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Handbrake cables....
bigandy - 4/12/05 at 04:47 PM

Evening all,

I was just wondering if there is any reason why the handbrake cables that are going to be installed on my car shouldn't be packed with grease?

As supplied, the two cables seem to be a fairly loose fit the cable housing tube stuff. they don't seem to be particularly smooth running under load either, so Should they be packed with grease to lubricate them/prevent corrosion?

Cheers
Andy

Danozeman - 4/12/05 at 05:45 PM

Depends whether u want to or not. Grease will stop it seizing and make it run free'er.

JAG - 13/12/05 at 09:46 AM

quote:

Grease will stop it seizing and make it run free'er


....unless it's a modern cable and has a plastic liner in the outer or the cable itself is coated in plastic. This can react to some greases and will swell and trap the inner cable.

The plastic coatings are to reduce friction and improve efficiency.

Best check first

bigandy - 13/12/05 at 09:55 AM

Hi there,

The cable itself doesn't seem to have any coating on it, at least the bits I can see don't. I'm not sure about any inner liner to the cable housing, but would a silicone based grease prevent swelling?

cheers!
Andy

rusty nuts - 13/12/05 at 11:17 AM

Have fun trying to get the grease down the inner cable . Older cars sometimes had a grease nipple on outer cable but no modern car that I know of has . Also if rear end of cable is fitted into the backplate it's not a good idea for grease to be able to get into brakes