Tech Article Title Author Date
Replacing Parking Brake Cables on Audi 100 (C4 chassis) RangeR BoB 2004

This is from memory from last November, but you get the idea.

The cable starts at the caliper end.  It then goes thru the trailing arm (I have a front-track) and then above the heat shield over the exhaust, where it meets a "T" bar mounted on a long threaded rod that you use to adjust the length of the cable.

Put car on lift, remove back wheels, parking brake off.

You can get the cable off w/o dropping the exhaust, but you need nimble hands.

There is a heat shield above the exhausts held in by small hex-head sheet metal screws.  You can get at a bunch of them to loosen the shield so you can move it around.  Some screws are at the edge of the shield, and are easy to get at.  There are some INSIDE the shield (above the exhaust pipes forward of the rear muffler) that you need several extensions and a wiggle joint to get at.  Use masking tape around the wiggle joint to stiffen it up.  You'll have to push like hell on the exhaust pipes to move them to one side or the other to get the screws out.

Once you have the screws out, you can flex the heat shield back to get at the cables.

The cable disengages from the caliper fairly easily.  Twist the caliper arm forward, and pop off the ball from the caliper arm.

Now pull it out thru the trailing arm.  There is a rubber bar that limits the travel thru the trailing arm, it goes thru an oval hole.

Now disengage the ball end of the cable from the "T" bar.  It goes thru a split finger.

You probably need to slacken the T bar adjuster nut to put the new cable on, because it is shorter than the old, stretched cable you are replacing.  A really deep socket or a crowfoot on an extension would be the best tool for this.

Now, reinstallation is the reverse of disassembly, but wiggling the ball end into the T bar fitting is a real joy and can cause a few choice words.  Then put it thru the trailing arm and then attach it to the caliper.

As long as you have one off, you may as well do the other.  Its the same cable for either side.  You will probably have to loosen the T-bar some more.

Now when you have both cables in place, adjust the T-bar so that there is some slack at the caliper ends The levers on the calipers should be free to move to their stops by spring pressure alone.  Tighten the T-bar so that the cables have a little slack when the caliper arms are fully released, and the cables should be plenty tight enough to pull the
calipers tight when you set the brake

Reinstall the heat shield screws, curse freely.

Now reinstall the wheels and test the brake carefully.  Adjust as necessary.  It is not necessary to drop the heat shield to adjust the cables, there is a notch in the shield near the adjuster screw that you can reach with an extension and a really deep socket.

Good luck and be safe

RangeR BoB




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