Broke a bay door cable

[Tikvah]

Where do I get a cable?  Just a hardware item?

Any tricks to changing it?

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Dave, aircraft cable should work fine which you should be able to buy at a good hardware store. Of course, MCI probably has it in stock cut to length with ends on it too for a slighly phenominal fee.  I broke mine too but I never got around to changing it because it looked difficult to do with my water tank in the way so I left it for the new owner to fix.   

[PorchPeople]

If you have the tools to fabricate a new cable it's very doable. Changed a few not long ago. We had the puller from a greyhound shop ( think tuning fork with 90deg bend and a handle) to pull the cable and then used vice grips to hold it while the end was attached. Be sure not to munch the pulleys and that they are aligned with the cable.

[ol713]

   Hi;
       I would find some one parting out your model coach.   You can usually get
       them for next to nothing. I got mine from a MC-8 some years ago, and
       got two or three while I was at it.  You only need a few tools and some
       vice grips to hold the cable.
                                      Good luck   Merle.   

[Geoff]

Home Depot and Lowe's sells different size cables along with the fasteners.

--Geoff

[Frank @ TX]

Hi,
It seems I have to change a cable about every other year.
I get them from Luke with the ends and the length correct.
Just use the old broken end to fish thru the new end.
Get it on the pulleys correctly and the tool I use is a claw hammer to pull it to the connection point.
It's not that hard to do and no new tools are needed.
Frank

[Dave5Cs]

If you have a manual it explains exactly how to do it.

[buswarrior]

The 102D coaches finally had a little chain and holder that wrapped around the opened pantograph at the pinch point, that secured the door in the upper position. Still requires the driver to actually use it...

For those that haven't been there YET, those doors are heavy, and quite capable of being a widow maker if they come down on you.

Has anyone built themselves a safety catch of some sort to defend against spring or holding feature failure?

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[windtrader]

old broomsicks are cheap. 

[MB LeMirage]

My 1980 Prevost has holes drilled in the arms for safety pins to go in and they also have a large sprung metal tab that has to be pushed in in order to close the doors. It pops into place every time you open any bay door and blocks the hinge mechanism in the full open position. Both are simple and effective.

Ryan.