V8 Vantage hand brake fault
Discussion
I've had my 2006 V8 Vantage for 5 years, and have had an intermittent issue with the hand brake ever since.
Most times it works consistently as expected, in terms of travel and firmness of operation and has always passed the MOT. But every now and then, when I pull the lever on, it alarmingly travels quite a bit further up than normal and the brake doesn't seem to come on - almost like something has slipped or not caught on the ratchet mechanism. If I immediately drop the lever and re-pull it, it works normally again.
Any ideas which part might be at fault ? Is it likely to be the lever mechanism itself, or one of the hand brake calipers ?
Most times it works consistently as expected, in terms of travel and firmness of operation and has always passed the MOT. But every now and then, when I pull the lever on, it alarmingly travels quite a bit further up than normal and the brake doesn't seem to come on - almost like something has slipped or not caught on the ratchet mechanism. If I immediately drop the lever and re-pull it, it works normally again.
Any ideas which part might be at fault ? Is it likely to be the lever mechanism itself, or one of the hand brake calipers ?
That's an really odd (and slightly alarming) fault. My first guess would be something in the "lost motion" mechanism in the handbrake lever itself; this is the mechanism in the lever that allows the lever to lie flat after applying the handbrake.
When you pull the handbrake up, the handle part (No 1 in my pic) doesn't act directly on the cable, it pulls another, smaller lever (No 2 in my pic) that is attached to the cables and has the ratchet mechanism. My guess would be that there's something amiss in the connection between the two parts so the handle doesn't pick up the ratchet lever.
There are just 3 bolts in the assembly; the two that attach it to the sill in the car (missing in the picture, but you can see the holes in two of the bright plated parts) and one, larger one in the actual handle part, the rest are all rivets. I genuinely don't know if any of these bolts working loose would give you the symptoms you have (the problem with my handbrake that cause me to get into Vantage handbrakes was the microswitch not reliably turning off the "Handbrake on" warning), but it might be worth having a look to see if one is obviously loose, and tightening if required. You can see the mechanism by pulling off the leather "boot", but access down the side of the seat is a real b
h.
If the bolts are not loose then there's something else going on and you'll need to remove the lever to either have a look or replace it. Good news - I think it's only held with the two previously mentioned bolts; bad news - you have to take the driver's seat out. More good news - second-hand parts are pretty reasonable and plentiful on places like Fleabay.
Scuderia Parts lists three separate part numbers - which I found to be a surprise as I thought it was the same handle in Vantage and DB9 - and even new they are less than £200 each; sadly Scuderia don't seem to have stock, but you might be able to use their VIN check to work out which one you need.
If I were going to go to the hassle of taking out the seat, for £200 I'd be inclined to have a new one to hand and replace yours. I really cant think of anywhere else in the handbrake system where you'd get the symptoms you describe, but could be wrong.
Usual caveats of this is just an opinion, your mileage may vary, advice at your own risk, yada yada
When you pull the handbrake up, the handle part (No 1 in my pic) doesn't act directly on the cable, it pulls another, smaller lever (No 2 in my pic) that is attached to the cables and has the ratchet mechanism. My guess would be that there's something amiss in the connection between the two parts so the handle doesn't pick up the ratchet lever.
There are just 3 bolts in the assembly; the two that attach it to the sill in the car (missing in the picture, but you can see the holes in two of the bright plated parts) and one, larger one in the actual handle part, the rest are all rivets. I genuinely don't know if any of these bolts working loose would give you the symptoms you have (the problem with my handbrake that cause me to get into Vantage handbrakes was the microswitch not reliably turning off the "Handbrake on" warning), but it might be worth having a look to see if one is obviously loose, and tightening if required. You can see the mechanism by pulling off the leather "boot", but access down the side of the seat is a real b
h.If the bolts are not loose then there's something else going on and you'll need to remove the lever to either have a look or replace it. Good news - I think it's only held with the two previously mentioned bolts; bad news - you have to take the driver's seat out. More good news - second-hand parts are pretty reasonable and plentiful on places like Fleabay.
Scuderia Parts lists three separate part numbers - which I found to be a surprise as I thought it was the same handle in Vantage and DB9 - and even new they are less than £200 each; sadly Scuderia don't seem to have stock, but you might be able to use their VIN check to work out which one you need.
If I were going to go to the hassle of taking out the seat, for £200 I'd be inclined to have a new one to hand and replace yours. I really cant think of anywhere else in the handbrake system where you'd get the symptoms you describe, but could be wrong.
Usual caveats of this is just an opinion, your mileage may vary, advice at your own risk, yada yada
Seats are only held in by 4 bolts, but the original seats are heavy and difficult to get out the car without them catching on something. I used some old towels to cover the kick plates etc to make sure I didnt scratch anything. There are obviously some wires need detaching as well from the seat before removal. Once the seat is out, its pretty easy to get to the lever and disconnect (Think there's 4 bolts from memory). Then there's the clips onto the rear sub frame.
Feeding the new cable through the rear bulkhead was is a bit of a pain (So you could tie some string to the old one and then attach new one and pull back through). Hope that might help ease your fears.
Feeding the new cable through the rear bulkhead was is a bit of a pain (So you could tie some string to the old one and then attach new one and pull back through). Hope that might help ease your fears.
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