Handbrake Adjustment

[TONUP]

I have just replaced the bearings and halfshaft oil seals in the rear axle of my Terrano, and because of oil contamination, I also changed the brake shoes, and wheel cylinders.

After bleeding the brakes, I started to manually adjust the auto adjusters, as per the workshop download.

I have got the handbrake working now, but I have to pull it up about eleven clicks to hold the car on a good slope. This will not be any good when I start towing the caravan though.

There is bit of movement in the handbrake lever at the bottom of its travel that doesn't have any braking effect, so is there any reason that I can't tighten the cable adjuster further. Alternatively should I take the hubs off again and tighten up the adjusters bit more. My only concern is the brakes binding.

Any advice gratefully received.

Thanks & Regards

Alan

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

I have just replaced the bearings and halfshaft oil seals in the rear axle of my Terrano, and because of oil contamination, I also changed the brake shoes, and wheel cylinders.

After bleeding the brakes, I started to manually adjust the auto adjusters, as per the workshop download.

I have got the handbrake working now, but I have to pull it up about eleven clicks to hold the car on a good slope. This will not be any good when I start towing the caravan though.

There is bit of movement in the handbrake lever at the bottom of its travel that doesn't have any braking effect, so is there any reason that I can't tighten the cable adjuster further. Alternatively should I take the hubs off again and tighten up the adjusters bit more. My only concern is the brakes binding.

Any advice gratefully received.

Thanks & Regards

Alan

When I did mine, I backed off the handbrake adjustment, did the rear shoes using the old fashioned way of tightening until they start to bind, remembering to push the foot pedal quite regularly to keep them centred, then backed them off a couple of clicks. I then adjusted the cable up on the hand brake till I was happy with it. I got mine to 7 clicks, which is nice.

 

[TONUP]

When I did mine, I backed off the handbrake adjustment, did the rear shoes using the old fashioned way of tightening until they start to bind, remembering to push the foot pedal quite regularly to keep them centred, then backed them off a couple of clicks. I then adjusted the cable up on the hand brake till I was happy with it. I got mine to 7 clicks, which is nice.

Thanks for the reply. I think that I'll take the hubs off and tweak them up a bit more. When you say binding, what should I be looking for. At the moment I can take the hubs off relatively easily.

Thanks

Alan

 

[geoffdown]

I have just replaced the bearings and halfshaft oil seals in the rear axle of my Terrano, and because of oil contamination, I also changed the brake shoes, and wheel cylinders.

After bleeding the brakes, I started to manually adjust the auto adjusters, as per the workshop download.

I have got the handbrake working now, but I have to pull it up about eleven clicks to hold the car on a good slope. This will not be any good when I start towing the caravan though.

There is bit of movement in the handbrake lever at the bottom of its travel that doesn't have any braking effect, so is there any reason that I can't tighten the cable adjuster further. Alternatively should I take the hubs off again and tighten up the adjusters bit more. My only concern is the brakes binding.

Any advice gratefully received.

Thanks & Regards

Alan

the correct way is to get some lugage scales put hock round handbrake and follow how the manual does it then it will be spot on this is how i do it:thumbs

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

Thanks for the reply. I think that I'll take the hubs off and tweak them up a bit more. When you say binding, what should I be looking for. At the moment I can take the hubs off relatively easily.

Thanks

Alan

I do the adjuster up a couple of notches, put the hub on, press the foot brake, and then rotate the hub forward (Important) by hand. If it spins freely, then I take it off, and repeat. Once you put it on and as you turn the hub you can hear/feel the brakes touching it, it needs winding back the couple of notches.

So far, my hubs have not had a lip to cause a problem getting them on and off. The more you can take up with the rear adjuster, the less pull you need on the handbrake to take up the gap, but if you have a lip, then you have to have the rear brake adjuster backed off enough for the lip to pass over the shoes. Toe be honest, if mine had a lip, I would get new hubs, but I also read that some people grind the lip off.

