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Handbrake Adjustment


ex-are-six

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Easy way to adjust it is take it to the dealer and say its sticking or rubbing,makes noise.

Youll get it adjusted and your car washed for free.. :thumbsup:

vik

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  • Member For: 21y 5m 13d
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I think you are best off taking it to the dealer. I've heard from friends at ford that it's a bit of a pain in the ar$e to do. It's done at the rear wheels.

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  • Here since the start...
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:thumbsup:

farken, only had the car 5 days and already due to go back to the dealer, didn't think it would be THAT quick :angry:

You got in 5 days before you had to take it back! Lucky bugger!

I would guess that it wasn't done properly on the PD.

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It IS a pain to do yourself so better to let the dealer do it - keep complaining and they will do it a few times for free, then they will tell you it is a part of normal wear and tear and start charging you $70 an hour to do it for you.

When this happens -

Slip the handbrake cover off and you'll see the adjuster nut on the end of the cable. You need a 10mm long socket and extension bar to loosen this nut right off to almost the end of the thread.

Then you go to work at the back wheels - you need to remove both. After so doing you remove the rubber grommet from the rotor, (which is also a drum which houses the handbrake shoe) to see inside and to access the adjuster. The adjusters are quite hard to locate - they are at the rear of the backing assembly and you can roughly judge where they are by looking at the back side where the cable/lever enters the rotor/drum. A torch is an absolute necessity. You need a tool similar to the old style handbrake adjuster - like a screwdriver with a 45 degree angled end. The adjusters are turned clockwise to tighten, looking from the bottom upwards.

You need to turn the rotor regularly so you can feel when the shoe starts to contact the drum - you can feel and hear the drag. Don't overtighten!

After reassembling the grommets and wheels, go back to your inside adjuster and screw it down just enough to take up the cable slack. When newly adjusted the handbrake should hold the vehicle firmly at about the halfway-up position. After a couple of weeks you will have to tighten the screw down a bit further, maybe all the way. You only get about a month or two and then you have to repeat the whole procedure from the beginning. Most people just give up and don't use their handbrake.

The Model T had a better handbrake - in fact any car ever built (except an AU which is the same) has a better handbrake!!! These things are just SOOOOO F@#$%^#$#G RIDICULOUS!!!

Just thinking about it makes me cranky - time to go to bed .... too much stress in one day .... where'd I put my whiskey?

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  • Big Gun
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It IS a pain to do yourself so better to let the dealer do it - keep complaining and they will do it a few times for free, then they will tell you it is a part of normal wear and tear and start charging you $70 an hour to do it for you.

When this happens -

Slip the handbrake cover off and you'll see the adjuster nut on the end of the cable. You need a 10mm long socket and extension bar to loosen this nut right off to almost the end of the thread.

Then you go to work at the back wheels - you need to remove both. After so doing you remove the rubber grommet from the rotor, (which is also a drum which houses the handbrake shoe) to see inside and to access the adjuster. The adjusters are quite hard to locate - they are at the rear of the backing assembly and you can roughly judge where they are by looking at the back side where the cable/lever enters the rotor/drum. A torch is an absolute necessity. You need a tool similar to the old style handbrake adjuster - like a screwdriver with a 45 degree angled end. The adjusters are turned clockwise to tighten, looking from the bottom upwards.

You need to turn the rotor regularly so you can feel when the shoe starts to contact the drum - you can feel and hear the drag. Don't overtighten!

After reassembling the grommets and wheels, go back to your inside adjuster and screw it down just enough to take up the cable slack. When newly adjusted the handbrake should hold the vehicle firmly at about the halfway-up position. After a couple of weeks you will have to tighten the screw down a bit further, maybe all the way. You only get about a month or two and then you have to repeat the whole procedure from the beginning. Most people just give up and don't use their handbrake.

The Model T had a better handbrake - in fact any car ever built (except an AU which is the same) has a better handbrake!!! These things are just SOOOOO F@#$%^#$#G RIDICULOUS!!!

Just thinking about it makes me cranky - time to go to bed .... too much stress in one day .... where'd I put my whiskey?

Good Info, thanks mate!

I'm gunna try it, it can't get any worse than it already is.

Rob

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  • Used to work at the Ford Proving Ground!
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you could follow the above procedure but you wont be doing it correctly! There is actually 3 adjustment points on the system! One at the handbrake lever, one at each rear wheel and also one under the car just above the tailshaft! The suggested way of adjusting is to loosen all the adusters on the outside of the car off, remove the rear wheels, calipers and discs. Then you need a vernier caliper to measure the handbrake shoe diameter. This needs to be adjusted to 189.7mm if memory serves me correctly. Then you can reassemble it all after cleaning any dust out. And adjust the other cable adjustments as required! The hand brake lever should come up no more than 7 clicks at full travel. done! the right way!

I have had an EL Fairmont that has the same handbrake system except for the cable design. I never had to adjust the cable in 115,000kms! I have now had 3 BA falcons and sold them all with 13,500kms and all with perfectly functioning handbrakes! never adjusted from factory! Not sure what you guys are doing! driving with the handbrake on? Not the right way to get round corners! haha!

I had a mate with an AU that had the hand brake problem you speak of, untill we did it at my place and adjusted it how the workshop manual says!

The first BA falcons produced had a big problem with the handbrake travel due to cable length stretching and the like! Does anyone other than this one car, have a very new BA with a sh*tty hand brake?

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