More Handbrake woes
Discussion
Not that old chestnut I here you say. Yep! I thought that old rusted mass that is the rear brakes needs replacing. Complete SOB job but its done discs,calipers and pads done. Cleaned all the handbrake calipers and fitted new pads expecting three clicks and a parking slot on the side of Everest. Nope I've got a worse handbrake than before. That fat bloke that looks at the stars would be proud of the angle that it points up!! I've looked at all the threads and adjusted the pads so there is a risla between and even fitted one of those "V" shaped cable adjusters to take the excess out but still 17 clicks. My question is I've read about a fix Peninsula do welding a tube somewhere? to bring the adjustment back. Has anyone out there had it done and do you have pictures? I dont want to risk fitting a new cable if its going to be the same as it is now, the cable looks fine and I cant believe that it could of stetched that much. Does the local mot station except bricks????
After adjusting the pads and adjusting the cable back up you should have no slack,well just a little (assuming handbrake is off.)
Get someone to op the hanbrake slowly so you can see the first movement under the car. Then look at the position of the handbrake to see how far it has moved before you saw movement at the brake end of the cable. If its moved a lot then you have to check the lever end for play.
One thing you could try before opening up the handbrake end is to regrease the cable at the nipple get a pair of grips and play push and pull with the person at the hand brake end then readjust the cable adjusters (I assume you're not at the end of the threads.
Get someone to op the hanbrake slowly so you can see the first movement under the car. Then look at the position of the handbrake to see how far it has moved before you saw movement at the brake end of the cable. If its moved a lot then you have to check the lever end for play.
One thing you could try before opening up the handbrake end is to regrease the cable at the nipple get a pair of grips and play push and pull with the person at the hand brake end then readjust the cable adjusters (I assume you're not at the end of the threads.
Now you've had it all apart, cleaned, replaced and adjusted as necessary. Are the (so laughingly called) automatic adjusters doing anything appropriate?
I had some success on my handbrake by removing the split pin on the screw that goes through the adjuster and then, using a large screwdriver, loosening the screw a few turns followed by yanking on the handbrake till the adjusters click up all the slack.
Only undo it a few turns otherwise you risk it all falling apart and then you have to strip the whole bu99ering lot to get the ratchet mechanism back together.
This process was repeated at least a dozen times and I found that exercising the adjuster up and down the thread cleaned up it's operation nicely. Probably have to do the same thing again for next years MOT, hopefully not so many iterations though.
It now holds nicely on the drive which is quite a hill! You can use the screw to take up more slack than the automatic adjuster would have done but watch out for it dragging and the disks getting hot under normal driving. I tweaked mine up for the MOT and relaxed it slightly after, just in case. Remember to put a new split pin in as this is a safety device. If I ever take it all off and apart I have some Dag (graphite in liquid suspension) to paint on the threads of the ratchet.
Leo
I had some success on my handbrake by removing the split pin on the screw that goes through the adjuster and then, using a large screwdriver, loosening the screw a few turns followed by yanking on the handbrake till the adjusters click up all the slack.
Only undo it a few turns otherwise you risk it all falling apart and then you have to strip the whole bu99ering lot to get the ratchet mechanism back together.
This process was repeated at least a dozen times and I found that exercising the adjuster up and down the thread cleaned up it's operation nicely. Probably have to do the same thing again for next years MOT, hopefully not so many iterations though.
It now holds nicely on the drive which is quite a hill! You can use the screw to take up more slack than the automatic adjuster would have done but watch out for it dragging and the disks getting hot under normal driving. I tweaked mine up for the MOT and relaxed it slightly after, just in case. Remember to put a new split pin in as this is a safety device. If I ever take it all off and apart I have some Dag (graphite in liquid suspension) to paint on the threads of the ratchet.
Leo
I have had both end exposed and all seems to be seated correctly. My problem appears to to much inner cable. I am fully adjusted on the cable end but still have to much slack to give a low pull on the lever. I cant see how you would adjust the levers on the calipers to reduce this amount of cable.Can cable slack be removed by the small amount the levers move when winding the screw in or out?All it needs is about 2 inchs of cable cut off and the nipple crimped or soldered back on problem solved. I'm still baffled about this fix by Peninsula to weld something on to bring the adjustment back???
