Is it fairly straightforward...I've searched but can't find any topics on it. 

 

Have fitted spring assisters to rear caliper and checked and that seems to be ok but one side has to pull alot more than the other to get wheels to stop. Seems like side with less pull has a newish cable on and the other one the cable looks a bit battered so I'm guessing its just stretched longer than the other and needs changing. 

 

Is it fiddly to get new cable through tubes etc??

 

Any tips appreciated.

It's pretty straight forward. Just need to take out the two screws in the rear of the centre console and lift it up.

Done mine last year and they were stuck inside the tubes, I used mole grips/ vise grips to clamp onto the old cable the used a hammer on the groups to knock them free.

Other than that was easy enough.

Before changing that cable maybe work out why one side needs to move more - check to see if the levers are both coming up to the same angle when the brakes are fully on both wheels, if they are the same then yes do something about that cable, if the lever on one side moves a lot more than the other - then try sorting that out, probably by cleaning up the pads/discs on both sides after fully retracting the pistons on both sides etc.

 

Edit:- it is years since I sorted this out on my wife's late 2002 Polo, but I thought that there was only one cable assembly as the cable just runs round the equaliser loop/yoke.

Edited 1 February, 201610 yr by rum4mo

Yeah I will check when my assistant/girlfriend gets home as I can't watch it while pulling the handbrake. I've checked everything over and all seems to be ok. Only thing I can think of is one cable looks newish and other one looks battered so am guessing its just stretched over time.

 

Cheers people was hoping it would be an easy job as most jobs seems to be a pain in the ass.

Just apply the handbrake fully then take a look under the rear of the car - does not take two people.

When I put the handbrake on fully both sides look the same, so was going to get someone to pull it up while I'm looking so I can see whats happening properly and see why the one side is taking extra to go on.

Sorry, I see what you are getting at, you want to know that the levers have 99% stopped while the handbrake handle can then be pulled up further.  Have you had a look inside the car at the back of the handbrake handle - you should find that the yoke is tilted to one side, why don't you adjust the threaded rod to remove some slack if indeed any exists when the handbrake handle is full down?

 

A last gasp to save you replacing the cable, is it possible that because the one calliper really did need these external springs fitting for a while, that the length of cable that runs round the yoke inside the car has taken up a "false" set or shape, and it is that that is now giving this issue now that both levers now rest at their top stops? If that is what has happened, eventually the set of that section of cable will revert back to its correct shape and then maybe a slight adjustment of the threaded rod will sort things out.

Edited 1 February, 201610 yr by rum4mo

I was wrong suggesting that there was only one cable, I've checked an old Haynes Polo book and see that there are indeed two as you have suggested, sorry for any duff info!