Technical Dreaded useless hand brake

[Peterg]

Hi Guys
My rear offside drum brake is not working tight enough to hold the car.
The nearside is working fine so when I tightened up the cable this put too much pressure on the nearside and made it too tight, even still the offside was not tight enough to hold.
I have taken off the drum and lubricated the pivot on the lever arm which is now moving freely.
The problem is that I am not getting enough tension on the offside brake with the handbrake applied.
Can I adjust this side independently to make it even up?
My car is 1992 60s MK2 the shoes are the old style with the silver coloured spring loaded discs on each side which I believe are the self adjusting parts.
Cheers
Pete

 

[Alex]

Does the break need bleeding?

 

[cm246]

hello there mate
I dont really know how to explain to you but when you open the drum you will see the shoes right?
on the shoes you have the upper double springs and the lower ( i think is single) on the uper one at the left shoe you have a small device with teeth tha is need to be adjusted . this spring device makes the shoe come closer to the drum .i hope this will help good luck

 

[Peterg]

Hi Guys
Thanks for the replies, the brakes do not need bleeding besides the hanbrake is not hydraulic it is cable actioned.
I have no ratchet type device on the shoes that would appear to adjust them.
The only thing I can see are 2 discs one on each shoe with a spring on the back that has a hollow shaft that sits on a peg on the back of the main drum.
Any more advice gladly accepted.
Pete

 

[(CZ)enda]

How about the pulley-like thing on the rear axle (the one on which the longer cable sits). Is it moving freely?
The purpose of the discs you described is to adjust for shoes/inside wall wear. Splash them with thin penetrating oil and try to move them and put them on again - I seem to remember this helped me once in the past.
It may also be that the drum is worn and needs to be replaced - measure its inner diameter with caliper. I am not sure about exact figures, but I think Haynes quotes them. My guess is that the inner diameter of a new drum is 185 mm, limit value is some 186 mm.
I have thrown away a pair of worn drums just yesterday - that is why the measures are still ringing in my head .

 

[bulldog5046]

i noticed mine does the same..... havent yet found a fix but good luck with it and let me know if it gets sorted.

Cheers,
Ryan Edge

 

[Morty Mort]

Just to clarify:

The Uno handbrake design and layout is crap.

I could really just stop there, but there are several things that can be done to improve it a bit. Change those pivot things and the small cable hose that is attached to it, if it doesn't move freely. Lubricate the wheel that "splits" the cable to the drums. Alex from NZ has a nice description of rising the handbrake lever in some way to make it tighter. Maybe he will bless you with some information.

Morten

 

[Peterg]

Hi Guys
Well I stripped the whole brake assemble down and found as posted here b4 that the pivot levers were very stiff and not moving freely enough to push the shoes against the hub,
Cleaned them all down and lubricated them and agitated the pivots until they were nice and loose again.
Then lubed up all the cables and pulley mechanisim.
Hey presto got a new lease of life out of old brakes and for the first time since I got the car 4 years ago the handbrake actually holds the car when I park it up, however I still leave it in gear just in case.
Pete

 

[Morty Mort]

however I still leave it in gear just in case.
Pete

Glad to hear we can help. Also turn the steering wheel inwards to the pavement when parking. When parking downhill (front facing down) engage reverse gear. The your Uno will be safe.

Safety rules learnt from my wise father... applies to any car.

The Morten of cold Norway.

 

[alexGS]

Hi Pete,

You can actually buy those curved levers (the ones that go through the backplate) brand new... they suffer from corrosion and as you found, the leverage stops working properly.

Now, as The Morten was saying... I like to improve the handbrake lever mounting, which has a dreadful design for right-hand-drive. There are only two bolts holding the lever to the floor, and the front bolt is on the wrong side (the right side of the lever, so that as you pull (from the right side) the lever just 'folds' the mounting.

Eventually the captive nut cracks away (for some reason, it's tacked to the thin sheet steel on top of the stiffening instead of underneath... you'll see what I mean when you see it...)

Of course, to see it, you'll have to get the carpet out. That means taking out the front seats & front carpet holders and making a cut just above the steering shaft.

You can stuffen up the lever mounting just by adding thick washers (about 3cm diameter) underneath the car and using a longer bolt + nut. You have to mangle the plastic cover (under the car) a little, but it's worth it. Also, add a washer to the handbrake lever pivot, and Tamtamtaa, the lever is nice and firm so that you can apply more effort to the brakes...

-Alex

 

[Morty Mort]

Now, as The Morten was saying... I like to improve the handbrake lever mounting, which has a dreadful design for right-hand-drive. There are only two bolts holding the lever to the floor, and the front bolt is on the wrong side (the right side of the lever, so that as you pull (from the right side) the lever just 'folds' the mounting.

That explains why this is not a big problem when driving on the right (left-hand-drive) side...

Morten.

 

[alexGS]

Heh heh...

The first time I learned of this problem sticks in my head:

1. My Mum took her Uno for a warrant-of-fitness. It passed.

2. I took my Uno for a warrant-of-fitness. It failed on all sorts of little things... brake lights not red enough, chip in the windscreen, and "you need to tighten the bolts holding down your handbrake lever, mate..."

I compared my handbrake lever 'feel' with my Mum's - exactly the same. Then I went to the trouble of taking out the seats, carpet etc. so that I could "tighten the bolts" - ha! Imagine the joy when I found both captive nuts cracked away - how could such a quick job be such a PAIN... On that first occasion, I fixed it by borrowing a friend's welder and welding an extra tag onto the lever, so that I could add a bolt/nut on the right side of the lever. That's one way to fix it - but just adding big washers is easier.

-Alex