On Apr 26, 6:06 pm, robgraham wrote:

So it's got to be replaced - the question is do the collective reckon
it is better to pull the old cable out trailing in a bit of tough
string to pull the new one in, or just attached the new cable to the
old and do the heave-ho ? I know it's possibly horses for courses but
what;s the general opinion?

If I'm not sure how it'll turn out I do both. Connect the two cables
together with the intention of that working, but also attach string to
the cable being removed so if the cables do detach I can at least then
continue pulling the old cable out with the string attached. There are
no guarantees you'll end up better off but you've at least got that
piece of string routed for the full length thus potentially giving
some more options to ponder over.

It has worked for me on several occasions, and usually ends up with me
attaching the routed string to a metal cable puller and pulling that
back through so I can give the new cable another attempt.

I tend to repeat this method for all cable pulling jobs - I've got a
whole network of string through the nooks and crannies in this house
and have made some use of them long after I otherwise thought I'd
finished.

Mathew