Carbon handbrake lever

[Gingerbread Man]

Looks good. I'll be ordering hopefully when I secure a new job.

[MikeO996]

tomwoodis said:

Getting the old handbrake handle off was the worst bit and dos require quite a bit of effort. New one goes on easily enough and looks great

How is the old one likely to be held on? Mine seems pretty well attached but I can't find any obvious grub screws or the like, unless they're hidden under the gaiter (which goes up inside the handle and seems itself firmly attached. Were they glued on?

Edited by MikeO996 on Saturday 21st February 15:31

[knight]

Not changed one on a 7 but when I changed one on a previous car it had been glued on so a firm grip whilst wearing rubber gloves and twist to break the seal was used. Not got my car at the moment so can't investigate further.

[tomwoodis]

A

MikeO996 said:

How is the old one likely to be held on? Mine seems pretty well attached but I can't find any obvious grub screws or the like, unless they're hidden under the gaiter (which goes up inside the handle and seems itself firmly attached. Were they glued on?

Edited by MikeO996 on Saturday 21st February 15:31

If it's the new style handbrake with the plastic handle then as you surmise, brute force is what's required. They may well be glued in place but usually, once you've managed to twist around, it should come off. Mine was hard work to remove so don't get too worried your missing a screw or what not, there aren't any. Just give it a good pull.

Tom

[tomwoodis]

Also for those fitting the new one, I found that the weld on the underlying
Lever protruded too much in some places to get the new carbon one to slide on. I got my Dremel out and sanded it back in a few places.

[ghibbett]

Yes getting the old grip off was a PITA. I wedged a very narrow strip between lever and grip and sprayed hairspray between the two (good for breaking down adhesive). The plan was then to twist it off, but it was still extremely difficult. In the end I got the mole grips out, which made a bit of a mess of the rubber grip (oh well) but broke the adhesive bond and off came the grip.

And as Tom said above, I also had to dremel down the welds on the underside of my lever. Once done it was plain sailing.

[Rallitart]

Ive just ordered one of these from Carsten... This might sound like a stupid question but what is the best way to secure the new lever ie to stop it spinning/rotating around. I don't fancy glueing it on to the handbrake itself, just in case I want to change at a later date.

[uremaw]

The two metal end pieces clamp the handbrake with grub screws so can be removed/adjusted easily. Best to put a bit of silicone sealant between one end piece and the carbon sleeve to stop the sleeve spinning.

[Rallitart]

Thanks for the reply Bud! Much appreciated... My only concern was that over time heat from the sunlight and transmission tunnel would melt the silicon and the handbrake lever would work loose.

[uremaw]

Just to clarify, the grub screws hold the new handle on. It won't come loose. The only minor issue is the carbon sleeve can rotate between the two aluminium end pieces. Doesn't affect handbrake operation - just a minor annoyance. A wee bit of silicone will be enough to prevent it.

It's a good quality part though - much nicer to look at and to use that the crappy caterham standard one.

[Gingerbread Man]

Rallitart said:

Thanks for the reply Bud! Much appreciated... My only concern was that over time heat from the sunlight and transmission tunnel would melt the silicon and the handbrake lever would work loose.

You need not worry about melting the silicone. It's not going to happen unless you set alight your Caterham.

[Rallitart]

Gotcha... I'm with you now. Thanks for the clarification

[Carsten]

It depends on which handbrake in your Caterham is used. The new version is a little bit harder to handle, because of the used glue on the rubber grip and the welding. The old one is mostly a straigth swap.

I hope you are happy with the new handbrake lever.

[Carsten]

Hey Guys,

My carbon supplier has not delivered the carbon tube until now and this will take another 3 till 4 weeks. I am sorry for the delay, but this is realy unnormal for this company. The aluminium caps are here and i will deliver the ordered levers as fast as possile.

Cheers
Carsten

[MikeO996]

Thanks for keeping us updated, Carsten

[Carsten]

Hey guys,

just got the message, that the carbon is on the way to my home. I will produce the levers over the coming weekend and you should get them next week.

Cheers
Carsten

[MikeO996]

Good man

[anonymous-user]

Mine arrived over the weekend, thanks Carsten.

One small point, at first fit, I haven't had time to look that closely, it seems to come to a halt when it hits the slight ridge 30 or 40mm down the lever. Just stops. It's not the weld, which I have smoothed off, it's higher than that.

What's the answer?

[knight]

After removing the old lever, I gave the metal shaft a going over with a Dremel and then tapped the first metal end down the shaft with a hammer and a block of wood. I very much doubt that this will ever come off now!

[MikeO996]

REALIST123 said:

Mine arrived over the weekend, thanks Carsten.

One small point, at first fit, I haven't had time to look that closely, it seems to come to a halt when it hits the slight ridge 30 or 40mm down the lever. Just stops. It's not the weld, which I have smoothed off, it's higher than that.

What's the answer?

Perseverance. Once you get it past the ridge you'll find it will go all the way (hopefully).