Photo Essay - Handbrake Cable & Adjustment

[PhilMeUp]

The handbrake on my taxi (2008 BFIII station wagon) has been frustrating me for a while. I adjust it regularly, but within two weeks each time the handbrake lever would go up to the maximum with minimal or no braking effectiveness.

I decided to replace the rear handbrake cable to see if that would make a difference.

I started by jacking up the back of the car at the diff. Once axle stands were in place I then put the jack under one of the leaf springs.



This is what is underneath the car. There is one cable from the handbrake lever inside the car. This cable connects to a pair of cables, one of each goes to each rear wheel hub. When the handbrake lever is pulled upward the whole lot gets pulled forward.



A closer up photo showing how the cables connect.



I then removed the rear wheels, discs and brake calipers. Each caliper was then hung out of the way with a pot plant hook.



Part of preventing brake shudder on Falcons is keeping the metal surfaces clear of corrosion. I use a cordless drill and wire brush to do this. Rust on these metal surfaces can contribute to the discs being off alignment, which then leads to brake shudder. The same applies to the discs and wheel bearing hubs on the front.



The Falcon handbrake is an old-fashioned drum brake, which works inside each disc rotor. The handbrake cable pulls the lever, which results in the handbrake shoes being pushed apart.



There is a clip on the backing plate that holds the handbrake shoes against it. This means pushing the handbrake shoes backward until they are out of the clip and then rotating them forward to remove them.



This is the clip spring that holds the handbrake shoes against the backing plate. When this clip is bent outward the handbrake shoes move on an angle and cause squeaking sounds.



These are the parts that the lever pushes apart, which then push outward the handbrake shoes.



This is the lever that gets pulled by the handbrake cable.



Once the lever has been removed the cable can be disconnected.



On the driver’s side, the cable is held in place by one bracket on the axle tube.



On the inside of each backing plate there is a rubber boot that the lever goes through (BAF2404A). These were both well perished on my car. I tried to order new ones before doing this job but there was only one in WA and I wanted a pair (ie one for each side). I’ll replace those boots another time.



The hub centre, with the handbrake parts removed.



On the passenger side, the handbrake cable is held in place by two brackets. The original diff breather hose always breaks off, so I’ve previously replaced mine with some 6.3mm (ie 1/4”) fuel hose. This is much sturdier and doesn’t break off.



The rear ends of the handbrake cables were then disconnected. I had the new cable in place.

Part numbers:
BA & BF Sedan Handbrake Cable: BA2A604A
BA & BF Wagon Handbrake Cable: BA2A604D



I used some aerosol brake cleaner to clean the gunk off the front cable so that I could hold it in place while I undid the nut.



I used some lock pliers on the front cable and then a 10mm ratchet spanner to undo the nut.



This was getting tedious, so I swapped to a cordless drill and long impact socket once the nut was loosened far enough for the socket to reach it.



The rear cable is held in place by white plastic clips. I sprayed aerosol brake cleaner to clean the gunk off them so that I could remove them.

[PhilMeUp]

Once I removed the clips the cables slid out of the brackets.



I then removed the cables from the rear brackets.



The new cables slid easily into place. The white plastic clips compressed and slid through the holes in the brackets. Very simple and easy to do. With removing the old cable, I could have also used pliers to compress the white clips and slide the cables out with the clips in place.



The new cable in place.



I then put the new cable back in the various brackets.



This car is a 2008 BFIII station wagon. The original diff wore out a while ago so I replaced it with one from an AU ute. AU wagon/ute diffs are the same on the outside as BA and BF wagon/ute diffs, except for one of the handbrake cable mounts. I took a BF diff and the AU diff to an exhaust place and got them to cut the AU bracket off and weld it back in place where it needs to be for a BF (ie copy how it was on the BF diff).

As an added bonus, this diff is an LSD. AU wagon and ute diffs have much better internal components then the BA and BF diffs (including a four pinion centre instead of the BA/BF two pinion centre). I paid $160 for the diff and $25 to get the handbrake bracket relocated.



Another photo showing the mounting brackets on the passenger side and the diff breather hose.



