Hi guys, got and HGT 155 and need to do some work for the mot. done all except the hand brake. Its pi$$ poor most of the time the mot station are really anal about hand brake efficiency, my mate said it needs setting up properly, i.e. wind the piston all the way in and set it to 1-0.5 mm clearance of the back of the pad for the hand brake to work properly! This sounds like a ball ache to me and I've tried this in the past and its made no difference! Pads and discs are fine, I've bought new cables but not fitted them yet. Is there a procedure to setting the rear calipers up! Any help would be superb tonight or tomorrow, as the car is goin in for mot Monday. P.s the calipers aren't seized and I have 2 sets of rear calipers. I really don't want a failure sheet!

Had no rear brakes on marea 20v (pads were rusted shut to carriers, needed a lot of violence to remove them, looking good)
Both rear cables were seized, unfroze them with wd40 and oil. The levers in the calipers were stuck, but pipewrench and oil freed them up.
Wound pistons alltheway in, assembled, brakes with engine off until i could hear the taps stop (automatic tensioner). Then same with power brakes and a drive with couple good stomps on the pedal. Found out that one handbrake still dragged (spring for the handbrakelever on caliber wasnt strong enough -> more of pipewrench and oil treatment). A month afterwards passed equivalent of MOT with no problems on th brakes.
The tensioner wont work if handbrake is engaged.

Best of luck with the MOT on Monday mike.

Hello, will try to assist

if fitting new cables then the rear callipers need priming.
Is worth noting rear cables are known for stretching when worn.

Ok so the brakes are not siezed but are the pads moving freely when brake pedal is pressed, enough to fully stop rear wheels turning, with someone operating brake pedal you should lock up rear when up in air.

If not have a look at sliders and piston first.
Also look at rear brake compensator which although is not fully to do with the hand brake will give you a fail on rear braking efficiency and is a common issue.

To prime callipers after new cables are fitted, before hooking the handbrake cable to calliper loosen the handbrake adjuster right off.. (((with the car on level ground on all four wheels))) pump the brake pedal 10 times which sets the pistons out.Now jack up and hook the cables to the callipers and adjust hand brake.

Hope this helps,

I have a 155HGT
I thought my handbrake was way off, it wasn't holding on hills even on the final click.
Was hating the thought of playing around with the handbrake cable nuts, bolts, cable, assembly etc. It was approaching an MOT failure, but;

I put in new Discs and pads on the back, and if like magic - it reset itself to the perfect position. Win.

Id recommend the piston rewind tool from fiat. IDK how you'd do it without it. euro car parts about £100 front and back. Definitely worth it.

hi folks! Sorry for the delay and thank you very much for all the advice! After a full weekend of working on her and an ear bending off the mrs every hour i finished at 9:30pm sunday! I replaced the cables on the handbrake and had a fantastic result!!!! Turns out it was just the cables!

I carried out a stack of work and to be honest I don't regret any of it! Wishbones both sides, drop links both sides, tracking, 3 new tires, cables for handbrake, new reg plate bulbs, new headlight, front ferrodo pads and disks, exhaust system dropped out and patched in where needed (as for some its cracked), and a general check over.

The old girl went to the mot, and PASSED with one advisory, a little split on the cv boot! Like i said, I worked like a mad man over the weekend, but I'm glad she passed. Thanks for the help guys! P.s, if you need to patch any holes/cracks in your exhaust I recommend some stuff called Hard and Fast by evo stick! Its only temporary as i'm gettin a stainless system made! But this stuff is great for cracks and holes, providing you prep the surface first! Its literally stuck like sh!t to a blanket! :slayer:

Top Effot Mike! I can tell you pleased. Did you feel a big difference to the handling after all the suspension work.

The car is a different car now, everything is tight and how it should be! Its is an absolute pleasure to drive! I makes me smile everytime I nail it into an island
:slayer:

Glad it passed, great feeling after a suspension refresh.

Defo, love it now. Was starting to get a bit annoyed with all the work but, now, its superb! I guess at the end of the day, they just need a bit of tlc here and there!