Modification to move bonnet release cable to Left Side
Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 10:03 pm
Thought this might be a useful tip for anyone wanting to try it out. On UK cavs the release cable lever is located on the right side of the car and therefore has to loop it's way all around the engine bay, through all the pipes, hoses, brake pipes etc. from right to left, down the inner wing, round the battery, then into the front slam panel. This long cable with lots of bends and twists results in the cable catching on things under the bonnet, including being pinched under the LH strut mount as well as more chance of stretching and breaking.
When car is stationary there is a gap under the LH strut mounting plate, it gets caught under here and when the car moves, the plate moves up and down and flattens the cable as it pinches under it. It also can get caught up or sit over the battery, aming battery removal an added pain, in some cases, and is generally a pain to keep properly secured due to the pulling action when you have to heave the release lever.
What you can do is get a left hand drive cable and fit that on the left side of the footwell, ok not as convenient perhaps to reach from drivers seat, but it takes away all those problems listed above and the cable for the left side is much shorter and has a much easier route to the front panel.
I had this fitted on my old cavy and the effort on the lever to release the bonnet is much much less. It also takes away the lever from the drivers side giving you a wee bit more foot room, should you need it. I still have the cable somewhere and am going to replace it on my current cav. There is no bodging required as the mounting point for the cable is there on the passenger footwell. This is a bit of a fiddly job to clip in but worth it in the long run. Lastly just bung up the old hole on the RH side and if I remember rightly there is either a plugged bung on the LH of the bulkhead or it went through another existing hole quite easily.
Cable number is: 90159584
When car is stationary there is a gap under the LH strut mounting plate, it gets caught under here and when the car moves, the plate moves up and down and flattens the cable as it pinches under it. It also can get caught up or sit over the battery, aming battery removal an added pain, in some cases, and is generally a pain to keep properly secured due to the pulling action when you have to heave the release lever.
What you can do is get a left hand drive cable and fit that on the left side of the footwell, ok not as convenient perhaps to reach from drivers seat, but it takes away all those problems listed above and the cable for the left side is much shorter and has a much easier route to the front panel.
I had this fitted on my old cavy and the effort on the lever to release the bonnet is much much less. It also takes away the lever from the drivers side giving you a wee bit more foot room, should you need it. I still have the cable somewhere and am going to replace it on my current cav. There is no bodging required as the mounting point for the cable is there on the passenger footwell. This is a bit of a fiddly job to clip in but worth it in the long run. Lastly just bung up the old hole on the RH side and if I remember rightly there is either a plugged bung on the LH of the bulkhead or it went through another existing hole quite easily.
Cable number is: 90159584