Technical Hand Brake...!

[idandan]

My Ducato 2008 2.2 HDi has a rubbish handbrake, no matter how well I adjust it.
The Parking brake consists of small shoes in the disc / drum system on the rear wheels.
How can I make it work better?
I have done every correct adjustment possible, in the drum, on the cables and at the lever.
I have changed, cleaned, oiled, roughened surfaces, replaced cables, cleaned drums etc etc. A lot of which really needed doing..

So far the best result came from welding a bracket onto the lever, which prevented it from bending during use, so that it could pull more efficiently.
However the brakes seem unable to work well enough to easily pass an MOT, or to hold the van on a hill UNLESS they are tightened up so much that the brake shoes are binding on the drum.
The adjustment described in the X250 manual is not good enough. It does not solve the issue.

Any advice appreciated (other than anything about 5 clicks +/-1...!),
or 'leave it in gear'.. really does anyone not leave it in gear?

Cheers

 

[idandan]

We have a language problem. I translate binding as stuck or siezed. Yes if the brakes are rubbing they will heat up. That is what brakes do. The important thing is to make any adjustment in the right place and correct sequence. Which means that since adjusting the shoes is such a pain, great care has to be taken to get them correctly adjusted.

Another point is that overheated linings on the shoes, could become glazed. Roughening up may not be sufficient to overcome this.

Binding, is literally that the brakes are in contact with the drum / disc, not necessarily stuck or seized. MOT man will say the brakes are binding if they are adjusted too close to the drum.

 

[idandan]

Well, I may have answered my own question. I looked again at what had worked previously. Yes all the adjustments at the hub and cable points need to be done proper, blah blah blah, but this does not always fix it in my experience. Yes, brake drums and shoes need to be good and clean, though I dont think they need to be replaced with crazy expensive original parts. And No, cable stretch is not a thing, just tighten up any slack, but only replace them if they break.
I have now realised that the most likely culprit is at the lever itself. I'd fixed this before and thought it was done, but on looking again it has since bent outward again, despite the new welded on bracket. The original mount holding the lever upright is too weak. And as the lever is on the outer, door side of the driver seat, it can get pushed out of position easily in the process of getting in and out of the cab. Looking at it again today, the new bracket was obviously not enough and the lever had since bent out again from a different point on the mount. I crow-barred it back into place and hammered a wedge underneath. Now the lever is parrallel to the seat and its pull is inline with the cable. The difference is amazing. So bizarre that such a small thing could make such a difference.