We have a 2013 Ducato based Motorhome on the Alko chassis,
The hand brake wants adjusting and I wondered if it was through the drums or back plates, or are they automatic ?

FM02MZO said:

We have a 2013 Ducato based Motorhome on the Alko chassis,
The hand brake wants adjusting and I wondered if it was through the drums or back plates, or are they automatic ?

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Photos and docs here for the standard chassis, tophat drums, not sure about the newest alko chassis but have a gander underneath.

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/fo...atters/FIAT-X2-50-Handbrake-Adjustment/25588/

Unless you have been driving around for hours, ignoring the hand brake warning light, there is nothing to adjust under the drums because there was no wear.

The cables may have stretched a bit: that you adjust under the van in two steps. First the transfer lever from the cable to the bar, then the balancing lever in front of the rear axle.
The eLearn manual explains it in detail.

Adjusting the cable will only adjust handbrake lever/cable travel,

Fiat informed me after an independent garage adjusted my cables only causing binding & overheating of the wheel/hub etc

You slacken off the cables, then adjust the handbrake shoes through a wheel bolt hole, there is an adjusting wheel behind (turn hub until you find) once adjusted so there not binding hard, you can then adjust the cables back up,
Cables are very prone to seizing up, and stretching
Worthwhile popping a new pair on while your at it,

The hand brake warning sound switches on even if the lever is pulled a single notch, so it is virtually impossible the brake shoes can wear enough to justify adjustment. What does happen, especially with camper vehicles, is corrosion of the drum when the van is parked with the brake lever pulled and subsequent loss of material when the seized shoes break free.
For that reason I never pull the hand brake when the van is parked for more than a few hours.

The procedure of adjusting the brakes with a screwdriver through a bolt hole is primitive and was already abandoned by most car manufacturers decades ago. A small steel hook and a spring can automatically adjust the brake shoes, an investment of 10 cents per wheel!

I have to agree with rolopolo you can adjust the shoes through a hole in the drum using a flat blade screwdriver turning the cog. This is also shown as the procedure in the elearn manual. I did this on my old 2007 ducato 160.

I must have been imagining seeing the whole adjust through the wheel bolt hole thing then and the van didn't at the same time have cables replaced just a couple of months ago! Lol

My two pence worth - the adjustment thats done through the wheel bolt hole only really adjusts the play of the shoes. The real adjustment is done with the nut on the floating bracket where the two rear cables and solid rod come together.

B.T.W. following the adjusting instructions on the e-learning manual resulted in virtually no hand braking at all. Making the adjustment with the hand lever on the 6th. click didn't work for me. I did it with the lever in the rest position. I left just enough slack so the shoes didn't bind.

Rigormortis said:

My two pence worth - the adjustment thats done through the wheel bolt hole only really adjusts the play of the shoes. The real adjustment is done with the nut on the floating bracket where the two rear cables and solid rod come together.

B.T.W. following the adjusting instructions on the e-learning manual resulted in virtually no hand braking at all. Making the adjustment with the hand lever on the 6th. click didn't work for me. I did it with the lever in the rest position. I left just enough slack so the shoes didn't bind.

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OP has a 2013 - are they still the same set-up..??

The hand brake is shoe operated whilst the rear brakes are disc i.e. a 'top hat' system. The shoes therefore should never wear as the handbrake should only be applied at rest.

rayc said:

The hand brake is shoe operated whilst the rear brakes are disc i.e. a 'top hat' system. The shoes therefore should never wear as the handbrake should only be applied at rest.

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Thanks for finding that. Adjusting handbrake cables is not just a matter of taking up the slack. There are 2 adjustment points for a reason. So the cables are pulling at the right angle to provide enough leverage to produce enough tension.

hi . my m/h is a tag & on an M.O.T a few years back it failed on 2 wheels not working together so a 10 minuet job jacking up all wheels off the floor he put the hand brake on 4 notches only 2 wheels locked ( DISK'S ON MY AL-KO ) so he adjusted the 2 that was not working now all 4 lock together he also said m/h's spend most of their time parked up so choc your wheels & leave hand brake off ( stretching the cable if left on ) keep part well greased

varesecrazy said:

OP has a 2013 - are they still the same set-up..??

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Well if the PDF in the thread is for a 2013 then they are virtually idendical except on mine the shoe adjuster is at 9 o'clock rather than 12.

Hello RayC and other members.. My MH is a 2007 2.3/130 Multijet. I have the ELearn software and printed off the Handbrake adjustment instructions. I was mystified when I had taken off the nearside rear wheel. I looked through the bolts holes with a torch and could not find the toothed wheel! I had the hub replaced in 2009 after a major wheel bearing failure and wonder if a later auto-adjust backplate was fitted? I have yet to investigate the original hub on the offside. Any clues as to whether there was a change in the handbrake operating system after 2007?

Probably not. As you can see in post #13 the principle is still used, only the location differs from the drawing in the workshop manual. My 2007 van also has the adjusters at 9 o'clock.
Because this is just a parking brake there normally is no wear, so adjustment is very rare.

Take it apart so you can really see what's going on.
It will become clear when you can see shoes, levers linkages.
Good luck and post images and what you find.

Thanks to CDK and others. I did find the adjusters. Nearside at 9 and offside at 3. The offside did need more adjustment (this was the original hub) so now all OK and handbrake lever is fully on at 6 clicks. Best wishes Johndw