VT handbrake???how to tighten????

[danteo55]

just had check done on brakes..front and back pass no problem...but handbrake no good?
had a look under car but can't see where one would tighten cable.which i presume has stretched over time..any help would be awesome
cheers

[jazza15]

If it is applying even force to both rear wheels, then you just need to tighten it at the handbrake.
You peel the cover back and you will see a nut, you will need a 10mm long socket to adjust it.
I'd get a holden workshop manual on how to do it as you need to do it in a specific way, not just tighten it up and I think you can easily snap your hand brake cable if you do it wrong (tighten it up too much)

[danteo55]

oh ok.its not working at all..will have look..thanks

[accentstencil]

Hand brake adjustment should be done by the adjustment screw at the hand brake shoes.

[danteo55]

Hand brake adjustment should be done by the adjustment screw at the hand brake shoes.

is that placed where cable enters wheel?...its the wife commy so its a bit of a worry

[danteo55]

i looked for a how to? but couldn't find..mind you i could be lookin in wrong place lol

[accentstencil]

You have to remove the rear wheels and you will see a rubber plug in the rotors, remove the plug and turn the rotor to the 6 o'clock position. If you have a look in the hole with a torch you will see a notched wheel, using a screw driver or something suitable turn the wheel until the disc won't turn, then turn the wheel the other way for a few notches to release it a bit(release the hand brake lever before you adjust). I can't remember whether you have to turn the wheel up or down, it will be trial and error. If you remove the rotor completely it will be easier to see what I am talking about, but that means removing the calliper as well. You will need both rear wheels off the ground

[danteo55]

You have to remove the rear wheels and you will see a rubber plug in the rotors, remove the plug and turn the rotor to the 6 o'clock position. If you have a look in the hole with a torch you will see a notched wheel, using a screw driver or something suitable turn the wheel until the disc won't turn, then turn the wheel the other way for a few notches to release it a bit(release the hand brake lever before you adjust). I can't remember whether you have to turn the wheel up or down, it will be trial and error. If you remove the rotor completely it will be easier to see what I am talking about, but that means removing the calliper as well. You will need both rear wheels off the ground

yep got it sussed..but it won't turn either way .think im gona have to take disc and all off..but yeah took off rubber plug and bobs ya uncle there it was.

[accentstencil]

The wheel takes a bit of turning as it's sort of spring loaded so it turns one click at a time. You need to put pressure on the screw driver while you turn the wheel. It takes a bit of getting used to. I bought a special adjustment tool but it won't fit through the hole, maybe they are available in a thinner version, it would make the job easier.
Here is a pic of the tool, it's a bit blurry but you get the idea. It only just occurred to me to grind it down to fit in the hole.

[jazza15]

The reason I, or no one hasn't gone into great detail about this is that basically, there is a bit to it.
Draw you attention to the rear (wheels) adjustment of the handbrake when you can't get enough out of the front (handbrake lever) adjustment.
If someone can be bothered copying what the holden workshop manual says about adjusting the handbrake, it will help this man in a big way. (i don't know how to do that with PDF)
You have to release the handbrake, then back off the nut a bit, but there's a bracket in the way, so you will need to use a long 10mm socket, or not fully lock in your ratchet (breaker bar fits better) into the socket and do it that way. you then tighten it to 2nm of torque it says. Don't have a torque wrench or have any idea what that feels like, so it also says that a correctly adjusted handbrake will have 15 - 20mm of thread protruding from the nut.
My car has done over 200,000 km so it is more like 20 - 30mm.
Otherwise, check that the cables are in tact, not snapped (foul play?), they join from 2 seperate cables to 1 about mid way through the length of the car, in the middle, and then disappear into the body.

[danteo55]

thanks guys..i been given the manual details on another site.so todays the day..i tried getting to the adjuster through the plug hole.but it won't budge.so my mission for this weekend is to get it up on stands remove the discs and see whats going on in there..i'm thinking i might have to replace the brake shoes.the cars done 210000 kms so won't be surprised..ill keep you updated throughout the day as i may need some advice along the way.lol

[jazza15]

mines done 236,000 and the shoes are fine.
The trick to removing them is to maneuver them with both hands and get one side down and the other up until it comes off the pin thing. You will know what i'm talkin about when you do it.
I would only recommend adjusting there when you have exhausted all your options with the hand brake adjustment.

[danteo55]

yeah i tried hand brake adjustment. but i had to do up nut so much it wasn't funny.maybe 100mm or more so thought i'd better try this way..i also have a vx.which the hand brake is awesome.and the nut on that is at about 20mm.and the hand brake only comes up about half way.

[vt s]

best way is to take off the disks as you cant acurately feel the drag cos of the diff.
So take the discs off and tighten the notch and every few clicks try sliding the discs back on.
Keep tightening until you cant get them on and then just back it off a few clicks.

[danteo55]

best way is to take off the disks as you cant acurately feel the drag cos of the diff.
So take the discs off and tighten the notch and every few clicks try sliding the discs back on.
Keep tightening until you cant get them on and then just back it off a few clicks.

yeeeeeeeha ..yeah mate done just that
got tested today all good..wasn't to hard at all..the adjusters where ceased up so took shoes right off them.took adjusters out..bit of crc and bob's ya uncle.

[wortus]

I did mine today following the Haynes manual and ended up with about 5 clicks of the lever until it is fully up (manual says 4 to 6). I just adjusted the toothed wheel through the hole in the disk until the rotor would not turn and then backed it off 5 clicks which is what the manual says to do. I took one caliper off to check the shoe but they are pretty easy to adjust with the caliper on just tighten the adjuster a click at t time until the rotor locks then back off 5 clicks. If the handbrake lever still clicks more than 6 clicks you may need to adjust the cable.

[Calaber]

This business has me intrigued. My VY has a one piece brake shoe, which is almost circular, with only the actuator fitted at the bottom. The notched adjusting wheel is there, but there doesn't seem to be any thread for the adjusting wheel to run on - it seems to simply spin on a smooth spigot, which makes me wonder why put an adjuster screw in if it isn't meant to adjust anything. It's the same on both wheels.

Am I missing something here? The shoe is obviously designed to expand when the handbrake is actuated, but is this set up meant to adjust at each wheel or not?

At present, the adjustment on the handbrake lever is fine and I was able to adjust the brake without problems using it, but that set-up in the wheels has me stumped. I'm sure there should be adjustment available there.

[wortus]

Yes they are just a hoop and the "spring" tension must be in the shape. There must be adjustment as I turned the notched wheel the park brake did lock on. One side did have a more definative "click" than the other side however.
What puzzles me is they seem to go out of adjustment and I don't see how they can wear so much if you don't drive with the hand brake on as mine was adjusted when it had new rear rotors fitted.