blonde moment

[tribble]

well its like this i drove from wick to thurso today probably the best part of 50 miles there and back erm with my handbrake on .....thought it was a bit hard to drive i now have no hand brake i have left it in park as you do anyway so my question is have i done any damage or is it just a new set of brake pads havent told the old man yet and he dont need to know if i can get it fixed soon.....just a thought its lucky it aint got a choke id be hanging my handbag on it...any ideas appreciated. and stop laughing.

 

[Ilikemice]

I replaced my handbrake shoes yesterday as the old ones were toasted from someone doing the same thing. It sorted out the non-functioning handbrake it'd had since I bought it.

It's no big job at all. The shoes I bought were about £35 and were Raybestos brand.

 

[tribble]

brakes

thankyou very much for the answer it confirms what i thought i will get the nice man at mcwhatsits round the corner to put me a new set on. wont be doing that again writing myself a sticky note for the steering wheel. ive only had it two days its getting a super dooper valet monday to say sorry. cheers

 

[Ilikemice]

A valet? Mine still has doggy noseprints on the windscreen from a previous owner

I'm ashamed to say I've had dodgy parking brakes on both my autos so I've never really used them. After installing the handbrake shoes on the Explorer and getting it to work properly I proceeded to drive off with the handbrake on!

 

[tribble]

brakes

do you know what the really funny thing is is that we have admitted to it on here and i bet there are a few on here reading this thread going yep i did that. im just used to a manual. actually thats no excuse either but then ive always left that one in first gear oh it just gets worse. my smart cars just as funny i try sticking the ignition key in the steering coloum every time although i know the ignition behind the gear lever. at least i can go and get my new toy repaired and park it safely then. i am starting to wonder if its really true about us women drivers.

 

[Ilikemice]

My Chevy has a column-shift auto so after driving that whenever I park up in any car I flail my right arm to throw it into "park". I also keep my hand resting on the auto shifter of the Explorer ready to "shift down" round corners... Old habits die hard!

I did read on here that a few people have lost handbrakes the same way we have.

 

[tribble]

brakes

ive been laughing so much and my husband has just rung me and i have had to admit what ive done. well he cant do anything about it because hes down at our other home in essex so into see the scottish version of the brake repair place im toying with the idea of saying i bought it like it. also i was not aware how fast these things move we havent got any motorways up here once you get north of perth its the a9 great driving road so i have had to wait for a clear bit of straight road to be all mine blimey im used to the m25 and anything that can chuck at me and i can be accused of being a speeder not frightend at all this explorer went like greased weasel @@@@ and frightend me cant wait to get it on the motorway to see what it really can do. until then i will be driving like a granny and giving it the respect it deserves.

 

[janolsson]

Just goes to show the power of the ex. Or your handbrake was as poor as most of our ex's. I understand they are prone to the cable stretching.
If your handbrake worked sort of ok before it may be worth just winding the adjuster first to see if this works. The shoes sit in a drum which is additional to the rear disc brake, and so just used for handbrake. To adjust them look on the plate behind the wheel and at the bottom you will see an oval rubber grommet. Take out the grommit and you will see a spur type wheel. Use the end of a flat screw driver to lever the spurs around. This winds the shoe in or out depending on which way you turn it. If you have the wheel off the ground whilst you do this you can tighten until you feel resistance on turning the wheel. Make note on which way you turned the spur as the other side will be the opposite way.
If you don't feel competent to do this it may be worth finding a local friendly mechanic to do this as will only take him/her 10 mins to do.
One thing to remember if you, or a garage are jacking up the car is that the self levelling need to be swithed off using the switch behind the panel in the boot.
Also as this car is new to you it may be worth checking that the jack and the wheel brace is also behind that panel, the 2 rods are behind the rear seats and that the mechanism to lower the spare is not siezed. Also if you have locking nuts check the key is there and in good condition. Best to be prepared if you out in the wilderness.
Personally i carry a breaker bar with the right size socket for the wheel nuts as i've never got on with factory supplied wheel braces.

If you go down the replace the shoes route you may be better offer buying the shoes and the small parts kit yourself then getting a competent brake person to do the job. (£27.95 for shoes and £22.50 for small parts plus some postage @ jeepchryslerparts 020 8200 5500. These are prices on their ebay site but on the phone you could try and hagle by saying you will sing their praises on this forum. Thats what i was gonna do if i needed these parts).

Regards

 

[tribble]

yes youve brought up some very valid points there, i am familiar with the american style of brakes as i once owned a dare i say it a vauxhall sintra which is a chevvy venture. im not capable of doing it myself but i have been exitedly reading all the info on this forum and i have gained a lot of knowledge what a forum even thick females like me can understand. i am going to print out your post and take it with me because i know if i try to explain i will get it wrong and the wee man doing the brakes might break my suspension cant have that. and as for breaking down in the wilderness have you not seen the aa advert that says they go from lands end to john o groats well i live 16 miles from john o groats so they will definately be getting a call even for a flat tyre i couldnt lift one of those things theyre HUGE.