parking brake cable removal from TA, how?

[guibo09]

im about to drop my subframe, but i cant get the parking brake cable out of the rear trailing arm. i already took apart the parking brake drum and the shoes. the cable with the spring is loose and moves inside the cable sleave.

but how do i remove the cable sleave from the trailing arm? it seams like it's just jammed in there with rust. or am i doing something wrong?

[BDK]

did you remove #3, #5 and #6 from the following picture...
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...30&hg=34&fg=30

RealOEM is very useful when taking shit apart and putting it back together...

[1987E30project]

Guibo,

I'm doing my SF right now. Look a the drawing from realOEM. Pin #6 is what holds the cable to #5 once you get it out you'll be able to pull it off the hub. Part #6 is inside #5. It is a little bit tricky but look at it carefully and it will make sense. If you still have problems shoot me a PM and I can send you pictures to help you out.

[thereisnoyun]

its easier if you just unlatch it from inside the car, and keep all the ebrake system in tack and dont touch them. and then pull the line free from inside.

[guibo09]

the cable is disconnected from #5. that was a sinch, the pin just fell out into my hand. #3 is also off.

so all i have left, is the tube of the parking brake cable seized on the back of the trailing arm, and the actual cable with the little spring sticking out slightly wheel side.

my question is how do i detach the outer tube from the trailing arm?

[jms16v]

Post up a picture. I just did the subframe also, the parking brake can be a bit tricky.

[Brian D]

the cable is disconnected from #5. that was a sinch, the pin just fell out into my hand. #3 is also off.

so all i have left, is the tube of the parking brake cable seized on the back of the trailing arm, and the actual cable with the little spring sticking out slightly wheel side.

my question is how do i detach the outer tube from the trailing arm?

Sounds like the cable housing is corroded to the backing plate. It should pull out, you may need to soak it in a good penetrating oil and use some force to get it out. A hammer and a correctly sized deep socket may work.

[guibo09]

Sounds like the cable housing is corroded to the backing plate. It should pull out, you may need to soak it in a good penetrating oil and use some force to get it out. A hammer and a correctly sized deep socket may work.

yeah thats what i was afraid of. can i torch it? or will that melt the tube?

also, will the inner cable with the spring pull into the tube so its out of the way?

[wakeboardr42393]

having similar, more corroded issues.

all cars should be stainless and still cost the same. lol.

anyways, I have an 87 325i, have the rear subframe off. my (probably factory) parking brake cables were destroyed. so, I cut them off. using a propane torch and penetrating oil, I was able to get the body-end out of the previously indistinguishable steel tubes that come down from the brake handle. after much smacking, torching, chiseling, pb soaking, attempted twisting, and so on, I'm left with little steel stubs (the end of what used to be the parking brake cable) corroded to my trailing arms, still not budging one bit. I was thinking about taking them to a local shop to have them torched with an oxy-acetyline torch, then removal should be relatively easy. but, I don't know if that much heat will damage the nearby wheel bearing/hub seals and related.

If nothing works, I'll end up cutting the stubs off and drilling the ends out from the back of the trailing arm.

one more question, does part #3 in this diagram have to some out before the cable ends will come out?: http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...30&hg=34&fg=30

thanks! :D

here is a (cell phone) photo of my situation, you can see the little stub with the coiled wire coming out of it:

[Cletonius]

yeah thats what i was afraid of. can i torch it? or will that melt the tube?

also, will the inner cable with the spring pull into the tube so its out of the way?

I'm pretty sure there's a plastic sleeve inside that the cable runs inside of.

I had to torch mine to get them out of the body tubes as well as the knuckles. Luckily my cables were seized already so I just cut them with a die grinder and dealt with them on the ground after the whole subframe assembly was out.

The key to torching stuff is to heat around the thing you want to remove. With the area hot, try wiggling the bushing out and turning it. (I clamped with vise grips and went nuts). Spray some penetrating oil on it while hot and it'll help draw it in as well. Just keep at it, sometimes takes a few tries.

[wakeboardr42393]

I got my cables out, i ended up cutting the cables, and drilling out both the tube ends and the trailing arm ends, progressively larger, to the proper size, because the metal ends of the cables were stuck, corroded badly inside of the containing parts. two of the four stuck ends became loose after drilling for a bit but the other two i had to drill completely out. put the new cables in with anti-seize smeared on the slip-in ends.

fun fun fun! :D