Hand Brake & Clutch Cables

[davidhawkins_78]

Hello to all,

Just recently bought a 8v F plate GTI after my modded XR2 bottom-end went bang !!!

I pick the car up this weekend and although she's only got 70k on the clock (with full VW Service!), the clutch cable has stretched and needs replaced and the handbrake just does fook all !

I'm a dab hand at motoring DIY, but would much rather ask you guys ( and girls ) for and advice before I go to the haynes manual to see a '1 spanner' job turn in to a weekend nightmare !!

Any advice / pitfalls to watch out for would be most apprieciated ...

[pipworks]

I replaced the clutch cable but the lever wouldn't come up far enough to fit both metal clips on the cable end. It had a manually adjustable cable on it when I got it, I replaced it with the auto adjusting one and it proved a nightmare, I had to put blocks under the lever to lift it slightly to give me clearance.

I'd just say make sure the girlfriend/wife is about before you start!

[modulater]

The clutch cable is easy to do as long as you remove the plenum chamber cover, also the cover by the pedals might need to come off for easier access.

As for the handbrake, I would say its probably the calipers seizing which is the cause. Its unusual for the cables to be that that far out of adjustment as in theory the calipers adjust themselves automatically. A good sign is if the car is sitting lower on the back than the front, a sure sign that the rear is dragging.

[golfvr6]

Probably is the calipers failing, well known on mk2s, but they can f**k the cables as well when left for too long. As the car is quite old it probs is worth doing the cables and the calipers, doing the cables is quite easy and cheap.

[tizer2000uk]

I had great fun acting the contortionist replacing the accelerator cable and the clutch cable, both are actually fairly easy to do and will only take 15 mins each.  I found it useful to put the drivers seat riiiight back and then lie down looking up at the pedals with a torch in your mouth, unhook the cable and then under the bonnet pull the cable through and then replace.  The clutch cable is a little more fiddly as there are a few metal clips at the clutch end that need clipping back in after is has been swapped.  Once both have been replaced, especially on a high miler it feels like a completely different car.

The handbrake cables are a little more fiddly as it basicly means having the bulk of the car lifted clear off the ground, which in my case would have been a nightmare seeing the slope the car is parked on.  I gave mine to a garage to do which along with a cambelt, rocker cover gasket, full oil change came to ?100, I didnt get a receipt for it tho ;o)

Certainly dont pay more than ?50 to get it done as it is a quick job to do given the right tools and working conditions.