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Technical  Failed MOT

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Technical  Failed MOT

AnthonyH said:
The fight is never over...lol...i mean the MOT isn't passed yet, still plenty to go wrong. I'll be back on this thread posting this emoticon again 🤕 most likely :D
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What can I say... at least enjoy it, since it's taking so long. Even if it fails again tomorrow (knock wood!), you'll get it through, in the end!
I think you put a bit too much pressure on yourself, focusing on MOT date.
 
Mike1alike said:
What can I say... at least enjoy it, since it's taking so long. Even if it fails again tomorrow (knock wood!), you'll get it through, in the end!
I think you put a bit too much pressure on yourself, focusing on MOT date.
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I kind of enjoy it, its hard to explain why i persist really, stubborness, maybe!

I don't really care if the car passes or fails its MOT, i'd like it to pass, but i have 3 cars, and only need 2, so it'll just take a bit longer. My 500X sat on the drive for 6 months while i sorted it out. Its best to have a spare car if you have my skill level...:)
 
I think i've worked half of it out. Because the previous mechanic put a cable too long on the left side and too short on the right side, it left the equalizer bar like this;

1.jpg


What this meant is that to get the "loose" nearside to engage the wheel the handbrake had to be really tight tightened up. Now with the cable on the right already too "tight" because it was too short the result was binding on the offside.

I have no idea why the equalizer bar now being level means i get the reverse effect, and the nearside is tighter, although its not binding.
 
Did you put two new cables in (R+L) build by the same manufacturer or did you just replace one?
Did you clean all the brake shoes with brake cleaner?
Are the hulls of the cable both mounted correctly to their last fixation point (no wiggle)?
Maybe one of the self-adjusters still needs to find its new position.
 
AnthonyH said:
I'll ask Yoda (@bugsymike) for an opinion on how/why the handbrake was binding on the offside, but after i changed the handbrake cables, the handbrake is now tougher on the nearside. Any idea wise one? Or anyone really ? :)
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Some of us like to sleep at night.;)
In all honesty I feel if advice had been followed correctly you may have been further ahead.
Given that you mentioned after one click brake satrted to bind, I am a little concerned that you have possibly over adjusted at lever end in car now during road test. Did you check for brakes hot or binding after this trial?
 
I measured my disc brakes with a laser IR thermoscan and found that there are a multitude of tiny hot spots present, mainly on the rear disks. After descending a hill with the handbrake slightly pulled, temperatures would range from 120° to 240°C and the high temperatures would be limited to the tiny hot spots. But braking power was even and it later passed the MOT with very good braking power and no asymetry. However, rear disk retained a somewhat "dirty" look even after cleaning them and doing braking exercises.

But measuring the drum from outside will likely average out any hotspot present internally.
 
I'll ask Yoda (@bugsymike) for an opinion on how/why the handbrake is binding on the nearsie, i change the handbrake cables and then they're togher on th
Zardo said:
Did you put two new cables in (R+L) build by the same manufacturer or did you just replace one?
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I did.

Zardo said:
Did you clean all the brake shoes with brake cleaner?
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I cleaned the drums with brake cleaner, and wiped the shoes etc. I was advised not to spray brake cleaner into the mechanism itself.

Zardo said:
Are the hulls of the cable both mounted correctly to their last fixation point (no wiggle)?
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They're rock solid.

Zardo said:
Maybe one of the self-adjusters still needs to find its new position.
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Fingers crossed :)
 
bugsymike said:
Some of us like to sleep at night.;)
In all honesty I feel if advice had been followed correctly you may have been further ahead.
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If you or one of the other experienced mechanics on FF had been sat here watching/advising while having a cuppa it'd have all been done in a day. A lot gets lost on the internet, but its better than no internet. Imagine me or anyone doing this without a mechanic, guidance, the internet, they'd have no chance :)

bugsymike said:
Given that you mentioned after one click brake satrted to bind, I am a little concerned that you have possibly over adjusted at lever end in car now during road test. Did you check for brakes hot or binding after this trial?
Click to expand...

I compared the handbrake to that of my EVO and adjusted accordingly, assuming the EVO handbrake is OK then there should be no problem...
 
You do need to check that when jacked up neither rear wheel brake binding/dragging/rubbing hard with hand brake released. You can leave wheels on for this test
 
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