Before putting the handbrake components back in I wanted to clean them up with some kerosene. However, don’t put the handbrake shoes in the kero - it’s petroleum based and will lubricate the handbrake shoes (ie reducing friction).



Once everything was clean I put grease in the right spots, including on the adjuster screw threads to help make it easier to rotate the adjusters later.



Once I had reassembled the handbrake components it was time to get back under the car and tighten the nut that connects the front and rear cables. Once again I used a long impact socket and cordless drill for as much of this as possible.

I kept alternating between tightening this nut with a ratchet spanner and checking whether the slack was taken up on the cable at each wheel hub. I ended up tightening the nut up as far as it would go.



I then pushed the handbrake shoes on and rotated them back into place. Then I pushed the shoes forward a bit so that the spring clip was holding them against the backing plate.

I also went over the handbrake shoes with the drill and wire brush to roughen them up to get better friction.



Before sliding the handbrake shoes forward, I reached in with a flat blade screwdriver to ensure that the spring clips were bent back as far as possible.



As mentioned, I kept tightening the nut and then climbing back out to check the cables.



Until I tightened the front nut up as far as it would go, both cables were loose.



Then it was time to rotate the adjuster on each handbrake. This involves reaching in with a flat-blade screwdriver and levering it against the disc rotor to rotate the adjuster.



For reasons that I can never figure out, manufacturers of disc rotors tend to put the holes in the wrong place. This makes it fiddly to get a screwdriver in on the required angle to rotate the adjuster.



As these handbrake shoes were fairly worn, they had to be adjusted out a fair bit before putting the disc rotors back on. As this was about where they were adjusted to with the old handbrake cable, I was getting skeptical that the new cable was going to make a difference.



When adjusting the handbrake, I pulled the lever to see how more adjusting was required on each side. I knew to keep rotating the adjusters until there was no moment in the lever.



During reassembly I made sure that each handbrake spring clip was bent toward the plate so that they would hold the handbrake shoes in place.



Once the handbrake was adjusted on each side it was time to put the callipers back on. I used my Radum Disc Brake Pad Spreader to push the pads apart so that they would easily fit over the disc rotor. This pad spreader didn’t cost much and is extremely useful.

Radum: http://www.radum.com.au
Stock Number: RDM-BM94-4062
Current Price: $27.00 (including GST)
Link: http://radum.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=8685

[PhilMeUp]

With everything back in place, I could put the wheels back on.



Although everything appeared the same on the wheel hubs, I found that with the new cable the handbrake was on full after pulling the handbrake lever up only a handful of clicks.

I’m going to order new dust boots and put new handbrake shoes in when the boots arrive.

[arronm]

Good write up Phil. The correct way to make adjustment is to remove both discs. Adjust the brake shoes so the outer diameter is 190mm. The rest of the adjustment is done with the cable

Edited 18/06/15 11:55 PM by arronm

[Ralph Wiggum]

^whs. Set the shoes to 189.9mm () and install the rotors. Raise the handbrake lever 3 to 4 clicks then adjust the cable until you cannot turn the rotors. Cycle the lever a couple of times then adjust as required.

Unfortunately the way you have adjusted it you have used up the majority of the adjustment in the cable.

[EvilDaifu]

Great write up mate

My farrkn hand brake needs adjusting I think.

[FiftyOne]

Once again, Phil proving he's the man

[k31th]

excellent write up

[PhilMeUp]

^whs. Set the shoes to 189.9mm ( ) and install the rotors. Raise the handbrake lever 3 to 4 clicks then adjust the cable until you cannot turn the rotors. Cycle the lever a couple of times then adjust as required.

Unfortunately the way you have adjusted it you have used up the majority of the adjustment in the cable.

I tried to minimise adjustment at the front of the cable. I wanted to keep the option of doing dodgy/lazy handbrake adjustments in the future.

But I couldn't get the cables to pull tight at the wheels until the front adjustment was all used up. I kept going back and forth - tighten nut a bit, go check cable tightness at wheels, climb back under car and tighten nut again, check cables again, etc.

Is there another way of getting the cables tight enough at the wheels, and still retaining more adjustment room at the front nut?

[arronm]

Your handbrake shoes are either undersized or incorrectly adjusted

Edited 21/06/15 11:40 PM by arronm