handbrake not up to it...

[purplecrocs]

My handbrake wont hold the van when on a hill... it feels like it pulls on ok at the handle but its juts not got enough grip on the wheels ... what can I do with it to make it better?

[Fritz]

Back the adjuster for the hand brake cable off (under the van ) ,so there is lots of slack .

Then adjust the rear brake shoes on each wheel( via the inspection holes in the brake back plates) so they are just brushing the drums,
then finally take up the slack in the hand brake cable so that the wheels lock once it is applied (3-5 clicks).


Regards,

Fritz,,,,,

PS. might be a good idea to do this on a flat area, if there is one near by.....

[Rozzo]

^^^^^what fritz says^^^^^

[T'Onion]

personally I'd whip the drums off , clean up the brakes and or replace the shoes if needed and then do what fritz says

[Rozzo]

an added bonus is that your footbrake will be miles better too. too many folks mess with the hanbrake cable adjustment to "improve" it. what they dont realise is that by doing so they end up only braking on about 2 inches of the brake shoes cos they're pulling them apart at the wrong end. i wish i could draw on here and i'd do a diagram to show it. it really is very bad practice to adjust the handbrake cable before the proper adjusting has been done to the shoes.

[purplecrocs]

cheers - those adjustment screws... its a a wheel off job?

Maybe i'll get Kwik Fit to do a 'free brake check' first and see if the shoes need replacing - would they stock shoes for this age vehicle ('84)

[Rozzo]

yes it is m8, keep notching them up till the shoes are scraping on the drum(one you notch upwards and the other one downwards iirc).. then i bash around the drum with a dead blow mallet to centalise them, take them up again til they just scrape very lightly then chuck the wheel back on. ideally apply the footbrake a few times to make sure they come off ok and once both sides are adjusted correctly then see how many clicks you have on the handbrake. 2 or 3 is enough so if you have many more than that, thats the time to adjust the handbrake.
good luck with it
oh and dont forget to let the handbrake adjustment right off so the cables are hanging loose before you start.

[Ian Hulley]

cheers - those adjustment screws... its a a wheel off job?

Nope, you can and should adjust it through the grommet in the brakes backplate. IF you're confident you know what you're doing you'd be advised to strip them and give them a good service so you know you're OK until the next service.

Maybe i'll get Kwik Fit to do a 'free brake check' first and see if the shoes need replacing

I wouldn't let those baboons even look at my van as I drove past.

Ian.

[Red Westie]

The handbrake on a T3 is generally pretty good. I've got my van parked on a very steep gradiant without any problems. If it is slipping then there is definately something wrong and it would be advisable to remove the rear wheels/drums to clean and check for anything obvious rather than just adjusting them in the hope of a fix. The most notable fault would be if you have a leaking wheel cylinder which would be an obvious reason for a poor hand brake.
Martin

[Cafnod]

Anyone servicing drum brakes should give the whole area a shot of brake cleaner as soon as they take the drums off.

[purplecrocs]

ok cheers, maybe I ought to get someone who knows what they're doing to look at it then.. be that kwik fit or not!