scudon Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 HiHad the MOT today but failed on the central handbrake. When pulled tight the passenger side wheel locks up but the drivers side wheel can be turned with a little force applied. Have checked the movement of both arms on the calipers and each moves the same but the near side will lock the wheel after 3 clicks of the handbrake when the drivers side stil spins. Any ideas of why this is happening? New caliper req?Brakes are fine on both sides when you apply the pedal so only the handbrake has the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithy77 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 I had a similar problem with a previous MOT, turned out the handbrake needed adjusting. Fairly simple to do but involves removing the tunnel top and adjusting from underneath the car. Now both my wheels lock nicely after one handbrake click Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Check pad thickness on inner and outer pads. Inners wear faster. Don't need to remove tunnel top to adjust handbrake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithy77 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 My bad, must have been doing something else while I was at it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scudon Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 Thanks for the comments. I think my problem is the arm on top of the caliper moves the same as the passenger side but this side locks but the drivers side is still free wheeling, it's a if the moving of the caliper arm by pulling the handbrake has no effect on pushing the piston. Should I just adjust the handbrake cable up as much as I can? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithy77 Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Its is the esiest and cheapest thing to try first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grubbster Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 It sounds like the automatic adjuster in the drivers side caliper isn't adjusting properly. If you keep pulling the handbrake up after the passenger side has locked can you eventually lock the drivers side? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scudon Posted July 12, 2015 Author Share Posted July 12, 2015 Steveyes, it will lock up but the handbrake is at the top notch and with a little force you can just about turn the wheel at this point but the passenger side is rock solid. The arm seems to moving its full amount but only at the end of its movement it will gently lock the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grubbster Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Sounds very much like the auto adjuster isn't quite working, or could be really low pads on that side (look at the inner one) but I'd be surprised if that could cause it. If it were mine I'd probably remove the handbrake cable from that side, then see if I could push the level on the caliper round further than pulling the handbrake does to see if that moves the auto adjuster on a bit. Maybe even take the caliper off the disc (might be hard if you still have solid brake lines) and put something between the pads that is a bit thinner than the disc and again move the lever to see if this winds the piston out a bit. If nothing works then time to strip and overhaul the caliper I s'pose. I'm a bit too busy to lend a hand these days :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 After checking pad thickness, I would slacken off handbrake cable adjuster completely and remove sliding top of caliper and remove pads. Turn piston clockwise and push hard to screw auto adjuster back in ... using wind back tool. Refit pads and carrier. Then press brake pedal sharply a few times. Important to do this before operating handbrake, otherwise auto adjuster won't do its job. Then adjust handbrake cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scudon Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 Steve/IanThanks for the comments. Pad thickness is the same on both sides with the inner pad slightly thinner. i removed the sliding top section of the caliper and removed the pads. This all looked OK so i replaced it but nothing changed. As i said earlier the pressure applied to the rear brakes via the pedal is OK and the caliper works fine.I will push the piston back in and see this fixes the problem. As for adjusting the brake cable i have found the grey screw with locking nut under the car but is there another adjuster near the diff?ThanksCliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted July 13, 2015 Member Share Posted July 13, 2015 Just that one on mine.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Just one above the diff where the cable emerges from the chassis. Use a flat blade screwdriver to turn one against the other to unlock. Once apart, unscrew outer locking part way down the cable before doing the same with the rear one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SM25T Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Hi CliffWhat news on your problem ... did you fix it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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