Technical ugly ducklings brake saga

[Advanced Driver]

Last year I had to replace my handbake linkages, and I did the cable at the same time. Ever since then the handbrake has been really rubbish. I have to pull on the lever as hard as I can for it to stop on most slopes. On a hill it is probably impossible to come to a complete stop. 3 clicks drags, 4 clicks just about stops it, but I have to pull very hard, 5 clicks is almost impossible. With 4 clicks I am able to push the car quite easily with my hands.

Any ideas what could be wrong. I've checked the routing of the handbrake cable, and I couldn't see it caught up on anything. The linkages work (they were new). The shoes and drums have loads left.

 

[chaos]

Re: Handbrake not very good

Have you checked the levers recently to make sure they move freely? I know they're newish, but it's better to check them even if it's just to eliminate them

Have you tried adjusting the cable to make sure its taut enough?

The shoes could be shot if they're glazed - when the handbrake went last time, did it seize partially on?

 

[fingers99]

Re: Handbrake not very good

Check the linkeage elbows again. They need to be really free, as in possible to flip them from open to closed with nothing more than a flip of the wrist.

The dragging puzzles me. I wonder if the springs (on the shoes) are either worn out or on the wrong way round.

 

[Advanced Driver]

Re: Handbrake not very good

Have you checked the levers recently to make sure they move freely? I know they're newish, but it's better to check them even if it's just to eliminate them

Have you tried adjusting the cable to make sure its taut enough?

The shoes could be shot if they're glazed - when the handbrake went last time, did it seize partially on?

They do move freely.

If I tighten the cable I think the handbrake lever would just get harder to pull.

How do I tell if the shoes are glazed? I've been driving with it like this for about a year now, whouldn't the glazing have gone by now? It did seize partially on. If I replaced the shoes should I replace the drums as well?

 

[Advanced Driver]

Re: Handbrake not very good

Check the linkeage elbows again. They need to be really free, as in possible to flip them from open to closed with nothing more than a flip of the wrist.

The dragging puzzles me. I wonder if the springs (on the shoes) are either worn out or on the wrong way round.

It drags (just a bit) on 3 clicks, which is what it should do.

 

[custard]

Re: Handbrake not very good

did you replace the springs?
its one of those things.
the handbrake is passable when everything works well.
if one component is down then its no good

 

[fingers99]

Re: Handbrake not very good

It drags (just a bit) on 3 clicks, which is what it should do.

********! It should be full on with the car immobile at 3 clicks, or it's a straight MOT fail on adjustment alone.

If you know it all, why ask for advice?

 

[Advanced Driver]

Re: Handbrake not very good

********! It should be full on with the car immobile at 3 clicks, or it's a straight MOT fail on adjustment alone.

If you know it all, why ask for advice?

The handbrake FAQ thing says

"the correct adjustment for the handbrake is when it just starts to drag on the 3rd click."

Is that wrong?

 

[Advanced Driver]

Re: Handbrake not very good

did you replace the springs?
its one of those things.
the handbrake is passable when everything works well.
if one component is down then its no good

No, I didn't replace them, maybe I will trying them because I certainly did struggle with them. When the springs are no good which way do they go, do they become too stiff or too loose? I would have expected them to become too loose and therefore have a dragging handbrake rather than one that is hard to apply.

 

[fingers99]

Re: Handbrake not very good

The handbrake FAQ thing says

"the correct adjustment for the handbrake is when it just starts to drag on the 3rd click."

Is that wrong?

IMHO, yes. I do mine so it's dragging on 2 clicks a couple of weeks before the MOT. By MOT time it's full on at 3. Pass.

If you take it to a SAAB dealer they'll probably pass it at 5 clicks!

 

[Advanced Driver]

Re: Handbrake not very good

IMHO, yes. I do mine so it's dragging on 2 clicks a couple of weeks before the MOT. By MOT time it's full on at 3. Pass.

If you take it to a SAAB dealer they'll probably pass it at 5 clicks!

lol, mine did pass an MOT like this, I've had doubts about whether they cut corners on the test, but that's another story.