When I adjust the handbrake lever, I keep the back wheels in the air, and do the same, adjust it up, and spin the wheel, as soon as I feel it start to drag, I back the adjuster off a bit till it turns freely.

It was how we were taught to do rear brakes at collage in the old days, and has worked on all the cars I have ever owned.

 

[solarman216]

you have tell tale buttons on the back plate, with the HB off they should be turn able (to make sure they are not seized) but as you push them in they should immediately contact the lever on the shoe indicating the cable has not been adjusted too much, if you can push the buttons in at all then back off the cables and readjust the shoes, Rick

 

[TONUP]

Thank guys for all of the advice and help provided above.

Weather permitting I'll get back out tomorrow and dedicate a couple of hours to getting this right.

Have a great weekend.

Alan

 

[rustic]

Thank guys for all of the advice and help provided above.

Weather permitting I'll get back out tomorrow and dedicate a couple of hours to getting this right.

Have a great weekend.

Alan

Hint / Tip
From various comments on this topic, I now follow the following recommendation.

You can get a 3/8" drive 10mm Deep socket with extension in via the handbrake slot to the brake adjuster without having to remove the centre console. :thumbs

This saves 1/2 hour each time.

Put the handbrake on a couple of clicks, then with a wide bladed screw driver, you can push aside the plastic trim on the lower side of the handbrake, thus allowing access to the 10mm nylock nut on the adjuster. It goes back easily, and any distortion of the plastic recovers after a few hours.

Slacken off this nut BEFORE messing with the rear drums.

You will also need a couple of M8 bolts to help remove the hub, when there is some resistance due to it jamming, on the shoes, slacken these bolts a little, then with a mallet or block of wood with a hammer, (NEVER a Hammer on it's own, or you could crack the drum) lightly tap the drum, and the shoes SHOULD drop back into position. Then continue with the M8 bolts and the drum will come off easily.:thumbs

IF the drums are seized on, spray some penetrating oil into the two M8 holes, do this several times over an hour, rotate 90 degrees each time, so the oil gets dispersed. Then try the M8 bolts.

On final assembly, I use a slight smear of copper slip/ grease on the contacting faces of the hub to the drum.
I also clean the shoes and drum with brake cleaner.

NOTE :-
The Auto adjusters on these vehicles DO NOT work in my opinion, they never have, the only way is manual adjustment, say every 6000 miles or each year.

As mentioned before, when you have taken up the slack in the rear drums, only then start to take up the slack in the handbrake cable.
Leave the rear wheels clear of the ground, to check any rubbing.
Note Due to the limited slip rear diff, as you rotate one wheel, the opposite wheel goes in the same direction, so it does take some effort. So make sure both rear wheels are clear of the ground BEFORE adjustment.

Take it for a test drive, avoid use of the brakes where possible, park up without using the brakes if poss then feel the rear drums. IF hot, you have over adjusted. Monitor it for a few days to check, and the brakes would have settled down. Mine can hold the car and a two tonne trailer on a steep slipway on just the handbrake alone. So they can be very effective when adjusted correctly.:thumbs

Never had a problem in 18 years this way, funny how I schedule this adjustment a week or two before the MOT...
:thumbs

Good luck.

best regards,

Rustic

 

[TONUP]

Rustic,

Thanks for your very detailedandhelpful work through above. I will be having a go at it later and will let you know how it goes.

Regards

Alam

 

[TONUP]

Everything seems to be working A1 now, so thanks for everyone who contributed to this thread.

One problem was that I think I had slackened the cable adjuster out too far to begin with, so I adjusted that out. Didn't have a long reach socket, but it sounds like a good tip.

I jacked the back wheels off the ground and they span freely by hand, and I also started it and ran it in this position, but couldn't hear any excessive noise/rubbing from the drums.

One thing I did notice is that with the engine running, and the car out of gear the wheels still turned? Very strange...

Handbrake now holds the car on six clicks, but I will monitor things for a while, as advised.

Regards

Alan

Alan