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Kurt! I actually got samples on Friday last week and haven't had a chance to really look to see if they will do the trick. I'll take pictures later this afternoon and will post back. I did however see another option, I just need to track it down. In preparations for winter here in Ottawa, I took out my snowblower and gave it a run-through (checked the oil, got it started, etc.) and noticed that there is a bowden cable with a plug on one of the cables... I got side-tracked of course and forgot about it until just now... I'll look for a manufacturer and see where that leads... stay tuned!
These are the samples I received... (hope the pics post, pen for scale) I'm not taken with the flange, but it might not be terrible... I'll see what I can do later tonight (I'm tech support at home and my younger son has been fighting a computer virus...)
So... as a small update, I had a chance to have a bit of a closer look at the cap samples and did some surgery as the photos show. (apologies for the slowness of moving this along... yesterday here in Ottawa, we were a bit pre-occupied with the sad events of the day - best way to deal with these bastards is simply to carry on, so let's do that...)
As you might be able to see from the photos, the internal hole tapers down quite a bit once it gets towards the end. I've cut it back and the hole looks reasonable. Is there a way that I can release the cable from the "ball and socket" end to actually take the ball and socket off, slide the cap on, then reattach the ball and socket? If I unscrew (marking the current position) the ball and socket, dies it eventually simply screw off? (ha! I said screw off...)... thoughts anyone?
Gord, you could try to trim back the flange to match the tapered part and use this cylindrical part to attach the clip holding the plug to the tubing.
On my car all but the cruise control cable can be unscrewed from the ball end. However, the threaded end was still too thick to be fitted through my silicone pieces and I had to cut them all open. This may be different with your plugs so no harm done in trying.
This might be a good time for a complete re-adjustment of the bowden cable quadrants.
Kurt
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90 S4 satin black metallic
928 OC Charter Member
So... this just bugs me that we can't find an off-the-shelf part that simply fits... I went to the local small engine repair place that repairs snow blowers and I can get all the caps I want if I buy the $45 cable that comes with it!
So Every time I go out I search everywhere for caps... I think I found something that might work. I was in an arts and crafts store looking to see if I could anything that might match... found these... They are the squeeze bulbs that are used on small plastic droppers. I was going to test fit one, but it was cold and rainy (we're close to putting our summer cars away for the winter here) and only got as far as seeing if it was even a close match. Looks like it will fit on the cables that have a black plastic adjustment nut going through the brace but will probably not fit on the metal tube (see pic). I also don't know how these might stand up to the under hood heat. They simply might melt and make a huge mess...
Gord-there's got to be something out there- Warner
the bulbs look good and with the ridge at the open end any clips would sit perfectly and hold them securely down onto the ends.
For the cable with the metal tube end, one could glue a short piece of plastic tubing onto the metal so that it comes to the same diameter as the plastic ends.
If the bulbs are derived from medical products, you can just ask the manufacturer or distributor about the materials involved. I guess it should be ok as very often these things need to be able to withstand sterilization processes which involve heat and steam.
If they are pure hobbyist items and to be used in connection with paint of solvents, they might also be OK. Easiest way to test would be to put one into an oven and bake it at around 120 degC for a while and see what happens.
Kurt
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90 S4 satin black metallic
928 OC Charter Member
09-27-2014, 03:18 PM