 

[StoneNewt]

Re: Handbrake not very good

The handbrake FAQ thing says

"the correct adjustment for the handbrake is when it just starts to drag on the 3rd click."

Is that wrong?

Which FAQ? This from the haynes manual and I'd tend to go with it -
Release the handbrake and check that the rear wheels are free to turn without binding, then pull the leaver 3 or 4 clicks and check that the rear wheels are locked.

 

[Advanced Driver]

Re: Handbrake not very good

Which FAQ? This from the haynes manual and I'd tend to go with it -
Release the handbrake and check that the rear wheels are free to turn without binding, then pull the leaver 3 or 4 clicks and check that the rear wheels are locked.

From the sticky called 'Index of replies to frequently asked questions - please read this first.'. See the handbrake problems, last line. It does sound similar to what haynes says because if 4 clicks stops it then 3 will probably drag.

 

[cc1]

Re: Handbrake not very good

I had proplems with the handbrake not working at full power because the shoes were not centralising within the hub.
I tried with heavy pressure on the footpedal and hanbrake but it did not help, so in the end I had to tap the shoes to get them to move into place.
After that they worked fine.

 

[balidey]

Re: Handbrake not very good

The so called 'auto adjusters' we have on these cars is, by design, really quite shocking. Its just a friction rivet. You can help yourself by removing the drum and equalising the two shoes. What i mean by this is, the friction rivet moves in a slot, one may have moved more than the other, as there is no actual 'slack adjuster' one can, and (in many cases) does move more than the other, so when the handbrake lever is aplied, one shoe has to move more than the other to contact the drum.

On rebuilding mine I made sure everything was perfect, fitted it, tested it, crap result on the handbrake. Removed the drum, manually adjusted the shoe postion, re-fitted and it worked fine. So I would suggest you try this. There is no saying it won't go out of sync later, but you can always re-adjust it when it goes 'off' a bit.

Another trick is to reverse and pull on the handbrake. This has a tendancy to apply and lock on the shoes hard. Don't do this unless its safe, and not a great speed, just normal reversing speed is fine. This should also push both pads out fully and equaly, centralising up the two adjusters.

 

[Advanced Driver]

Re: Handbrake not very good

I don't believe it, I decided to have a look at the rear brakes and one of the shoes fell apart. Have you ever known this to happen? The lining fell off in one piece! It's too late in the evening to get any parts so I'm going to be getting a bus tomorrow and I had something planned for the evening

In future I must only try things at weekends, and I should always expect the unexpected .

 

[rallycinq]

Re: Handbrake not very good

I don't believe it, I decided to have a look at the rear brakes and one of the shoes fell apart. Have you ever known this to happen? The lining fell off in one piece! It's too late in the evening to get any parts so I'm going to be getting a bus tomorrow and I had something planned for the evening

In future I must only try things at weekends, and I should always expect the unexpected .

Yup, seen it a few times. Usually caused by the lining sticking to the drum and then the wheel turning.

Cheers

D

 

[randomizered]

Re: Handbrake not very good

Or if the drum was a bit tight refitting, and tapped on it can damage the friction material, and cause it to shear or crack.

I suppose this is one good reason for rear discs, no such problems....but it a lot of work, and the drums can work fine. Mine have been great since i replaced them.


Kristian

 

[Liam]

Re: Handbrake not very good

Broken record alert for this subject, do you have the correct cable?

Go to Fiat ask to see all the cables they have for a Sei, pick the shortest one.

Liam

 

[MiG]

Re: Handbrake not very good

IMHO, yes. I do mine so it's dragging on 2 clicks a couple of weeks before the MOT. By MOT time it's full on at 3. Pass.

If you take it to a SAAB dealer they'll probably pass it at 5 clicks!

our SAAB handbrake goes up about 5 clicks i think ?

its always been like that, and stops the car perfectly. the cinq used to be dead stop after 1 click, but its loosened up a bit now me thinks, usually 2 clicks full stop.

But you guys really shudn't be clicking the handbrake and shud push the button in, which is = 0 clicks.