, the return spring on the brake assembly doesnt have a lot of pulling force so it is best to remove the caliper and strip it and clean it. Then the return spring will do the job.
next, the cables are dismantled as per my blog above. I made up a couple of lugs from 10 mm steel rod. Drilled a 5/32 hole on the central axis longways, and drilled another 5/32 hole across the centre on a diameter. This hole takes the steel centre of the cable.
The 5/32 hole on the central axis was tapped down to the cross hole with 3/16 UNC and a small grub screw fitted. The steel centre was inserted on the diametral hole and the grub screw screwed in hard.
After fitting the cables make sure the grub screw is tightened again.
Been using the handbrake now for a couple of weeks and with gentle use has not pulled out. The force applied is enough to slow the car from 60 k. Passes the RWC test requirement.