Removing cables from a Shimano shifter

[CanucksTraveller]

Hi, apologies if any of this is naive, I've done a lot of work on bikes but this is my first bike with STI shifters. My Haynes manual has a section on STI levers but it's quite generic, so not much use.

So I have a knackered Tiagra shifter, and it needs to be removed and sent away for replacement under warranty. I need to remove the whole shifter, disconnect the brake cable, and remove the shifter / front mech cable completely for replacement by Shimano.

What I've done so far is to remove the shifter and brake unit from the handlebar completely, and to fold the hood back and see the connections.

Now I'm a little stuck with two issues:
1: The cable outers (both of them) are almost a fully integrated part of the shifter body, almost permanently joined in a very narrow channel, and I can't see any way to separate the outer cable from the shifter. Do they just prise out with some force?
2: I can disconnect the rear brake cable with no problem, and when I pull the brake lever fully, I expect to see a brake cable nipple that I can pull on to remove the inner cable, but what I'm looking at seems to be some sort of "sealed" nipple; There's a block of metal in the shifter body with the cable running through it, and crimped metal nipples either side of the hole. There's no slot where it would have dropped out of an old fashioned lever, so I guess it has to be cut off and recrimped at refitting?

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

 

[Smokin Joe]

A good firm tug will remove the outers from the shifter body, they only push in. With the brake lever open the brake inners should just push out as well, though they may need a little persuasion if they've been there for some time.

 

[Flying Dodo]

The cable outers should just pull backwards.

If you've released the cable at the brake calliper itself, hold the brake lever fully on, and then push the inner cable backwards into the lever. You should get the nipple end then moving out of its cradle to then pull out and replace.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Both tips worked perfectly, thanks so much gentlemen. The outers did indeed just need a good firm tug, and the brake cable nipple was nothing like I'd described, once it was actually snipped at the caliper end (removing the crimped end) it just pulled out. Thanks for your responses! Every day is bike school day.

 

[Salty seadog]

Result.