EURON8 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 gotta balance out the handbrake on a 90 ford courier. Foot brake gives even result Handbrake gives same sorta power on drivers side as foot brake but nothing a passenger side. I dont have to much experience with this stz. Pulled handbrake on till i couldnt turn the good wheel and checked the cables at splitter and they were both tight. Im pretty sure there is sone screw type adjustment accessed through holes in the back of the drum but i couldnt seem to find anything that wanted to turn by jammin screwdriver iin there. Abyone got an exploded view picture or can come round and help, need to go for recheck tomorrow after work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SP450andLE Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Try putting the handbrake on while driving (reasonably slowly, maybe like 30), and that might help to even it out. Sounds dodgy, but it does work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xsspeed Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Is it a drum rear, or disc rear with small drum handrake? If the latter then, like you say would have thought there'd be an adjusting hole for your screwdriver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Best technique for sorting handbrake First - (and the part that most people miss) back off all cable adjusters - there may be 2, one under the dashboard and one under the car where the cable splits off in 2 directions- this should be done to eliminate any shitty adjustments done by previous owners/shoddy mechanics who couldn’t be fucked doing it properly. Second – remove wheels and drums, clean the shoes and drums with brake-kleen or water (brake kleen does a better job) while in here check the thickness of the linings is enough and that the wheel cylinders are not leaking – also make sure the wheel cylinder pistons move freely. (important to clean out all the dust you possibly can because this will cause squeaks and locking up dramas) Third – reinstall the drums and adjust the shoes – through the backplate is fine, IIRC the backing plate on the couriers have an arrow on it pointing which way you need to turn the adjuster to get it to adjust out. Turning the drum the whole time to check for drag keep adjusting it up, as soon as you get the lightest dragging feeling on the drum then stop – adjust the other side the same. Fourth – jump in the car and pump the shit out of the brakes to centralise the shoes on the backing plates – at this point you may be able to get a couple more clicks out the adjusters on both sides. (going too far is a pain in the bum to back off but you do not want too much drag – commercial brakes heat up like a bitch and will lock up on you) Fifth – once you are happy with the brake shoe adjustment then adjust the underside cable up enough to take out the slack – you should be able to pull the cable a little bit before the brakes lock up – then finally adjust up the cable on the underdash lever to reduce the amount of the pull you need. Hope this helps matey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickity Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 This seems like a lot of effort for an un-balanced handbrake that needs to be fixed on the driveway tonight, most likely in the dark/wet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Oh you didn't state it needed to be done quickly... OK my quick advice - drive down a hill REALLY REALLY fast and hit the brakes at the bottom - you will either A: fix the brakes for half an hour (enough to get the testing station and pass the recheck) OR B: lock up and barrell roll down a culvert and your night will be spent uncomfortably and telling your passengers dead eyes to stop looking at you PS - I'm joking, they are brakes and therefore should be fixed properly/not take shortcuts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 PS - cos you 2 are just too lovely to not help PPS if I was in Auck I would come round and do it tonight for you guys but alas.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toucan Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Third – reinstall the drums and adjust the shoes – through the backplate is fine, IIRC the backing plate on the couriers have an arrow on it pointing which way you need to turn the adjuster to get it to adjust out. Turning the drum the whole time to check for drag keep adjusting it up, as soon as you get the lightest dragging feeling on the drum then stop – adjust the other side the same.Fourth – jump in the car and pump the shit out of the brakes to centralise the shoes on the backing plates KK should the fourth step be done after each turn of the adjuster, then check for drag once they shoes are centered? That is my method anyway. Also a short drive and lots of heavy braking on the way to the recheck works wonders, got much better readings on my retest yesterday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EURON8 Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 thanks guys Cxrpwr is gonna come giz us a hand tonight to do it. but is good to have kks write for future knowhow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slacker.cam Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 This sounds like way more effort than I've ever gone to to suss out a brake imbalance issue. The way I normally do it (it's worked about 5 times so far) is just drive around the block near the testing station with the handbrake partially on and cook the shit out of it. Try and do it when the recheck line is nice and short so they dont cool down too much. Works a like a charm. Fuck testing stations for this exact reason. Brake balance machines are known to be highly inaccurate and just piss everyone off. Fred failed a brake imbalance test when he had a LOCKED diff ffs. Save youself the hassle (and a few dollars) and go to a local garage next time. The place Ned goes to down the road is really 'good' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteretep Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 I passed several brake tests with 2 different sized calipers, but only just Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 The way I normally do it (it's worked about 5 times so far) is just drive around the block near the testing station with the handbrake partially on and cook the shit out of it. Try and do it when the recheck line is nice and short so they dont cool down too much. Works a like a charm.Fuck testing stations for this exact reason. Brake balance machines are known to be highly inaccurate and just piss everyone off. Fred failed a brake imbalance test when he had a LOCKED diff ffs. Save youself the hassle (and a few dollars) and go to a local garage next time. The place Ned goes to down the road is really 'good' This is true - my first response was the technically correct way to adjust your brakes for the best result and shouldn't take more than 45 minutes from go to whoa. But if you are in a hurry and can't get the brakes right after a quick readjust then a solid heat of the brakes right before the retest is a good cheats method. PS - why they fail brake imbalance on a handbrake is beyond me - if the handbrake holds on a 1 in 5 slope then surely this should be more than enough. PPS - if one of the handbrake cables is quite seized then nothing other than replacing the cable will fix it. VTNZ are just a pack of grumble moan cunts moan moan whinge... hah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 But imagine if you were to pull on the handbrake at speed, one wheel could lock before the other and that would be unsafe. My Honda passed on VTNZ rollers with virtually no handbrake. It sat there with the front wheels doing burnouts on the concrete thanks to super tight center diff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poo Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 one of my old cars had a fucked handbrake cable/s. It was rusty and it seized in the cable outter. so the brake ballance was clearly out of wack. with the handbrake on, it would slowly loosen off the presure. One day my car rolled down my driveway and onto the road. I didnt hit the fence and cars had to drive around it to get passed! It could of been there for hours by the time I saw it. So check the cables as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemi Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 if vtnz did the check then it should have been that each siad is at least 25% efficient . imbalance on a park brake means stuff all . kk is bang on with how to adjust them . it is the only real way to get it dont properly . if it does not have a hole to adjust you are going to have to play the . wind out will drum fit till no then back off a few clicks . this is one of my most hated job next to deglazing linings . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin' joe Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 the best thing with brake imbalance,is it often is the opposite wheel causing the issue,hence the reason to follow K-trips procedure (except he missed the bit where you scuff the bejesus out of the drums and linings with 60grit emery for mor bite!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemi Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 .hated job next to deglazing linings . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoeddynz Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 and always remember boys and girls- if your doing this to an old car don't inhale the brake dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickity Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 John kindly crawled around on the ground under truckity last night and (most likely) corrected the problem. So tight now I can only get it on about three clicks and need two hands to let it off. Became apparent that there were some parts not really connected to anything when the brakes were taken apart. Not sure where that spring came from, but pretty sure it wasn't supposed to fall out... Going for recheck this afternoon. Rolling steelies off Rot808s orange version on the back to negate my need for a tyre. And the dodgy tail light was working last night. Fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidTheCreator Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Tapley meters FTW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.