VE Handbrake Adjustment.

[phillmac]

If you park on a steep drive the handbrake will never make it to service km for adjustement and they don't do it unless you tell them. I stop and aply it in neutral to avoid the auto stress. I also count the clicks and stop when it holds as if you pull it too tight you will be adjusting every other month. Been the same since before the VY.

 

[Westborn]

Thanks a lot mate worked a treat

 

[frankzed]

Try taking up the slack in the cable first as thats the easiest to do yourself.

Lift up the centre console lid and theres a small trim behind the cupholders. get a flatblade screwdriver and slide it under this trim to pop it off, its held in by two clips.

Now you should see a torx bolt in there but you can use a flatblade to turn it. Wind it in about 5 full turns (might have to lift the handbrake a little to get better access) and try the handbrake. it should only have around 8 clicks till it gets really tight. Keep winding it in till you get 8 clicks only when pulling the handbrake up.

If this doesnt improve the handbrakes hold youll need to back off the handbrake and adjust at the rear wheels then readjust the handbrake lever.

Thanks for that mate. Worked like a charm.

 

[POBoxfordV]

This was the only thread I found on this subject. hence my experience below ; hopefully it maybe to someone's benefit.

I did it the so called "proper way", by adjusting the toothed wheel thru the hole in the disk hub. I found the adjusting wheel would not move up or down. I decided to have a look. The shoe is one piece like circular channel tapered and cut off between 5:30 and 6:30 to fit into the adjusting wheel.


To get the disk off I removed the 18mm caliper bolts (that felt tightened well beyond the 90ft lb), than using a smaller dia bolt and nuts thru the caliper bolt holes to tension the disc, followed by a couple of sharp blows between the studs it loosened the rusted on disc. (Btw this method may have unseated the shoe material but didn’t on the other side.)


Once the disc was off, I could see that the shoe material on the forward side of the one piece shoe was adrift, the bonding had 30 % let go, and the adjuster wheel frozen.


I bought a new shoe kit from the local auto 1 shop, and began dismantling. Inside the shoe was a wire spring. It was held in by two clips at 3 and 9 o'clock and tension under the top of the shoe, after prizing etc in the tight space the wire was unclipped and juggled out, than the one piece shoe slid over the hub. Now the fun part.. the kit came with various wire springs and clips. The identical wire spring was selected and placed.. eh juggled etc under the clips, however the top of the spring was sticking out, so it was given a sharp blow with a good size screw driver and it clicked in under the rim of the shoe.


Prior, I had taken the adjuster mechanism apart, I don’t know why but the wheel end was very tight the screw-in housing, there was plenty of grease in it so I added some more anti-sieze and loosened it up.


I’m thinking that there surely must be an easier way to get that wire holding spring in position under the retaining clips at 3 & 9 o’clock without skinned knuckles.


This system does not seem to work like the old drum brakes where you adjust the shoes up till the drum is tight than back off . I clicked over the adjusting wheel so that on 4 clicks of the lever the hub l did not rotate. It was a lot of back and forth.

Left side lever adjusting wheel down to tighten

Right side lever adjusting wheel up to tighten

 

[Benboy]

With an auto transmission, suggest that whenever you park on a slope (incline) bring the vehicle to a stop (means no movement of the wheels), with foot firmly on the brake pedal, move the transmission into N Neutral, then apply the handbrake, release the footbrake - let the handbrake take the weight of the car, THEN slip the transmission into P Park. Should resolve the problem of the 'clunk' and is a good way to ensure that your handbrake is actually holding the full weight of the car. To do otherwise could result in all the vehicle weight being on the Park pawl (pin) and you will likely need a tow, forward or back to release said pressure. The Park option is not and never was intended as a substitute for the handbrake (Park Brake). Good luck.

 

[Gixman]

Great thread, thanks for the answers.

My handbrake was doing nothing, had to adjust it a lot using that hex bolt.

Now adjust to 7 clicks, is that about right? Car is holding now

 

[taptapindustries]

Yeah that tightens the cable. here's a video on how to adjust the hand brake shoes to the hand brake drum at the wheels.

 

[taptapindustries]

Here is a quick video on adjusting the hand brake cable from inside the cabin, pretty simple once you know where adjusting screw is.