Handbrake MOT fail

Paul Fraser · Mar 2, 2007

As per title:
The problem that I have with this is that one wheel goes full on while the other doesn't come on enough. Tried altering both the adjusting screws last year to even it out but this didn't work. Garage sorted it but only enough to get through last years' MOT it seems. Looks like one of the 995mm cables doesn't come as far out of the bottom guide tub as the others so I wonder whether I have a compensating bow problem (see PET illio. 701-10) or perhaps the cables have stretched and need replacing. Has anyone done this and how did you get on around the compensating bow area. Last time I looked couldn't make head or tail of it.
Also, 'parking lever has no reserve travel'. What does this mean? Thanks.

Fen · Mar 2, 2007

One of the cables is prone to seizing, and that is probably the cause. It's the longer and more expensive one of course. I've watched the whole thing being replaced, but I can't really advise as I literally did just watch.

Paul Fraser · Mar 2, 2007

Thanks for that: there seems to be a long and a short (approx 1 & 2m) cable: might try replacing the short one as I think that is the side that is causing the problem. If I can see how it is all attached to the compensating bow I might just try dismantling the whole thing first.

944turboS · Mar 2, 2007

I will need to replace both my cables this year for exactly the same reason.

richthomas · Mar 5, 2007

I have done it, and it is fairly easy if you don't mind getting under the car. The long cable is normally the one, it seizes up at the rear drum. It should be about £35-40 and you can get genuine ones from Euro Car Parts, or OPC. Worth replacing the hand brake shoes while you are there, they get a bit forgotten about and usually look a bit tired. Genuine ones are about twice the price of pattern and for just the handbrake couldn't justify nearly £70! Trust me, you don't really want to do it all again next year just to replace the shoes.

Get the wheels off, unwind the adjuster screws inside the drum. They are at 12o'clock, and only really like to go one way, so hope it's the right way to loosen the shoes (depends which way they are put on). Undo caliper bolts, support them with a block. Remove disc, then undo springs holding to shoes on, noting how it all goes together. It's fairy simple, a spring across the top, the screw adjuster and a spring holding each of the shoes to the backing plate if I remember. The cable comes in at the bottom. I ended up having to cut my cable off as it had seized so badly inside the outer sleeve. One part I stumbled on for a bit was getting the cable out of the car. Undo it at the hand brake end, and there is a ferule in the car underneath where it enters the body. This is part of the cable, even though I thought it was welded to the body. The cable doesn't fit through this so I thought I was stuck. In the end I just yanked on the outer and pulled it out of the body!.

Then it's just fit the cable to the handbrake, attach it to the short cable (you could replace both but this one tends to be in better condition- make sure you grease/clean it out with gt85 or something) and attach to the cam in the brake backing plate. Coppper slip all moving surfaces on the handbrake shoes and cam, and mount back on the hub. This is tricky as the springs have to be all mounted and can keep popping off. I am sure it would be easier with someone to help. Mount the discs and adjust the shoes. Again this is tricky as the adjusters only really like to be turned one way. Depending on which way around they are mounted they will expand easily or loosen off easily. The top spring gets in the way of moving it. After a few goes you should get it fairly right. I think adjusting till the shoes scrub then back a little is about right. Adust the cable then replace wheels. I think the factory suggests 2 clicks of the handbrake should make the wheels hard to turn by hand, and 4 they should be locked. I think mine is currently on 5-6 just so the shoes don't scrub as there is a fine line between them being free and scrubbing slightly.

Hope that helps, I did it on a drisly afternoon on the drive, and isn't that hard. Maybe took a couple of hours, the slow bits are freeing all the old bits off as usual.

Advise offered as a guide - no warrany impied[

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pauljmcnulty · Mar 5, 2007

Trust me, you don't really want to do it all again next year just to replace the shoes.

Or the springs...they only let go when you least need it [

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So - buy new springs at the same time.

Paul Fraser · Mar 5, 2007

Thanks Rich for your long reply. A couple of questions:
Does the long cable come with a compensating bow or do you use the old one?
Did you feed the cables in from the disc end or from the compensating bow end or another way? Was is difficult to thread them through?

wibble · Mar 5, 2007

ORIGINAL: richthomas

Worth replacing the hand brake shoes while you are there, they get a bit forgotten about and usually look a bit tired. Genuine ones are about twice the price of pattern and for just the handbrake couldn't justify nearly £70!

Any recommendations on where to purchase the shoes/springs?

Thanks for the tips - my handbrake is pants on any slight incline. Not sure how it got through its MOT.

richthomas · Mar 6, 2007

If the compensating bow is the linkage to the short cable, I think I just reused the old one as the long cable doesn't come with it. I don't know what you meant by threading them through, the cable is only attached at the car behind the handbrake, in the middle to the other cable, under a retaining strap around the torsion bar tube and into the rear hub. I just attached the cable to the handbrake, then the other cable, then into the cam in the hub. It comes as a one piece inner and outer cable, as it doesn't come apart so you shouldn't need to thread anything really.

I got my shoes and cable (genuine) from Euro car parts, but that was when we could get a discount there, not sure if that is still avaliable. Springs might be an OPC only purchace, luckily mine seemed to be OK.