[s-cars] Parking Brake Cable

[Fred Munro]

Attached is my write-up for the left cable - it's the more difficult one. I
still haven't had to replace the right cable.

Fred Munro
'94 S4

Just finished up this happy little job yesterday and am paying the usual
price for hours of heavy under-the-car work - a restless night followed by
a low grade headache and numerous aches and pains today :o) As therapy, I
thought I'd put together a how-to while the excruciating details are fresh
in my mind.
This typically simple job is complicated by the fact that on the UrS4, the
forward end of the left cable is cunningly concealed under the driveshaft
and the exhaust system. On rustbelt cars ( and mine was a prime example),
the end of the cable sheath and the spring clip that holds it into the
bracket is likely to be a mass of rust. This, and the extremely restricted
and torturous access, means that something besides the cable has to come
off. In this case it is the exhaust system. It would also help to remove
the rear driveshaft coupling and move the shaft to one side, but I found
this unnecessary. Besides, I couldn't break the CV joint free of the diff
flange, so I settled on removing the front shield and packing in some fresh
CV grease.
The right e-brake cable has slightly better access and can probably be
changed without removing the exhaust.
I did this job with the rear of the car up on standard size ramps - there
was just enough access to get it done with only moderate discomfort.
UrS4 Left E-brake Cable R&R
1.	Remove exhaust system from the main silencer back as follows:  Remove
the bolts from the two compression clamps on the inlet pipes to the main
(front-most) silencer. Pry the clamps apart at the bolt flanges. Soak the
clamps and pipes in your favourite penetrating oil and drive the clamps
back towards the muffler until they clear the forward exhaust pipes. Note
that you cannot drive them forward - protrusions on the front pipes locate
the clamps and keep them from moving forward. With the clamps moved back,
the exhaust system is hanging by the rubber mounts. Support the system
appropriately (depending how far the car is in the air) and remove the
rubber mounts on the main silencer and then at the rear resonator. At this
point you discover the system weighs about 150 lbs., so don't drop it on
anything you deem valuable. Wear your hernia truss if required!
2.	Remove the driveshaft cover plate (4 bolts) located at the rear of the
driveshaft shield. This gives a bit better access to the forward mount of
the cable.
3.	There is now enough access to the forward end of the cable to remove
even a rusted clip, using appropriate libations and voluble incantations.
Getting the new clip on is another matter, but I'll get to that.
4.	Remove the cable from the caliper. Reef up on the e-brake lever to pull
the stuck cable ( we are replacing it for a reason, I assume) through the
sheath and create some slack at the forward end. Remember to put the
e-brake lever back down, or you will spend more time on incantations.
5.	Peel back the heat shield that's wrapped around the cable just aft of
the forward end. Remove the two 10mm nuts securing the cable clip. Try not
to breathe too much of the fibre dusting down from the rotted heat shield -
it looks suspiciously like asbestos, but I neglected to get a sample for
microscopic analysis.
6.	Remove the rubber cable mounting block near the aft end of the cable
from the metal clip and pull the cable free of the trap arm and the curved
shield that guides it around a 90 degree bend. Pull the cable out of the
forward bracket and tease the front connector off the e-brake yoke. Slide
the cable back through the grommet in the diff lock shield and throw the
blasted thing in the garbage can with a shout of victory.
7.	Installing the new cable is the reverse of removal with a couple of
caveats. The new cable comes with a new grommet, but the old one is likely
to remain in the diff lock shield. Your choice. Installing the new spring
clip at the forward bracket takes a bit of dexterity. Moving the driveshaft
would help here if you have short and/or clumsy fingers. This spring likes
to take a flying leap for the safety of the driveshaft shield, so take a
Phillips screwdriver for retrieval purposes. The trick to getting this
spring clip on is to push up on the cable to square the shoulder of the
sheath end with the bracket. The normal lie of the cable is at a very
slight angle to the bracket which binds the clip. Only took me 15 minutes
and numerous sproings and much rattling of the driveshaft shield to figure
this out ( the incantations were getting rather frequent around the end of
this 15 minute period).
8.	While the exhaust is off, you may want to take some time for
preventative maintenance. Take special note of the heat shield which covers
about 2" of the front edge of the gas tank. This is probably sitting
against the tank seam and has set up an nice galvanic couple, eating the
snot out of a chunk of the heat shield and rusting the gas tank seam. I cut
the shield off just ahead of the seam, cleaned off a half pound of sand
accumulated on top of the seam, and wire brushed and painted the seam to
stave off premature gas tank replacement. Again, your choice.
9.	Replacement of the exhaust is reverse of removal. It hasn't gotten any
lighter, but I bet your patience has worn thinner. The compression clamps
can be expanded and reused, but new ones are only CDN$30 and make the job a
lot easier since they fit very loosely and slide on the pipes easily. The
original clamps have a high grade stainless compression sleeve, the new
clamps use plated steel sleeves. Stainless bolts are a good idea here.
Slide the clamps up to the nubbins on the forward pipes. The exhaust system
must be pre-tensioned cold so there is no tension on the hangers when it is
hot.  This is done at the compression clamps. Slide the system forward
until the rear hangers ( on the rear resonator) are deflected 3/8" forward.
Clamp down the compression clamps. Done!
10.	Re-install the driveshaft rear cover plate and enjoy a functioning
e-brake system!


Fred Munro
'94 S4  109k km



-----Original Message-----
From:	Martin, Gary G [SMTP:MartinGG at aetna.com]
Sent:	Friday, June 28, 2002 9:03 PM
To:	'UrS492 at aol.com'; 'AUDI S Cars Discussion List'
Subject:	RE: [s-cars] Parking Brake Cable

I just did the right side cable only on my S4 and 200. I think this side
fails (cable casing breaks and gets sticky) more often. A couple tips.
Disconnect the drive shaft at the rear connection. This gives a little more
room to work. Near the forward end of the cable, there is a clip, a well
rusted clip IME, that holds the cable. This will be your greatest
challenge.
Get a new one from dealer, to get an idea of how to get it off, and you
will
replace it anyway. Cable is about $20 from www.bimmerparts.com I assume
other vendors prices about the same.  I think Fred Munro has a procedure
for
both sides, but don't know where it is.  HTH

Gary

-----Original Message-----
From: UrS492 at aol.com [mailto:UrS492 at aol.com]
Sent: Friday, June 28, 2002 1:18 PM
To: s-car-list at audifans.com
Subject: [s-cars] Parking Brake Cable



Hey everyone,

       I have finally decided to replace the nonworking parking brake cable
so I can park on hills again.  I thought that there was only one cable to
worry about, but in looking to order, I see that there is a driver and
passenger side, do I need both?  Just what do I need to order to get this
thing working again?  I know that many of you have already done this
replacement.  What is a typical cost to purchase these cable/s.

Thanks,

Mark in UT
'92 S4
Past
86 Coupe GT
92 100 S
97 A4T
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