Brakes Wheels 1st Gen Tires Replacing emergency brake cables

On my R50, I had to drop some of the heat shields a little for access, but
didn't really need to drop the exhaust. It's easier to get at the body holes
if you do, but probably not absolutely necessary. Not sure if it's tougher
on the R53.

 

I just did this a couple weeks ago as part of a R56 trailing arm conversion for my 2004 R53....absolutely no need to drop the exhaust, just drop the rear heat shield (four nuts I think)....then there is plenty of room to feed the cables through. Some have problems getting the R53 cables loose from the real calipers...mine were not corroded (I live in North Carolina) but if yours may be you'll want to go ahead and hit that point with rust release spray to let it start soaking in.

I did purchase the little tool for pressing in the catch clips inside the cabin where the cable comes through the floor...others have said a particular socket will work, but I found the little tool (about $25 I think) made the task dead easy....the tool is now sitting in my tool box along with all the other special mini tools I won't need for a long time, but it made the job of releasing the old cables very easy and worth the cost for me.

I did this with my car high up on jackstands...it's a bit tight under the car but all reachable. I suspect having the car on a lift would make it an easier job.

BTW, I purchased used cables on ebay and saved nearly half the cost of new...mine arrived from a west coast junkyard and looked nearly new...you may be able to do the same, or just buy new if preferred.

 

Yeah, you can use a deep socket (I think 12mm) to release the clips on the cables behind the handle with no drama. I already had a deep socket set, so I didn't need to buy anything to accomplish it.

 

Hi , i try to desambly my cable from the rear cliper ( R50) , but at this stage no possibility to move it .What is the method to take off the end cable .The cable is only insert to the caliper or it is block by clip or other parts ? Thank you for your help .