Have you got an XJ Haynes manual? If not then Email me via my profile and I'll send you a scan of an exploded diagram showing the mechanism.
Basically the screw that goes through the handbrake caliper threads into a ratcheting nut thing. Due to the distances from the pivot point to the position of the ratchet and the length of the caliper arm there is enough adjustment to take up quite a bit of cable.
Prior to my fiddling my handbrake adjuster (the one on the cable at the actuating lever end)was on it's limit. I even slotted a metal tube to fit over the cable, behind its adjuster, so as to bodge a bit more adjustment. Don't even think of doing it! It was an unnecessary bodge as getting the auto adjuster in the caliper working does the job. Now the caliper auto adjuster bit has been exercised, (cleaning the thread) and is playing ball, the cable adjuster at the other end is reset to a more normal position.
Sorry no idea what the modification you have heard about is unless its a variation on my horrendous and shameful bodge. Someone on here will no doubt enlighten us all.
Leo
Basically the screw that goes through the handbrake caliper threads into a ratcheting nut thing. Due to the distances from the pivot point to the position of the ratchet and the length of the caliper arm there is enough adjustment to take up quite a bit of cable.
Prior to my fiddling my handbrake adjuster (the one on the cable at the actuating lever end)was on it's limit. I even slotted a metal tube to fit over the cable, behind its adjuster, so as to bodge a bit more adjustment. Don't even think of doing it! It was an unnecessary bodge as getting the auto adjuster in the caliper working does the job. Now the caliper auto adjuster bit has been exercised, (cleaning the thread) and is playing ball, the cable adjuster at the other end is reset to a more normal position.
Sorry no idea what the modification you have heard about is unless its a variation on my horrendous and shameful bodge. Someone on here will no doubt enlighten us all.
Leo
Remember that both calipers have adjusters so this could double the amount of cable slack you can loose! Effectively one caliper is actuated by the inner while the other is moved by the outer.
I don't think this is your problem but while your in there... There is also a grease nipple part way along the cable outer that should be greased with silicone grease though I have to admit I just used the LMX I have in a gun ready for doing the UJs.
I don't think this is your problem but while your in there... There is also a grease nipple part way along the cable outer that should be greased with silicone grease though I have to admit I just used the LMX I have in a gun ready for doing the UJs.
leorest said:
Have you got an XJ Haynes manual? If not then Email me via my profile and I'll send you a scan of an exploded diagram showing the mechanism.
Basically the screw that goes through the handbrake caliper threads into a ratcheting nut thing. Due to the distances from the pivot point to the position of the ratchet and the length of the caliper arm there is enough adjustment to take up quite a bit of cable.
Prior to my fiddling my handbrake adjuster (the one on the cable at the actuating lever end)was on it's limit. I even slotted a metal tube to fit over the cable, behind its adjuster, so as to bodge a bit more adjustment. Don't even think of doing it! It was an unnecessary bodge as getting the auto adjuster in the caliper working does the job. Now the caliper auto adjuster bit has been exercised, (cleaning the thread) and is playing ball, the cable adjuster at the other end is reset to a more normal position.
Sorry no idea what the modification you have heard about is unless its a variation on my horrendous and shameful bodge. Someone on here will no doubt enlighten us all.
Leo
This was exactly what I found with mine. Spent years adjusting the screw at the top of the arm but I found once I had rebuilt the automatic adjusters it all seemed to work much better. It's not perfect and after a few thousand miles I still find I have to get under the car to adjust it. I think this may be a symptom of using an ordinary H/B lever, where the Jag had an umbrella style one with (I presume) more travel. If you take the handbrake cable off the arms, moving them side to side should work the adjusters. Turning the screw at the top should do the same thing if they don't work. Taking up the adjustment has the effect of moving the arms outwards and so greater distance between them. If this is not done the arms are too close together and it gives the impression that the H/B cable has stretched.
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