Parking brake cable

[seanf86]

my left rear parking brake cable is not fully releasing causing my caliper to drag, I figured no biggie I'll just replace the cable except its $180 CAD and there is no aftermarket it seems. Does anyone know of an aftermarket cable? Dealer said on a 97 both rear cables are the same p/n 8D0609721AB but facelift cars have 2 diff cables left is 8D0609721R and 8D0609721AB is the right all are 1775mm in length. Rockauto cables all look too long and are for FWD and some say they fit european FWD and AWD. Is there anywhere else I can look to buy this cable without emptying my wallet? Its cold out and I need my parking brake so I can start the car and warm it up without the car rolling away on me.

[walky_talky20]

Are you 100% certain it's actually the cable and not the caliper itself? Usually it's the e-brake mechanism within the caliper that has all the drag and the cable is just fine.

[redline380]

It's the mechanism, not the cable. And they are a bitch and a half to take out of the caliper. I have the stock ones off my sedan that need to be gone through so I can put them on the Avant since the brakes sticks on it.

[walky_talky20]

Indeed. Sticky e-brake mechanism is an exceedingly common problem on the B5 (and other Audi models). Cables, not so much. It is a bit of work to rebuild the e-brake mechanism, though. Most persons just opt to replace the caliper with a newly remanufactured unit.

But for real B5 enthusiasts, this is the stuff that great DIY's are made of.

[redline380]

But for real B5 enthusiasts, this is the stuff that great DIY's are made of.

Is this a challenge for me?

[walky_talky20]

I don't know. Is it? lol

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

Link to the rear calipers for those who want to "buy" their way out of this sticky situation...

Click HERE to order or for more information


Jason

[walky_talky20]

for those who want to "buy" their way out of this sticky situation...

Cheaters!

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

Cheaters!

Keith that link was just an excuse to use a corny pun lololol...

Jason

[seanf86]

Are you 100% certain it's actually the cable and not the caliper itself? Usually it's the e-brake mechanism within the caliper that has all the drag and the cable is just fine.

100% cable, removed cable and caliper springs back to the top, attach park brake cable apply and release and theres a half inch the arm on the caliper has to travel up, inside cable sheath is rusty. The first thing I checked was the calipers, they also look like they've been replaced at some point right before I got the car since they're unusually silver looking for being a 97 in this salty shithole I like to call Winnipeg.

[walky_talky20]

100%, eh?

Well don't we look like blithering idiots, then? Burning up an entire day we *could* have been answering your actual question, and instead we're just telling you that 'we know better'. From thousands of miles away, no less.

I, for one, would be upset with these pretentious internet douchebags who think (neigh INSIST!) that they know everything. Especially that Walky character. He's not even a mechanic! What an absolute tool.

Anyway, getting back to your question. Yes, there is some - if small - amount of aftermarket support for the brake cables. It seems to revolve around what I like to call the "part number game". See Audi likes changing their part numbers sometimes, even with seemingly zero changes to the actual part. They also sometimes like to make important, or even critical changes to parts and decide not to update the number at all. The numbers, you see, are just a game that we play.

The aftermarket, on the other hand, likes to just make parts that work for people who need them. They want to be your buddy. They want to be your hero. But Audi's constant updating of part numbers gets in the way of their noble intentions, sometimes. How can they continue to pump out great parts at great prices AND keep up with all the number changes? The answer would be that they can't. So when you look up a part number like 8D0-609-721-AB, you don't see any aftermarket availability. But if you had only known that the OLD number (before some meaningless update) was 8D0-609-721-J, you would see that you can, like, TOTES score that cable for, like, 30 bucks.

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/8D0609721J/

And that is how you play the "part number game".

[seanf86]

100%, eh?

Well don't we look like blithering idiots, then? Burning up an entire day we *could* have been answering your actual question, and instead we're just telling you that 'we know better'. From thousands of miles away, no less.

I, for one, would be upset with these pretentious internet douchebags who think (neigh INSIST!) that they know everything. Especially that Walky character. He's not even a mechanic! What an absolute tool.

Anyway, getting back to your question. Yes, there is some - if small - amount of aftermarket support for the brake cables. It seems to revolve around what I like to call the "part number game". See Audi likes changing their part numbers sometimes, even with seemingly zero changes to the actual part. They also sometimes like to make important, or even critical changes to parts and decide not to update the number at all. The numbers, you see, are just a game that we play.

The aftermarket, on the other hand, likes to just make parts that work for people who need them. They want to be your buddy. They want to be your hero. But Audi's constant updating of part numbers gets in the way of their noble intentions, sometimes. How can they continue to pump out great parts at great prices AND keep up with all the number changes? The answer would be that they can't. So when you look up a part number like 8D0-609-721-AB, you don't see any aftermarket availability. But if you had only known that the OLD number (before some meaningless update) was 8D0-609-721-J, you would see that you can, like, TOTES score that cable for, like, 30 bucks.

