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General Handbrake Adjustment/Repair

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General Handbrake Adjustment/Repair

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CasLad

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While touring Scotland I had to take my Seicento 899cc (2001) to a garage in Thurso to adjust the handbrake. They did a bodge-up job I think because the remedy only lasted a few days, and now I have come back home I have had a look at what is amiss so that I can fix it. I have attached a photo below.
It appears to me that the "mechanic" has overtightened the nuts and bent the holding brackets. Is this correct? As I have never done this job before I don't know what the brackets should look like, but I suspect that they shouldn't be this close together. That is my first question.
My next question is how to fix it. I am thinking that I could put a few nuts between the two brackets to keep them apart and then tighten up the adjustment nuts. Can someone advise on what I/D those nuts are? I need to take my car to a friend's who has a pit and also get a long 13mm spanner, as at present I can get the mechanism undone with the tools that I have to assess what bits I need and how to repair it.
Thanks,
Handbrake.jpg
 
Get the rear drums off, check there is no lip on the drum, check the shoes, then adjust the shoes so that they ONLY JUST clear the drum.

But before that, make sure the cable is free to move and also check & lubricate the little elbow linkage that goes into the back of the drum.
 
Thanks David,
I'll do that.
Do those brackets holding the adjustment nuts in my picture look normal? Do you think that this is not the problem?
 
Sorry, I forgot to mention: when you say to check that the cable is free to move, where do you suspect that it may be snagged? Are you referring to the drums?
Thanks,
Andrew
 
CasLad said:
Sorry, I forgot to mention: when you say to check that the cable is free to move, where do you suspect that it may be snagged? Are you referring to the drums?
Thanks,
Andrew
Click to expand...
If the cable cant move freely along the whole length - then it causes the handbrake to stay on - and it may cause a poor adjustment leading to poorhandbrake and extended footpedal

Ziggy
 
CasLad said:
I forgot to mention: when you say to check that the cable is free to move, where do you suspect that it may be snagged? Are you referring to the drums?
Click to expand...
Handbrake cables can stick internally (inside the cable). Sometimes due to external damage allowing water in causing it to rust and seize.

When I changed my cable I spent quite some time slowly dripping oil into the cable until it dripped out the other end. The difference in feel afterwards (even compared to my previous new but un-lubed cable) was staggering.

The end result of a freely moving cable, linkages and adjusted shoes was a handbrake that amazed the MOT man every year (y)


As for your original image, to be honest I can't remember.
 
Thanks,
I tried to have a go at this, but the wheel locating pins were seized on on both wheel drums. I tried Plusgas but still couldn't free them and gave in as I was beginning to damage the heads of the bolts.
What also made me stop was after crawling underneath to check the length of the cable and seeing that the only way to access the handbrake lever cover was to take the exhaust off.
Thanks anyway
 
Does the wheel locating pin even need to come off to get the drum off?
Andrew
 
Thanks David,
Now that I am a bit wiser, I had a look at this again yesterday. When the handbrake stick is lifted, the adjuster under the car is moving, but (when looking under the rear of the car without removing the wheels) the mechanical actuators are not moving much or not at all: the actuator on the near side rear wheel is not moving at all whereas on the off side rear the spring connector is moving but the actuator arm isn't.
My problem is that I still can't get the drums off on either side because the wheel aligning nuts/dowels are seized on. I have also damaged the nuts somewhat in attempting to remove them using Plusgas, and not the socket won't bite on one of them at all.
So can someone please advise on which is the safest way to remove these stubborn adjuster screws? Is it safe/unsafe to put a blowtorch on them due to the brake fluid inside the drum, or is it likely to cause more damage to the wheel by bashing them off with a chisel? Or is it safest to angle-grind them off and drill them out?
Thanks
 
Have you tried a pair of grips on the spike?
Try tapping the grips with a hammer to mimic an impact driver.... or try an impact driver if you have access to one.
They are probably just very tight rather than seized.... although if they were put in dry, they could be!!
 
if your struck and can get replacement locating pins try an irwin socket or stilsons
 
Thanks for all that advice. I will try this. An excuse to buy some more tools. One of the nuts is not completely rounded.
 
In my humble opinion a working handbrake is more important than the pins.

carefully cut the pins off and get in about the handbrake mechanism.

These can be recovered using penetrating oil, but they can be worn beyond use.

Just fit new ones, applying copperslip sparingly between the moving parts before fitting.

Cheers

D
 
I`ve always absolutely hated small Fiat rear drum brakes with a real vengeance! The "so called adjusters", the hand brake levers and those evil little shoe retaining springs which can try the patience of a saint. I was dreading having to have a serious look at my Sporting `cos the lever was way past 4/5 clicks and approaching 90 degrees.

Got the drums off and all looked good with no ridges or steps on the drums and what looked like some low mileage shoes. Everything was freely moving. Now can you adjust the shoes to be really close to the drums? can you hell!!......unless there is some bright spark out there who knows different.

I put the drums back on and adjusted up the handbrake cable.......almost to the end of the available adjustment thread thus giving me 6 clicks on the lever......acceptable, just; but I`m sure something is amiss with the shoes or those horrible "adjusters" or the handbrake levers.

any comments
 
Thank you. I`ll be working on the car again Saturday. Think I`II start again and undo the nigh on adjusted to the brink handbrake mechanism, get the drums off again and examine those friction adjusters. Presumably the two off them will lever outwards so moving the shoes nearer to the drum face.


"I`ll be back" quoth the terminator
 
Only had small amount of time to tinker with the hand brake...severe pressure from `er in doors to meet the grand kids......Anyway, so slackened of the extremely adjusted handbrake cable adjuster and pulled the handbrake lever up 4 easy clicks; cable now very loose and obviously no handbrake.........HAYNES manual says set the handbrake lever at 4 clicks before any adjustments.

Took off the two drums and had a look at the friction adjusters, now if one levers the two brake shoes outwards, so being closer to the drum`s face; presumably there will be less cable slack to take up with adjustment and only a few clicks on the handbrake lever. So if you lever the shoe outwards a little and the drum won`t go on because the need to go back a bit WILL THE FRICTION ADJUSTERS LET THE SHOES GO BACK??????? I really don`t want to be dismantling the whole kit and caboodle. So left it for today.

Those who know please reply
 
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