Hood tensioner cable mounting points

[Ultimatt]

Hi All

I'm in need of repairing the hood tensioning cable (those that tension the canvas against the hood seals).
I've had a good look through the previous threads on the topic but am having trouble identifying where it mounts at the front, header rail end.

Does anyone have any insights of pictures of where it should be fixed as i can see no obvious fixing points on the side arms, and no way of getting at the front rail with doing some major removal of the hood canvas/front rail seals.

Cheers

Matt

[Jamie N]

Matt, the cable is hooked into the front header section of the roof and the roof fabric covers it, very difficult to see like you say, the only way to access where it joins is to remove the seal and open up the canvas, that's certainly the case on mine. I had an issue with the opposite end of the cable where the cable locking screw is, cable was rusted at that point so all I did was remove a part of the cable and join a new piece using 2 cable lockers, one either side of the main post where it passes through.

[Ultimatt]

Hi Jamie.
Thanks for the insight. Mine have both sheared at the header rail end so virtually the full cable is still fine and no corrosion. I've ordered some bike brake/gear cables to make the replacement.

Am I right in assuming that 'removing the seal' means detaching the foam rubber seal from the header rail front of the hood which I presume will the need rebonding (assuming it's bot damaged) once the cable repair has been done. Do you use the RTV732 sealant for this job or am I over thinking it?

Cheers

Matt

[Jamie N]

You don't have to completely remove the header seal Matt, unscrewing the side parts should be enough, then it would be a matter of exposing the part where the cable joins and work out a way of attaching the new cable, remember as well, the cable runs through the fabric to the point at the rear where it passes through the post and it can be a bit of a challenge to get the cable through the hood fabric as its fairly tight, put some electrical tape over the cut end and a bit of grease.

It is likely that the reason for the cable breaking is due to the header sponge retaining water and rusting the cable, all the water it soaks up through the cracks and splits runs to the edge on either side and it never really dries out.

Be good to hear how you get on.

[Ultimatt]

I'll keep you posted. I've had the Elan for 15 years and she's a daily driver. Had the soft top/hood completely replaced by trim technology probably 11 years back and can't see any rusting at the point where the cable sheared. I'm assuming whatever fixing they have at the header end simply broke under tension.

I'll be taking a look this weekend - weather dependent - and will try to take some pics for a mini write up if it all works out.

[RayD]

Hi Matt,

I'm just going from memory as I have seen it for a while but It may not be necessary to re-enact the original fixing, just having the wire in line with the "tube" its passing through is the main thing, even if it is more in view than it was before.

Ray

[Ultimatt]

Hi Ray

I recall from one of the other post on the subject that it appeared to show the fixing made by drilling a new hole in one of the side mechanism arms near the header rail and anchoring through here. Is this what you are thinking? As per the image below...

h.jpg

Matt

[RayD]

Yes Matt,

I don't know about that particular picture but that idea where the fixing point is in the right starting place to curve the sides of the hood downwards.

Ray

[Ultimatt]

How to guide to repair the Hood Tensioning Cables

If someone can upload this to the repairs or Wiki section that would be awesome, but it may help someone do their own repair.

So today I tackled the hood tensioner cables. Both sides had broken free at the header rail end resulting in saggy sides to the hood and a an ever increasing dampness under any form of inclement weather conditions. The solution has given a very taught side tension of the hod canvas which is now tight agains the hood seals.

Tools you will need for the job:

Wire cutters
Pliers (i used a multi tool)
Drill with 3 mm bit for metal
screw driver or socket with a 1/4 inch socket head
push bike brake or gear cable
2-3mm heat shrink tubing

I sources both my cable and heat shrink tubing from Amazon... The following links were what I used but there were cheaper solutions. I chose these due to their free and next day delivery with my Amazon Prime membership

Heat Shrik Tubing - £4.66

Screen Shot 2015-02-15 at 17.02.33.png

Bike Gear/Brake Cable - £5.79

IMG_0294-1.JPG

I firstly removed the existing cables and used these to measure the length of cable required and the length of heat shrink tubing needed. To remove the cable, loosen the 1/4 inch bolt at the back of the rear hood supporting bar and simply withdraw through the side channels of the hood. This can be done from either end once if the front fixing is broken.

I cut my cable to approximately 100mm longer than the existing cable to give me some room for manoeuvre. I also chose the slight thicker grade of cable from the two suppler in the pack as this was closest to the existing cable, but had more strength than the original. This would assist later when you need to push the cable back through the canvas side channels of the hood, where a thinner cable would be prone to kinking and getting caught.

