Rebuilt calipers now no handbrake

[jonathan-ddq71]

Fn2 civic type r with usual squeeky rear brakes. Now with no handbrake engagement.

I decided to try a rebuild kit instead of just replacing the caliper (a mistake I'll never make again). The piston itself is perfect so put it back in but obviously replaced all seals and also cleaned the slider pins and replaced those seals. All looking good, bled the brake as expected.

Problem is now the handbrake is not engaging on this side (it is OK on the other side). There is zero tension in the wee mechanism the cable pulls and when I pull the thing by hand nothing is engaging inside the caliper.

Any help would be appreciated as money is tight - don't want to have to buy a new caliper at this point.

I'll try and post a pic of the wee bit I'm talking about...

[GreenV8S]

I can't make out the handbrake mechanism in that picture. The ones I'm familiar with consist of a threaded screw which is turned by the handbrake mechanism. There is a nut on the screw which is splined into the piston and pushes against the back of the piston to engage the handbrake. The piston itself is prevented from rotating because it registers with a lug on the backplate of the brake pad. This mechanism relies on the nut being adjusted correctly on the threaded screw. The adjustment is automatic. The nut will be wound out by a spring if you apply the foot brake and there is enough slack to disengage the nut from the piston.

If yours is similar, perhaps you forgot to preload the adjuster spring when you assembled it, or perhaps the nut is too tight on the screw for some reason.

[jonathan-ddq71]

Thank you greenv8, you've given me some stuff to think about.

I'll tackle it again after dinner!

[jonathan-ddq71]

Got it sorted.

When disassembling I must have manhandled the bolt that engages the piston and it had somehow disengaged from the mechanism that the handbrake cable attaches to.

Some reverse jigger pokery and its all sorted. Thanks for the help.