P1800 Hadbrake Cable routing

[Simon703]

I want to check (for a RHD P1800)- firstly I assume the cable in the photos is the Handbrake Cable?
I get a slight tiny rattle under the car (I get really frustrated with it) and I think it’s this cable as it goes over the exhaust. Ive struggled to get these photos, unfortunately I dont have the facilities to crawl underneath;- I noticed the unsheathed inner cable touches the exhaust, is this normal or should it follow another route? If normal how does everyone else solve the rattle which they will certainly get.
Cheers
Simon

[mike gilbert]

Yes that is the handbrake cable you have photographed, or at least one side of it as there are two cables, one for each drum. Even when the handbrake is off there should be sufficient tension on the cable so that it does not droop down and touch the exhaust. Assuming your exhaust is correctly mounted of course. You will see the two cables both attach to a cup shaped bracket on a threaded bar in the middle of the floorpan. By screwing the nut on the bar you can tighten the cables but be aware too much tension will cause brake drag, so there has to be a little free play. The cable looks tight in the photo's but from the clean section of cable poking our of the sheath I'm guessing your handbrake is on.

[Simon703]

Thanks Mike, there isn’t much clearance. I’ll check again tomorrow but i recall the inner cable, whilst under tension, is within a couple of mm of the exhaust. Looks like the exhaust isnt seated correctly. How much clearance between the cable and exhaust would you expect?

[mike gilbert]

My exhaust isn't fitted at the moment (I'm in the middle of a full rebuild) so I cant say but the test is whether it touches the exhaust when the handbrake is off - you don't drive with the brake on so that clearance is irrelevant. If your handbrake lever engages the parking brake on about the 4th 'click' then its not far off adjusted correctly (some may say less or more buts that's where I set mine). If it then touches the exhaust when the brake is off then the exhaust may be too high.
Another thing you can do to confirm whether this is the cause of your annoyance is to put some tape around the cable where it passes over the exhaust. If that is the cause of the rattle then the sound will change because it will not be metal on metal.

[Simon703]

Thanks Mike, good shout on the tape; I’ll try it tomorrow-