RE: Parking brake cables on quattros

[Thomas Tornblom <Thomas.Tornblom@nexus.comm.se>]

> 
> Thomas,
> 
> I have a '87 5000S Quattro with e-brake cables that split and no longer work.  I 
> bought the car with 108k mi in this condition.  The cables have been purchased 
> but I have not had time to put them on.  Seeing the cables snake up into the 
> unknown of the under carriage scares me.  Is it a bitch to replace the cables 
> without a car lift?  Any insight into the complexity of the job would be 
> appreciated.
> 
> Thanks,
> Jeff
> 

I don't think it is even possible without a lift. It would be really
hard at least.

The worst problem is in the forward end, where the cables connect to
the lever linkage. It is right above the propeller shaft and very
tight. When I replace the cables on the 200 I disconnected the shaft
from the rear end, loosened the center bearing and let the shaft hang
down. The cables adjustment are done at this linkage and you have two
M6 nuts (10mm hex) that interlock. These has to be loosened to give
enough slack to hook the new cables back. When I pulled the cables
this weekend I managed to unhook the cables with just lowering the
center bearing, but I haven't connected them again, as I have to
replace them anyway.

I checked with the dealer how much they wanted to replace the cables,
and it was like $120, just labor :-( So I just got the cables and
hopefully will fix it this weekend.

Good luck,

Thomas.