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/8D0609721J/

And that is how you play the "part number game".

most excellent, thank you for finding that for me, I will order one asap I did not think to search by the old partnumber

[Seerlah]

Great read

[walky_talky20]

Thanks, Mitch! The "blithering idiot" part was my personal favorite. ;)

[redline380]

I didn't know "douche" was in walky's vocab

Sent from my Lumia 900 using Tapatalk

[walky_talky20]

^ I felt inspired.

[seanf86]

Ordered one from Amazon pex Germany p/n 4.1698 since ecs and amazon don't list it as in stock and I get free shipping from Amazon

[Seerlah]

I liked the "hero" parts supplier part. But remember, a hero is only a sandwich

[OMEGA SUPREME]

I just did the parking brake cables when I did a complete rear bushing replacement. Quickest way is to sawzall them out. Trust me. Sawzall them out. There are a couple of write ups to get them out after that.

[walky_talky20]

I liked the "hero" parts supplier part. But remember, a hero is only a sandwich

"Hero" was probably pushing it. "Noble intentions" definitely was. They mostly just want to take your hard-earned dollars in exchange for some often questionable parts. But sometimes you get lucky. These facts were adjusted for dramatic purposes.

[fR3ZNO]

Necro bump, any idea where to find an aftermarket parking brake cable? Tried searching using the J revision at all the usual suspects, ECS, FCP, etc. only number coming up is the latest AB revision which is $100+. Don’t see any of these mythical $30 cables :(

[walky_talky20]

Whoa, this thread is a blast from the past. I was so snarky that day. lol

Anyway, for aftermarket on these it looks like Wagner part# BC143745 is a fit. I can't confirm myself, but one Amazon reviewer confirms using that number successfully on his '96 A4 quattro. This is cool because you can get them for as low as 12 bucks each on RockAuto. 12 bucks. Twelve! Hope that helps.

[redline380]

Whoa, this thread is a blast from the past. I was so snarky that day. lol

Anyway, for aftermarket on these it looks like Wagner part# BC143745 is a fit. I can't confirm myself, but one Amazon reviewer confirms using that number successfully on his '96 A4 quattro. This is cool because you can get them for as low as 12 bucks each on RockAuto. 12 bucks. Twelve! Hope that helps.

Pretty sure that wagner PN is only food for front trac. It is obviously mostly the same but I would imagine there are some important differences

[walky_talky20]

Yes, it looks like it puts the adjuster mechanism above the driveshaft, which would make it tricky to access on a quattro. But probably worth a shot for 12 bucks. At least 1 quattro owner seems to have made it work.

[fR3ZNO]

Pretty sure that wagner PN is only food for front trac. It is obviously mostly the same but I would imagine there are some important differences

Yes, it looks like it puts the adjuster mechanism above the driveshaft, which would make it tricky to access on a quattro. But probably worth a shot for 12 bucks. At least 1 quattro owner seems to have made it work.

Yeah, I saw the Wagner ones on RockAuto as well. The lack of pictures made me hesitant. I believe they are for a FWD, as Redline mentioned.

For $12, def worth a try. Seems like the main differences between the FWD and Quattro cables are the attachment points to the car and the plastic clip that snaps into the LCA.

I also found the PEX cable that cross references to the J revision that the OP ended up buying. But I need the left side, not sure if there's a big difference between left and right. What I find confusing is the fact that earlier models call out the same cable for both sides but then there's the VIN split which specifies different cables for each side.

Also, what's even more infuriating is that the same PEX cable is only 10 euros on eBay.de about 12 usd, same price as that Wagner cable, but it's quattro specific. eBay seller said he would ship to US for 25 euros...

[fR3ZNO]

welp, bought the wagner cable. Let's see how well it fits...

[fR3ZNO]

Update for anyone who stumbles on this thread in the future. The FWD cable did in fact, fit. For the Wagner brand, I had to transfer the c-clip from my old cable over (the side that clips into the interior). The caliper end ball is a different shape from the quattro one (it's more cylindrical), but it fit in the lever just fine. Like Walky stated earlier, the adjuster mechanism is now above the driveshaft, so it'll be a challenge to adjust, but I can fit my hand in there

Also the cable clipped in to the brackets without any issue. However, thinking long term, I'd be worried about the cable being worn through by the lower control arm since there are no plastic clips to engage it in the hole. But for $12, I could replace it over 10 times and still be ahead instead of replacing with the quattro specific cable for $125~...

[walky_talky20]

Nice job! Thanks for reporting how it turned out. I'm sure it will be a help to many.

[fR3ZNO]

Nice job! Thanks for reporting how it turned out. I'm sure it will be a help to many.

Thanks! I was just being a cheapskate

[Arikaas]

i have been looking up the wagner, and stumbled on this http://www.niparts.com/s_EAF2EF/8D0609721AA.html
it seems the wagner corresponds with 8D0609721AA part number, as do all these others. so i assume that any would work as the wagner does

[Blazius]

I had the same actually ( it fucked up the rear wheel bearing, 90% of the grease came out, because I didnt notice it :P), but I replaced the springs because it wasnt pulling back the mechanism enough , but now its fine.