As you can see, I cut the cable maintaining the end fixing that would be used on a bike. This will be used at the hood header rail end and will provide a much stronger solution that the original riveted fixing.

The next step is to cover the cable you have cut to length with the heat shrink tubing. I purchased 3mm tubing, but 2mm tubing would be fine and probably a slightly closer fit. To shrink the tubing to fit, i gently heated over a gas burner flame, using a slighter for the areas where it needed more focus.

IMG_0297-1.JPG

With the hood raised and the door open, I then went about starting the delicate process of making the repair. You will be approaching this from the front end corner of the header rail hood seal.


The original fixing is hidden by canvas and metal and is very difficult to see. You will be drilling a hole through the existing fixing plate. In order to do this, you may need to gently prise away the canvas from the inside of the car, gently pushing it away at the near outside corner. Focusing on the area marked in green on the picture below. You will shortly be drilling the area from the underside and you need to ensure you will not puncture the canvas.

IMG_0298-2.jpg

Once you have some clearance, I would suggest inserting a disposable shim of some sort between the canvas and the plate onto which it is adhered. I used a 3 mm thick bracket that had rounded edges. This will protect the canvas when you drill through from the underside.

Gently pull and hold back the corner of the rubber seal and, using a 3mm drill (this is bigger than the diameter of the cable, but will allow the lug at the end of he cable to recess into the plate and provide a more flush fixing.), drill a hole through the canvas and mounting plate slightly forward of the existing rivet fixing.

The location of the mounting plate and existing pop rivet (obscured by the canvas) is indicated in the below pic, with the position of the new hole you will be drilling arrowed in red.

IMG_0300-2.jpg

Now you have the hole drilled, I would recommend using a scalpel or stanley to gently cut the canvas at the edges of the hole you have created to make sure it is clear and the cable/lug will not foul up on it.

Use a small one to two inch section of the heat shrink tubing to protect the end of the cable. This will help prevent the individual strands of the cable getting caught in the canvas as you feed it through the edging channel. I let the tubing overhang the end by a few mm before shrinking it to fit and then cutting back to just forward of the cable end. Applying some further heat to shrink around the end.

IMG_0305-1.JPG

Now remove the shim you inserted to protect the canvas and push the cable through from the hole you have created, guiding from the inside to make sure it does not catch/puncture the hood canvas.

IMG_0301-1.JPG

I found that pushing the cable all the way through at this point and locating the end lug into the mounting plate BEFORE inserting through the canvas side channels was the best method. This then allowed more cable to grip to help guide it through the canvas. You may need to increase the size of the slit in the canvas to make inserting the cable easier.

IMG_0304-1.JPG

(shows cable pushed through but lug not fully located into mounting plate)

Continue threading the cable through the side of the hood canvas. The through the two elastic loops towards the rear.

At this stage, you will need to cut off or remove the extra 1-2 inch tubing on the end of the cable before threading it through the rear bar of the hood.
Make sure the small retaining bolt is loosened fully to allow the cable to pass through cleanly. The head of the bolt appears to be a 1/4 inch.

IMG_0307-1.JPG

At this stage, close and lock in place the hood.
Using pliers, pull the cable through fully maintaining under tension whilst you tighten the retaining bolt with your 1/4 socket.
Release the front hood clamps to allow the cable to slacken.
Unscrew the 1/4 inch retaining bolt enough to pull through approximately 5mm at retighten.

Lastly, cut the cable to final length (allow 2 inches length beyond the clamp to permit future adjustment if required) and finish with a cable end-tidy.

You hood canvas should be now nice and tight agains the hood side seals without applying too much tension and pulling the front header away from the windscreen header seal.

IMG_0308-1.JPG

Good luck and enjoy the dry interior.

Matt

[RayD]

I've made a start on the Wiki page Matt,

I'll carry on later but anyone is free to edit it.

Ray

[RayD]

Just make sure the pictures are in the correct place Matt,

You can make changes by signing in and using the edit function .. there is a link to a guide at the top of the main Wiki page.

Ray

[Ultimatt]

Made a couple of tweaks but all good.
Cheers

Matt

[GeoffSmith]

Nice work with the Wiki write up Ray and Matt.

[RayD]

Thank you Geoff,

Ray

[CallMeLegend]

This makes useful reading.

Managed to replace the missing hood frame pivot bolt (that was fun), but in the process noticed both tensioning cables were datached at the front edge.