Technical handbrake adjustment

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Technical handbrake adjustment

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Jan 1, 2007
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Bangor, County Down
Can someone please tell me how to get at the handbrake adjusters at the handbrake lever end of the cables. Does the armrest have to be removed and if so how? Car is a 1.4 95bhp Easy.
Thanks for any help
 
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Reason I ask is experience with a Stilo over the past 13 years. One of the fairly regular tasks was to fix sticking rear calipers and change rear pads. To do this the hand brake cables have to be slackened off and on the Stilo this is easy to do through a hatch in the central tunnel. On a Tipo there seems to be no hatch (at least it's not visible) and the arm rest assembly sits over the place you would expect to find it.
 
I would also like to know how to access the handbrake adjustment and or the access to the handbrake cables at the handbrake lever end.I have a 2016 Tipo 1.4 Easy with rear disc brakes.I can not find out how you remove the console around the handbrake.There are bolts behind clip on covers at the bottom rear and a nut below the handbrake lever which is accessed by removing the small sliding panel in from of the hand brake lever but the console must be retained further forward as by removing these bolts and nut the console is still fixed somehow.? I appear to have excessive hand brake travel that I would like to adjust but there must be a way of accessing the cables if you ever have to replace the handbrake cables.
 
Is the mechanism under the car?

If there's no easy means to access it from inside the car, it might be because it's outside.


Ralf S.
I have removed the heat shield and the cables go up into the body of the car with no external adjustment visible.There has to be a method to access the cables if they ever have to be replaced.Might have another attempt to access the adjustment when I have time.
 
I was trying to find an exploded parts diagram etc. to see the setup but if the mechanism was external, it would be fairly visible and you wouldn't have to hunt for it.

Bearing in mind the family tree, I suspect it's an internal system like the Stilo has.. so it presumably has a cubby hole holding the adjuster rod, underneath the console.

Alternatively, in the older Fiats/Alfa's I've had, the handbrake lever shroud has been able to pop off and the handbrake cable adjuster threaded rod was accessed underneath the lever (albeit you needed a very deep socket or an open-ended spanner to rotate the nut. Fiat may reverted to this style, if a console is fitted.


Ralf S.
 
The adjuster nut is under the storage box under the armrest.Remove the front and rear covers of the armrest just pull off.There are two small self tapping screws that are enetered from below but are accessible .There are two screws at the front entered from below which are not accessible .There are two hex headed bolts under a plastic pull off cover at the lower rear each side. Remove these bolts.The upper cover is then held on with plastic clips just lever it up.I levered the front end up through the screws and then removed the storage box .Hey presto handbrake cable adjustment now accessible.On reassembly I drilled a hole at the front end of the storage box and fitted a self tapping screw in from the top.It will be a lot easier to access next time.
 
There is an easy way than above unclip rear panel of armrest (best done from rear seat)
You will see with difficulty adjuster nut 10 mmAF
- what I did was cut an old ring spanner in half
- while handbrake is in off position turned nut clockwise with modified spanner couple of turns checked brake came on at 3 to 4 clicks ! - refit cover . Ring spanner was approx 40 mm long easy to turn!
 
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