Hi, everyone

I've seen a few posts in here about work on the handbrake lever, including the instructions from JTIS saying to "release cover trim securing clip from brake lever and remove cover trim". I've seen the pictures from JTIS as well, but I can't make heads or tails of the second one. I've also seen posts asking the same question I had: exactly how does one remove the handbrake cover?

Well, after I'd spent about a month of occasionally futzing with the parking brake gaiter/shroud on my '97, a friend just managed to release it by sliding the leather/plastic assembly slightly forward and backward with the level down until it finally released.

Even having done this and looking at the removed cover I STILL can't figure out what JTIS was trying to say.

Hopefully this will be helpful for others, but if someone knows a better, more correct way of getting that thing off, please share!

 

yes, I posted recerntly about that. I just wiggled mine in EVERY direction until the cover's "hold" on the mechanism was released. Then it just slides off.

Z

 

Undo the press stud so the cover can be expanded to slide easily over the hand grip........?



Removal of the driver's seat is NOT required.

Graham

 

Yep, so releasing the press stud (the little snap) is the easy part. It's the next step that causes some amount of grief.

JTIS says to "release cover trim securing clip from brake lever and remove cover trim" and GGG says "the cover can be expanded to slide easily over the hand grip." Even with my cover off I couldn't figure out what the cover trim securing clip was, and I don't know exactly what to expand. I see two possibilities, though.

Looking at my cover it appears there's a large circle around the hinge of the lever and a small tab toward the back. Maybe this circle has to be pried off the hinge, expanding it as GGG says, before the cover can come off? Or maybe the clip toward the back has to be expanded out of some slot on the mechanism?

Either way, a few people posting on the forums haven't found anything easy about getting this thing off. This isn't a clear, clean solution, but it gives a few leads as to what needs to be jiggled out of place before the cover will slide forward.




Small tab circled in light green


Large circle. Small tab is near the upper right

 

I know this post is 2 years old now, but just found it, as I need to get my cover off to deal with a brake light switch issue. Although this post was helpful, it does not SOLVE the issue, it only gives about 80% of the solution. Using the tips above, I was above to find a definitive way to get these covers off.

First, unsnap the snap towards the front of the handle, as described by the gentleman above.

Next, grab the entire cover and move it towards the rear of the car. You should feel it release, then you can carefully move the cover towards the front of the car and off over the handle, once you move the very rear of the cover away from the plastic circle piece, towards the center of the car. What is happening is that there is a plastic tab (lower circle in my second photo) that catches on the metal tab (upper circle in my second photo). If you don't move the cover back, it will be held on by the plastic tab going around the rear of the metal tab, holding it in place.

Installing it is just the reverse. Just make sure the plastic tab has been placed behind the metal tab and moved forward to lock it in. Make sure you try to move the whole cover towards the center of the car to make sure it has locked in. It should not move. Then, just even the cover out and re-snap the front snap near the front of the handle.

 

This thread saved lots of time and frustration. I dropped a small knife from my pocket and I could see it, but not retrieve it, from near the base of the handbrake. The job was quick and easy after reading this forum post.

 

Good explaination.

 

Many thanks for this. I needed to remove the gaiter and was struggling to release the rearward end. Your post proved effective.

Richard