Bicycle Mechanics - Cable Slug Stuck in D/A Brifter

Rear der cable broke near/at the slug end in the D/A 7800 brifter. The shifter will only shift and release in the 3 highest tension positions. The front cover and the black plastic top cover and associated fasteners have been removed. 8 years of grit, grime and grease have been wiped, scrubbed with a small brush and rinsed out with WD40.

At this point looking down through the side hole I can view the cable track and see a few short cable strands, but can't quite see the slug. I can't get a hold of any strands with needle-nose pliers or tweezers to help pull it around in the release direction.

The top of the brake lever is also the housing for the shift mechanism, and the next step of dis-assembly may lead to the brifter's demise. Any suggestions for extracting that cable end slug? Thanks.

Got anything like piano wire you could form into a hook shape and sneak it down there to fish with?

someone else on here drilled out the lever to remove the head.

I used a small screw driver to pry on the shifter ratchet & turn the barrel around to where I could reach the broken cable.

Dental tools can be very helpful here. They are strong, and are designed for work in tight spaces. They're the first thing I reach for when this issue pops up in the shop. Most dentists have drawers full of these things that are no longer usable for people, but work fine on bikes. We get all ours for free. As to the actual fix, there's no hard and fast rule other than next time, inspect your cables more often! An ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure any day.

"Dental tools can be very helpful here."
Yeah, dental tools are da bomb! Besides you friendly local dentist another source of them is a local amateur radio "hamfest". There always seems to be at least one seller there who has a table full of dental tools, tweezers, hemostats, etc. which come in handy for a thousand tasks.

Another fantastic tool for getting into tight spaces and grabbing stuff is an "ear polypus". http://www.micromark.com/ear-polypus-12-inch,8097.html

+1 on more frequent inspection, cables breaking is usually a gradual process which starts with an single broken strand and progresses from there.

Thanks for the ideas. Must have strands hanging up, it won't ratchet past 3 clicks even pushing/prying on ratchet. Found the drill method, that might be the way. Found a few who got warrantee replacement from shimano for the same issue. I bought mine new in 2004. What are the chances?

Shock, the bike shop said forget it. Used the drill method. It's out and ready, and as advertised, took 10 minutes!

Link to drill method?

Link to drill method?

The google-fu is weak with this one.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/545650-Drilling-extraction-hole-in-shifter-to-remove-broken-cable-head-stuck-inside