Refurbished hand brake cable sheathing

Post in this forum for topics relating to suspension, steering, and brakes

Moderators: GRNSHRK, ron, bfons

Post Reply
jsspagg
Posts: 57
Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2014 3:11 pm
Location: Southern California

Refurbished hand brake cable sheathing

Post by jsspagg »

Trying to finish some things under the car while it is mostly apart, I tackled the hand brake cables today.
Originally I was going to leave them in place and use cable wrap (the stuff you'd organize electronic cables with) but ended up removing them from the car and using marine grade adhesive lined heat shrink tubing. I purchased 5/8 diameter tubing X 10 ft. long. I was not able to find a blue color to match the original and ordered the black color. I cut two 36 inch lengths for the job.

Step 1: Removed brake cables from car.
Step 1A: repainted hand brake lever since it is removed as part of the process to attend to the cables. It really needed a painting too.
Step 2: Remove/cut off old broken sheathing
IMG_9537.JPG
IMG_9537.JPG (4.02 MiB) Viewed 1271 times
Step 3: Remove rust from the metal cable casing under the damaged sheathing using sand paper. Seemed to work easily and quickly.
IMG_9538.JPG
IMG_9538.JPG (2.77 MiB) Viewed 1271 times
Step 4: Blow off rusty dust and debris from the sanding process and a quick rub down with acetone.
Step 5: Slide heat shrink tubing over the end of the cable. I used a shot (small amount) of silicone spray to get it into place.
Step 6: Used the heat gun to shrink the tubing and trimmed the end.
IMG_9544.JPG
IMG_9544.JPG (2.84 MiB) Viewed 1271 times
Step 7: clean up job complete
Step 7A: Potentially use some cable wrap once installed back on car- Will evaluate that option later on
IMG_9549.JPG
IMG_9549.JPG (2.53 MiB) Viewed 1271 times
1980 635 Euro
Under restoration
jsspagg
Posts: 57
Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2014 3:11 pm
Location: Southern California

Re: Refurbished hand brake cable sheathing

Post by jsspagg »

Some additional images of the completed job.
Attachments
IMG_9548.JPG
IMG_9548.JPG (4.06 MiB) Viewed 1270 times
IMG_9547.JPG
IMG_9547.JPG (3.8 MiB) Viewed 1270 times
IMG_9546.JPG
IMG_9546.JPG (4.02 MiB) Viewed 1270 times
IMG_9545.JPG
IMG_9545.JPG (2.7 MiB) Viewed 1270 times
1980 635 Euro
Under restoration
User avatar
olympia57
Platinum Member
Platinum Member
Posts: 1389
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:47 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: Refurbished hand brake cable sheathing

Post by olympia57 »

Superb ..... =D>
What a great idea and the finish is magnificent .
I have a marine chandlers close by so will pop in and see if he has similar product in different sizes .
Looks great .
1981 635 series 1
jsspagg
Posts: 57
Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2014 3:11 pm
Location: Southern California

Re: Refurbished hand brake cable sheathing

Post by jsspagg »

Thanks Olympia- I sourced the heat shrink from Amazon for around $10. Just make sure it is the one with the adhesive. The one without is quite thin.
1980 635 Euro
Under restoration
User avatar
RossDinan6
Posts: 295
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 2:35 am
Location: SW FL, USA

Re: Refurbished hand brake cable sheathing

Post by RossDinan6 »

olympia57 wrote: Wed May 31, 2023 7:24 am Superb ..... =D>
What a great idea and the finish is magnificent .
I have a marine chandlers close by so will pop in and see if he has similar product in different sizes .
Looks great .
You will likely find heat shrink at the marine outfit in fairly short lengths. Normally used for sealing wires after a terminal or lug has been crimped on. Inches rather than feet long (or millimeters rather than meters if you prefer).

Really good idea from the OP. I'll second using adhesive lined in this case.
Ross
'84 633 Dinan turbo
User avatar
Slownrusty
Posts: 606
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2019 2:22 pm
Location: Houston, TX

Re: Refurbished hand brake cable sheathing

Post by Slownrusty »

That looks fantastic!

Very innovative.
Post Reply