Club 80-90 Forums

Hi all, I was driving up a very steep hill with cars behind and in front of me, we had to stop half way up due to lights, I put hand brake on and had my foot on brake pedal, I took my foot off brake to give it some gas and she started to roll back, a car was inches behind me and needless to say, I nearly shat myself with panic, I whacked her into first and ended up revving the guts out of her which made her smell like burning rubber.
I had put the hand brake on as hard as I could but it still rolled back. I feel worried about having to tackle hills now in case I roll back, do you think I need a new handbrake cable or this one tightening maybe?
Cheers. Joy

needs servicing, any competant garage will do it, maybe due to a number of things, adjustment, wear, leaking cylinder/contamination etc....get it looked at, a quickfit place will do if that's all you have. Don't tell them you've a problem, just ask them to check the brakes as you've just bought it and you aren't used to such an old vehicle. A lot of places will check for free

Thanks Beaker, I will do that monday.
Cheers. Joy

Have a looksy under the van... the handbrake cable is very easy to see - your looking for a Y shaped cable (it's actually 3 cables but...) where the 3 meet there should be a plate type thing that on the centre cable has a nut which can be wound on to adjust the cable........



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Provided you know someone with a 10mm spanner or two and is willing to grovel under your van for 5-10 mins then you should get sorted pretty easily

i had exactly the same problem with mine mate when i first bought it,it's dead east to tighten it up a bit like dugcati says.only takes minutes!good luck

Hi dugcati and quagmire, thanks for your replies, do you think I will be able to do it myself, I know it's a stupid question but I have never done anything like this before although seeing the picture you have on here will allow me to see what I am looking for, mocki kindly sent me a dip stick and told me how to get the broken one off and put the new one on and I did that myself and replaced battery terminals, you lot must be laughing your socks off at me but, I can do most things that need repairing around the house on my own but am a bit scared when it comes to getting under cars and vans cos I don't really know what I am doing and up until recently I had my son in-law to do things for me and a late brother in-law who loved to tinker with motors also I aint no small skinny bird who can fit under easy either lol
I will certainly have a go though if it ever stops bloody raining!
Cheers guys. Joy

If you can fix most things around the house, I see no reason why you can't tackle most jobs on your bus. The marvellous thing about these VW's is their simplicity and more or less everything works along basic principles. Handbrake adjustment could certainly be tried although I'd have thought you'd already have been pulling up the handbrake by ten million notches which is a sure sign things aren't right. May need shoes adjusting up a bit and actually I'd start there (if it were me). Anything beyond that will need the rear drums off and a full examination but with a manual, its all very dooable.

Shoes are supposed to adjust automatically but often crud/rust/lack of lube in right place sometimes stops em doing that.

Thanks covkid, I hear what you're saying and yes I am pulling handbrake up like there's no tomorrow lol
I know what you mean about things being dooable it's just having the confidence to do them and not be scared of making it worse as I don't have the money to then have to take it to a garage if I stuff it up!
I will have a go anyway and hope for the best.
Cheers. Joy

Well for starters, brake shoes aren't too expensive. Tell you what I did.

When I bought my present T25 two years ago, the very first job I did was to go through the brakes. It was evident, particularly in wet or slippy conditions that it wasn't pulling up in quite the straight line I hoped and its a worry I just don't need. Neither does anyone else for that matter!

Essentially your handbrake is working the rear wheels. We'll forget front brakes for now as your problem is with rears. Now in my case I went and bought new shoes for starters, before even tackling undoing anything as I figured as it was an unknown vehicle I'd at least treat it to new shoes but lets see if we can't solve this with what you've got, presuming shoes are ok.

When you put your foot on the brake pedal, it pushes two shoes in contact with rear brake drums by pushing brake fluid along the lines which pressurise the rear wheel cylinders (inside hubs) and shoes grab the drums and you come to a stop. Well - thats the idea. The handbrake does a similar job but by cable.

It could be that the shoes are miles away now (or even worn out in worst case scenario) and technically most (if all parts are there) are self-adjusting but as I say, often they stop doing that through lack of attention. You can adjust them manually via small inspection holes in each drum. You need to jack van securely, remove roadwheel and see if you can turn the adjusters (its in the manual).

Personally, I cheat. I remove drums - easier in long run. I then adjust starwheel adjusters until I can 'just' get the brake drum back on then refit everything. A quiet sunday would do this job unless you discover wheel cylinders are shot, but even then, they're not rocket science to replace. If you're unsure, do a quick drawing of innards for reference before messing about. Anyone local to you that would roll up their sleeves and give you a hand? Well worth tackling brakes as you'll have a better understanding of them, get them in first class order and find it way easy next time.

Bare minimum you could remove a brake drum and see if you'll need to go buy new shoes or there are any fluid leaks in there. If they look ok, just adjust them up and refit. Chances are that may be enough.

If you hit a prob, just post on here.

I'll say one thing, T25 brakes are a heck of a lot easier than modern cars to fix. If its all crappy in there then heck just go buy the bits and replace them - you'll save an absolute fortune doing it yourself. A lump hammer is essential tool as well.

Hi and thanks for that, you make it all sound so easy, I will get the manual out and have a read and I will also draw what I see so I can at least put it back the way it was. Once again, thanks so much for your advice.
Cheers. Joy

I may actually approach the guy who lives on the end to me and ask if he might give me a hand, I could go out and start it when the rain eventually stops and once he comes out to tinker with his motor I could ask him although I'm not sure if he would but there's no harm in asking is there
Cheers. Joy

Its not so much easy but definately dooable and you'll learn so much. If you do it once you won't put it in the garage next time. Lots on here do their own brakes so you're not stuck for advice.

Thanks, I will def have a go.
Cheers. Joy

Get your self a haynes manual and read up on how to do the job you want a few time's then have a go!!!

By the way, brake hubs are normally held on by two bolts which you'll see when you remove your roadwheels. Sometimes a tap with a lump hammer is required to coax hubs off. If your brakes have been neglected for a very long time, you'll generally need:

shoes, wheel cylinders and brake shoe fitting kit (basically pins springs and retaining washers) - the washers often rust and pack up although at a pinch its possible to replace them with long thin bolts and nuts (as I did).

Sometimes new handbrake cables are needed and old ones stubborn as hell to get out. WD40 and a plumbers wrench will usually get them out if they're rusted in. Use a copper based grease on most fittings afterwards so they're easier to maintain in future but use very sparingly and nowhere near brake shoe faces. Could just be that adjusters are seized and just need removing, cleaning, regreasing and adjusting up. If you can fit a sink trap or put up shelves, you can definately do this matey. Just take your time.

Lastly, wear latex gloves - keep your hands clean and have plenty of old rags around. If you're worried about vehicle stability while wheel is off, shove a couple of wheels underneath the bus as a backup.