7 replies to this topic

[silver_toes]

So, today is my mini anniversry. I picked up the little scamp one year ago today.

Today's little drama to keep me on my toes is a snapped handbrake cable. I was wondering if this is an easy job to do ? Haynes says I need to take out the drivers seat and carpet and remove part of the exhaust system (because the cable runs under the heat shield ?). The cable is broken just at the point where it passes into the rear quadrant (?) about 6 inches from the rear wheel.

Tempted to get it into the garage to get it fixed. I don't have anywhere covered to work on the car and the amount of time it's spending off the road is starting to get me down a bit.

It's a 1997 cooper by the way

Edited by silver_toes, 10 March 2013 - 10:37 AM.

[Ipod]

mine was easy, half hour job.
you might find if its broken by the quadrent, that the quadrent is siezed (mine was)
the only hassle i had was trying to change the quadrent, as the subbie needed dropping to get the pin out (siezed bad) so didnt bother changing it.

I didnt remove the carpet tho? (mpi 99)

Edit: nor did i remove any seats

Edited by Ipod, 10 March 2013 - 10:52 AM.

[l_jonez]

The cable is in 2 halves if it's snapped by the quadrant then you only need the rear section. No need to remove seats etc

[Ipod]

The cable is in 2 halves if it's snapped by the quadrant then you only need the rear section. No need to remove seats etc

that'll be why i remember not removing the carpet or seats lol
remember to grease the quadrent too

[MiniAida]

Hi Silvertoes,

I've managed to replace mine without removing much.

It is fiddly though. Here's how to do it - by the way, it is easier if you have the back of the car on ramps, you'll see why;

Put drivers seat forwards so it stays up. Don't lift the carpet yet.

Look down the side of the hand brake lever and locate the clevis pin - at the back end of the assembly. Pull out the split pin by bending the legs straight (pliers needed), then push out clevis pin. Look out for the washer on split pin side.

Lift carpet and unscrew plastic blanking plate over cable. Tie a bit of string through the bracket holes on the cable & attach it somewhere with a bit of slack so you can pull cable back in if it all pulls through underneath.

Go under the back of the car and release split pins from each wheel lever (where the cable meets the back brake assembly), push clevis pins out and release the cables by pulling them towards back of car - you'll see where the spring fits onto a backplate. Note how the cable goes through the gap between brake pipe & backplate for when you re-assemble.

You'll see why it's best to be on ramps now. the cable will only pull though to the central area of the subframe if the radius arms are taking some weight, otherwise the gap is too small. If the back of the car is safely supported on axle stands, you can use a jack to raise each side (under the shock absorber) enough to make a gap. Make a note of how the cable fits in the quadrants - you may need to widen the gap with a screwdriver to get the cable out.

Once you've got the cable out into the centre, you'll need to feed the new one through the front cable bracket - a triangular thing. If you've bought a complete front & rear cable, it's much easier, as you can skip this bit. The front cable needs pulling back through this bracket - undo a spring washer at the front of bracket first (thin screwdriver). Make enough of a loop with the cable in the bracket to feed the new cable through, before working backwards and re-assembling everything.

Fiddly, but not too complicated. No garage needed, but a safe pair of ramps / axle stands is useful. I have done this with the car half on the kerb, when I was thinner. Remember to unscrew the brake adjusting nuts on the cable before re-attaching it to the handbrake assembly as there won't be any slack & liberally grease everything.

Good luck!

MA

[silver_toes]

Thanks for the info guys

Mini aida - looking at your instruction, did you replace the whole handbrake cable assembly (front and back) ?
I'm wondering if I could get away with just replacing the rear cable ?

Is this the bit i'll be needing ?
https://www.minispar...54.aspx|Back to

[MiniAida]

It was just the rear cable I replaced, the one you have the link to.

If you look at this pic, the difficult bit is getting the new (rear) cable through the triangular bracket 3

http://www.minispare...G0761A-copy.gif

You have to pull the cable back through this bracket, just undo (prise off) the spring clip at the thin end of the triangle and the cable should pull through the back, if there's enough slack in the front cable. You can then just make enough room to push the new rear cable through. It is very fiddly if you're working under the car, but do-able.

[Tda321]

Hi Silvertoes,

I've managed to replace mine without removing much.

It is fiddly though. Here's how to do it - by the way, it is easier if you have the back of the car on ramps, you'll see why;

Put drivers seat forwards so it stays up. Don't lift the carpet yet.

Look down the side of the hand brake lever and locate the clevis pin - at the back end of the assembly. Pull out the split pin by bending the legs straight (pliers needed), then push out clevis pin. Look out for the washer on split pin side.

Lift carpet and unscrew plastic blanking plate over cable. Tie a bit of string through the bracket holes on the cable & attach it somewhere with a bit of slack so you can pull cable back in if it all pulls through underneath.

Go under the back of the car and release split pins from each wheel lever (where the cable meets the back brake assembly), push clevis pins out and release the cables by pulling them towards back of car - you'll see where the spring fits onto a backplate. Note how the cable goes through the gap between brake pipe & backplate for when you re-assemble.

You'll see why it's best to be on ramps now. the cable will only pull though to the central area of the subframe if the radius arms are taking some weight, otherwise the gap is too small. If the back of the car is safely supported on axle stands, you can use a jack to raise each side (under the shock absorber) enough to make a gap. Make a note of how the cable fits in the quadrants - you may need to widen the gap with a screwdriver to get the cable out.

Once you've got the cable out into the centre, you'll need to feed the new one through the front cable bracket - a triangular thing. If you've bought a complete front & rear cable, it's much easier, as you can skip this bit. The front cable needs pulling back through this bracket - undo a spring washer at the front of bracket first (thin screwdriver). Make enough of a loop with the cable in the bracket to feed the new cable through, before working backwards and re-assembling everything.

Fiddly, but not too complicated. No garage needed, but a safe pair of ramps / axle stands is useful. I have done this with the car half on the kerb, when I was thinner. Remember to unscrew the brake adjusting nuts on the cable before re-attaching it to the handbrake assembly as there won't be any slack & liberally grease everything.

Good luck!

MA

Not sure if you're still active MA but great post, helped me massively in replacing my rear cable this morning. Thank you.