Removing cable from rusted guides?
 

My vintage steel Centurion has corrosion on the brazed-on rear-brake-cable-guides. The rust is bad enough that it seems anchored to the brake cable. I've tried penetrating oil, but the cable still doesn't want to come out of or slide through the rusted cable guides. How do I remove the brake cable without damaging the guides or the frame? Thanks!

Are you trying to remove the cable housing or the centerwire? I would dissect the centerwire and try to pull it out one strand at a time by winding the end of each strand around the nose of a set of needlenose pliers.

It is the cable housing that seems rusted to the guides. The actual brake cable inside the housing moves freely.

Maybe the heat from a hair dryer would soften the housing enough to get it to budge.

Another thing you could try is to cut the housing within 3 or 4 inches of the guide, hold the housing away from the frame and give a couple whacks with a mallet on the fresh cut end. Don't go too crazy, you don't want to bang the guide right off the frame.

If it's a spiral wound housing you could strip off the outer casing and un coil the inner metal band, maybe enough to unwind it a wrap at a time from inside the cable stop.

A soaking with PB Blaster, maybe?

I'd cut the housing short and grab it with some pliers or channel locks right up close to the housing stop and then twist and pull and twist and pull (and shout).

If that doesn't work, I'd trim the housing right against the housing stop and very, very carefully run the tip of a drill into the housing side of the cable stop, removing any housing/coil that still adhered. But don't use too large of a bit!

Neal

Thanks, Neil!

Brute force and awkwardness worked fine. Once the plastic housing around the spiral wind broke free, I had clear bite at the inner metal with channel locks. Pulling housing from BOTH sides of the guide was needed before the plastic got out of the way and let me cut the inner cable and winding.

All's well that ends well, though, so my next project is a small brass brush on a Dremel to clean before trying to find some aqua touch-up paint. Thanks again & cheers! :)