handbrake adjustment

[Schakal]

on my last mot(a year back ) i had a slight problem with the hand brake
system (drum brakes ) as in one side working perfectly fine and the other showing less
brake effort somehow the garage fixed it (or could not be bothered and let me pass anyway :rolleyes: )
i always thought that was to do with one of the brake cables being worn/streched etc .
now while refurbing the rear axle i fitted brand new wheel cylinders and brand new handbrake cables and i still seem to have the same problem .

any ideas ?

[Mike Wilson@ PCS]

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

are you fitting new drums and shoes ?

[Schakal]

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

are you fitting new drums and shoes ?

shoes are new ,drums are not .

[Tiny Tim]

What cables are you using Evren? Both mine have been replaced for slightly shorter GTT ones, far better efficiency.

[Schakal]

What cables are you using Evren? Both mine have been replaced for slightly shorter GTT ones, far better efficiency.

i am using aftermarket renault 9 cables mate ,compared them to
old cables before fitting.
cant see how shorter cables are gonna help though (plus you got discs ;))
i have not exactly got a problem with efficency , its one side
holding better than other . 2 brand new cables pulled by the same centre
section ,i cant stop thinking one disc is worn more than the other hence
shoes on the worn side are not biting fully :confused:

[Brigsy]

Have you adjusted the shoes properly?

[Schakal]

Have you adjusted the shoes properly?

now thats something i am not sure how to do
thought they were self adjusting anyway :rolleyes:

i see how it can affect though

[Schakal]

they are bendix type btw if that makes any difference .
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa183/partsrenault/S8003662.jpg

[Brigsy]

Rofl self adjusters, they never work on any car ive owned with drums.

Take them up manually & importantly make them even both sides, adjust cables to suit mot req clicks (i do 4) & job done

[Schakal]

Rofl self adjusters, they never work on any car ive owned with drums.

Take them up manually & importantly make them even both sides, adjust cables to suit mot req clicks (i do 4) & job done


how do you adjust them manually ?

[Brigsy]

Looking at the pic, the rod can be adjusted in the middle to push the shoes out?

[Schakal]

Looking at the pic, the rod can be adjusted in the middle to push the shoes out?


will have to look into this , i remember haynes mentioning some
min and max shoe distance figures :crap:

i can see this setting me back on mot time otherwise :scared::hump:

[Brigsy]

Pah haynes figures, it ain't a black art infact very easy. 15 min job tops. If you have managed to replace the shoes then setting the adjusters is easy.

Undo the handbrake cables fully both sides. Wind the adjuster out on the shoes until the drum fits on nicely, without binding when fitted. Its one of those jobs you get a feel for over trial & error. You need the drum to slide on over the shoes. Do both sides the same, adjust both handbrake cables evenly until you get the desired amount of clicks. The Brake pedal will have less travel too, brakes will feel so much sharper.

Also make sure there's no lip on the outer of the drum, if you leave a lip on you will pull the shoes off if you need to get the drum back off.

My grandad taught me this years ago, has never failed me yet. I prefer the handbrake on drums any day of the week over discs. Now get out there and adjust them drums;)

[Schakal]

Pah haynes figures, it ain't a black art infact very easy. 15 min job tops. If you have managed to replace the shoes then setting the adjusters is easy.

Undo the handbrake cables fully both sides. Wind the adjuster out on the shoes until the drum fits on nicely, without binding when fitted. Its one of those jobs you get a feel for over trial & error. You need the drum to slide on over the shoes. Do both sides the same, adjust both handbrake cables evenly until you get the desired amount of clicks. The Brake pedal will have less travel too, brakes will feel so much sharper.

Also make sure there's no lip on the outer of the drum, if you leave a lip on you will pull the shoes off if you need to get the drum back off.

My grandad taught me this years ago, has never failed me yet. I prefer the handbrake on drums any day of the week over discs. Now get out there and adjust them drums;)

just one question ;
from what i see both handbrake cables are evenly pulled by the same self
levelling mechanism . how can can you actually adjust the cables ? :confused:

[Brigsy]

Just slacken the y-piece off on the handbrake lever, take up shoes & re tension.:)

[Schakal]

i think the problem i had was the adjustment of the shoes as in how much
they were apart from eachother .
roughly measured them today to find out there was 3mm difference
between the 2 sides to take that slack of the problem side i wound
up the adjuster nut by tapping them on the splines to turn over .
what a bitch of a job that was though :crap:

the hand brake has very much improved after doing this ,but still not
too happy with the foot brakes ,they are not as sharp as they used to be
which i think is to do with air in the system :(

[THE MASTER]

dam this is easy stuff
i can do this blind fold with a propper hangover


right listen and learn

first slacken the hand brake cables so that the leaver inside the drum is all the way back on its stop. then bring up each self adjuster so that you can just about slip the drums on (sometimes there is a lip that builds on on the drum that makes it difficuly to get the drum on) (an angle ginder can be used very carfully to remove the lip:D)

there is a point that is too tight with the self adjusters. once you have found the drag point just back of the self adjusters one or two clicks (becarful the aduster might flip its plate out)

once the shoes are adusted propperly all thats needed is to take the slack out of the cables

easy stuff
:rolleyes:

[Schakal]

dam this is easy stuff
i can do this blind fold with a propper hangover


right listen and learn

first slacken the hand brake cables so that the leaver inside the drum is all the way back on its stop. then bring up each self adjuster so that you can just about slip the drums on (sometimes there is a lip that builds on on the drum that makes it difficuly to get the drum on) (an angle ginder can be used very carfully to remove the lip:D)

there is a point that is too tight with the self adjusters. once you have found the drag point just back of the self adjusters one or two clicks (becarful the aduster might flip its plate out)

once the shoes are adusted propperly all thats needed is to take the slack out of the cables

easy stuff
:rolleyes:

funny you mentioned the lip ,i just brought the drums in to grind the lips
with a flap wheel :)

are you on about the shiny plate thing that sits on one of the splines
on the adjuster bolt ? it came off on one side while i was turning the screw to adjust ,i managed to get it back in .does that sound right ?

will give it another go tomorrow anyway ,thanks for the info :agree:

[Brigsy]

dam this is easy stuff
i can do this blind fold with a propper hangover


right listen and learn

first slacken the hand brake cables so that the leaver inside the drum is all the way back on its stop. then bring up each self adjuster so that you can just about slip the drums on (sometimes there is a lip that builds on on the drum that makes it difficuly to get the drum on) (an angle ginder can be used very carfully to remove the lip:D)

there is a point that is too tight with the self adjusters. once you have found the drag point just back of the self adjusters one or two clicks (becarful the aduster might flip its plate out)

once the shoes are adusted propperly all thats needed is to take the slack out of the cables

easy stuff
:rolleyes:


:agree: Thats the one col, i couldnt think of the wording to describe the drag point when refitting the drums, very easy to do:)

[Schakal]

ok adjusted the brakes where i can hear the shoes lightly contacting the
drums ,spinning the drum by hand once the hub nut is on i get 2-3 full turns
does this sound about right ??

[Brigsy]

Thats fine, any where near will do aslong as both sides are the same & drum ain't stuck solid.

[Schakal]

Thats fine, any where near will do aslong as both sides are the same & drum ain't stuck solid.


cool ,sounds like a retest tomorrow than :agree::laugh: