Hand Brake adjustment

[kennyh]

Guys

Is there a way of tightening the hand brake cable? I've fitted new shoes and couldn't see an adjuster on the cable itself (I know there is an adjuster on the shoes - but I need the cable tightened)??

Any ideas?

Cheers
Kenny

 

[rich uk]

hi kenny according to haynes no mate...
"95 on...the adjustment of the rear disc brake systems depends on the inner dia of the the rotor/parking brake housing and the thickness of the of the parking brake lining"...

rich

 

[kennyh]

...That's what I read, but I was hoping that only applied to the US parking brake (which is applied by using the foot lever).

I need to take up slack on the cable, not the shoes (I've already fitted new shoes and discs), and I was hoping that there is an adjuster near the handbrake.

Anyone else had this problem? How did you fix it?

Cheers
Kenny

 

[Howard]

If you adjust the shoes correctly then the lever should not pull up more than 4,5 clicks.

Did you check that the lever bar inside has not seized when you fitted the new shoes?

Thew book says to adjust the shoes first lock them right up and back off till just free.

 

[kennyh]

Did you check that the lever bar inside has not seized when you fitted the new shoes?

Sure did; in fact I had to restrip the shoes to get the lever out and cleaned down/greased as it was originally seized. The shoes definitely move cleanly now (I checked prior to the discs going back on).

However, I think the cable itself has stretched, and even with the shoes set close to the disc (as per the Haynes manual instructions), the handle needs to be fully pulled to get the brake to bite, and even at that it is not strong enough to hold on a steep hill.

I'm sure I could sort it if there was an adjuster on the cable itself.

I was even thinking of trying to insert a piece of tubing where the bowden cable meets the brake cable bracket at the wheel; pushing the sheathing back a little, and effectively tightening the cable.

I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[BIGHVM]

A good idea, just be sure not to bend or kink that cable too much, you need to trust that cables strength!

 

[matemorh]

Old thread but............ any solution???
My hand brake barely bites and brake are new on 4 corners!

 

[BIGHVM]

Since this has surfaced again- I can tell you that once the hand brake is adjusted properly the cable will be right.
There is a small longish rubber grommet behind eack rear wheel, under that and not visible is the star that you need to turn with a flat screw driver once every thing is assembled. What I did as I was on my own was jack up the corner with the wheels on just enough to take the tyre off the ground. then remove grommet and turn the adjuster and spin the wheel with one hand till it would not turn and then do the other side. You have to turn one side opposite to the other to adjust- bear that in mind. I left it at that as soon as I could not turn the wheel with one hand and replaced the grommet.
I never backed it off as I was turning the wheel with one hand on my back and had no real leverage, and so it would not have been locked if I was facing it and turning it with both hands. Doing it this way was fine and I passed my MOT- thats the reason I adjusted it to start with.
Once in the car I did find that the handbrake was fully up on 4 clicks as before any adjustment it would have taken 8 or more and still not hold the car.

 

[DuncanOfEngland]

The parking shoe operating lever within the drum rests on a fairy flimsy metal plate. If this plate is bent and/or not tight up against the lever, then the first 5-6 clicks of the handrake lever will only result in taking out the slack in that area. If you can, get a friend to see what happens when the handbrake lever is operarated.

Duncan

 

[BIGHVM]

But I still and will always believe its the most feeble excuse for a handbrake I have seen and more suitable for a go cart than a vehicle with so much power and weight!

 

[kevin p]

I pull the handbrake on to three clicks and then wind the adjusters untill it locks the wheels. Just done mine for the MOT. It nearly works now!!!! lol.

 

[BIGHVM]

That reminds me- I only tweaked the adjustment to get through the MOT- I have not even looked at the brakes in the rear at all since I bought her- I intend to take it all apart clean, lub and replace the disks, pads, shoes and small parts- may even paint the calipers in black hammerite smooth! It never stops when you have an Explorer does it........somehow I find myself doing stuff on it a bit here and a bit there!!

 

[uk 97]

Looks like i have the same prob. adjusted the adjuster right up till locked then backed off till free.

Managed to get one disk off fairly easy but i remember i couldn't before so it had loads of WD40 on it. the other side is stuck fast. any tips or just the BFH.

shoes are pretty trashed but at least something appears to be working, a little bit. personally i can't see it being MOT standard

Stuck and not very happy at the moment

anyone any thoughts?

 

[fcat]

My MOT is due in a month, thought id adjust the handbrake after seeing this thread as it took about 9 clicks to come on and then wasnt great. Tried adjusting them and no joy, took the rear discs off and found the problem!! metal on metal doesn't grip much does it!!

 

[rich uk]

mine are due ... wow never seen a shoe with NO lining before,,
asume all the other work you had done is cool .

 

[BIGHVM]

Neked shoes- Yikes!!! thats a first for me also..

 

[uk 97]

Looks like they have been like that for a while - not really surprised when you found it didn't do much huh.

Mine were breaking up, as i took the drom off the shoe friction material was just crumbling.

Called ford, they quoted me £200. so got a set from john woolfe at £25 but there still seems an issue - when i put the handbrake on with the car stationary, 4 clicks is tight, 5 clicks would take both hands. put it on wihilst driving at 15 mph, it goes up a lot further. i suspect the shoes may be the wrong dialmeter as they are already wearing at front and rear of the material but not touching at centre.

Oh well, it's gripping and not too bad, off today to see what else it fails on.
not expecting war and peace, just a mortgage application

 

[uk 97]

Actually looking at your brakes, i think i have just found the problem.

The lever pin on mine appears to be missing, just at the end of the black line.

Still not sure why it is ok when stationary and not when rolling but if there is supposed to be a pin there and there ain't then it ain't gonna work so well.

 

[jcasey007]

check your wheel bearings at the end of the diff, my handbrake lining on one shoe had also come off the backing.

I found that the play in the bearings had worn the shoes more at the bottom (to the backing) with about 4mm left at the front.

Also made the adjustment crazy as you always adjust them with the wheels off the ground, when it's back on the wheels, the axle and drum are pushed up.

Just a thought...

Jim

 

[leec1]

same problem mate 700 quid later to the local main dealer (truro) gave me a new handbrake assembly and a 'sorry mate we can only get it to 16% efficiency' (just enough to pass MOT) 'might be the cable but thats a big job they dont make one of the cables now' didnt seem to have a clue or how to fix it properly, i had suggested the cable in the first place but ' we have to take things in order' or what they mean is computer said no. what happened to real engineers and mechanics not people that learnt at college and follow the manual. sorry rant over but i reckon im gonna have the same problem at the next mot so if anyone knows a solution or someone in the south west who knows what they are doing with these trucks please drop me a line