Peter at SBits - top man :)

[raptor95GTS]

had my second cambelt change (on the same car ) done by Peter and his work and attitude were brilliant. Sorted my handbrake issue (rev1 cables dont work on rev2+ ) and all round good guy.

Friendly guy, knowledgable about these cars and just a positive attitude to doing the job properly hence I'm happy to drive a near 500 mile round trip to have the job done right first time (did I mention that's the second time he's done this car, will it survive another 5 yrs or 60k miles??? )

[Tsia]

Rev 1 cable doesn't work on the Rev 2/3... right, that could explain something. The guys at the garage where I had my new handbrake cable fitted apparently can't get the handbrake to not require pulling all the way up, nor make it actually keep the car in place on a hill as it's 'the best they could get it'. Have they fit a Rev1 cable?

[Peter Gidden]

Rev 1 cable doesn't work on the Rev 2/3... right, that could explain something. The guys at the garage where I had my new handbrake cable fitted apparently can't get the handbrake to not require pulling all the way up, nor make it actually keep the car in place on a hill as it's 'the best they could get it'. Have they fit a Rev1 cable?

Rev1 cables are shorter than rev2-5 cables.

Easy to identify: Rev1 cables have either a red or yellow band around the outer sheath, Rev2-5 cables have either green or blue.

Allan's adjuster was adjusted so far back down the threads on the rod, the mechanic had removed the spring from the rod and left it hanging! Furthermore, the levers on the calipers were not able to return to the rest position, therefore the handbrake self-adjusters were not working.

Firstly, look behind the wheels and see what colour bands are around your cables.

[Tsia]

Yellow! bu88er, looks like I've had the wrong cable fitted.

Thanks Peter

[Peter Gidden]

Yellow! bu88er, looks like I've had the wrong cable fitted.

Thanks Peter

Did the garage that fitted them supply them too?

[Tsia]

Yup. I don't want to end up on bad terms with them though, as they're already a grumpy bunch, but work with a friend of mine so I get the chance to use the ramp occasionally. Might just buy one and have it fitted elsewhere...

edit : Here's what I can see of the cable, if it's any use...

[Peter Gidden]

Pic doesn't really help. But if either one or both have a yellow band like you said, then definitely wrong cable/s.

Maybe gently tell them, whilst offering creme cakes, that they're a bunch of numpties and owe you the right cables

[Tsia]

Cheers Peter, I'll see about washing the cable tomorrow to get a decent look at the colours, as my phone's light isn't the best for investigating things like this.

[JohnnyC]

That's the hydraulic brake line, not the handbrake cable

[Tsia]

This shows how much of an expert I am!
Whereabouts would I locate that cable then, just in case I'm mistaken on that colour band?

[JohnnyC]

The cable attaches to a big bracket on the front of the rear caliper.
Very thick cable, can't rememeber how far along the coloured markers are though.

*edit, coloured marking is close to the caliper, can see the blue one here when I changed my cables and also had the caliper off...

[Peter Gidden]

Whereabouts would I locate that cable then, just in case I'm mistaken on that colour band?

Get behind rear wheel. Find brake caliper. At the rear of brake caliper is a thick black cable. It'll be routed towards the front of the car, and disappear inside the undertray. About 3"-8" from the rear of the cable should/might be a coloured band about 15mm wide.

[Tsia]

Ah, brilliant. I'll get that checked out a bit later on.
Fast responses

Cheers guys!