Shimano 105 10sp shift/brake levers - help needed

[Red Tornado]

Full disclosure - I am am Campy guy. The only experience I have with Shimano road shifters is down-tube rear index/front friction from long ago. All other road stuff has been the big C.

Got a pair of 105 10sp (ST-5700) shift/brake levers from a buddy that I am putting on a backup/gravel road bike. Having issues running the shift cables through the levers.

Right (rear derailleur) lever: There is a round opening on the bottom/side of the lever where the cable goes through. Saw it on the instructions, and also ran the cable through the exit point (opposite direction) and it came out of that hole. Goes through easy but when I pull on the cable to put a little tension on it and then move the levers, simulating shifting, the cable does not move and I only get 2-3 clicks each way. Tried pulling the cable a little harder, thought maybe it hadn't seated completely but that didn't help. Instructions say something about taking parts off the lever to make this easier (WTH?) but I'm a little hesitant since I'm not familiar with these levers. Looks like it's a metal or aluminum plate that might pop out with a screwdriver, but little hesitant to just take it off not knowing if there's a certain way to do it or if I need to be aware of parts coming out of place.
RD1.jpg

Left (front derailleur) lever: Looks like there's a plate on the side of the lever that has to come off to access where the cable goes. Like above, want to make sure I'm not going to have parts coming out when I remove this, or is there anything I need to be aware of prior to taking the cover off?
Won't let me attach more than one photo, so photo of front derailleur is below....

Pairing these up with 10sp Ultegra parts from the same guy. I think he's secretly trying to get me to convert to Shimano, but so far Campy's easier IMO. Lol just joking, they all have their pros & cons. I must say I do like the feel of the levers quite a bit, just from sitting on the bike and mounting/aligning them on the bars.

[Red Tornado]

Front der photo
FD2.jpg

[weisan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbqWTtLvZ_4

[eddief]

either the smallest cog in the rear or on the smallest ring in the front. if you click it to be in that position then you should be able to see daylight through the cable hole when you look from the outside to the inside.

once you can see the light, you thread the cable from the outside to inside and MUST ensure that the head of the cable is seated all way into its niche and bottomed out in the niche. sometimes you have to use a small screwdriver to push the cable head down a bit to push it into the receptacle. no seating, no go.

if you do these things then you should be able to hold the loose end of the cable in your hand, click the big lever and feel the cable being taken up (shortened) as you'd expect.

[dave thompson]

Shimano ST-5700 Tech docs, illustrates how to route both shift cables: https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/si/SI-6TH0A-002-ENG.PDF