fixing handbrake

[chubbylover53]

ok, i spend a good half of my day trying to work out what is wrong with my dam handbrake but to no avail. At first i thought it was just to tight but then when i loosened it up a lil the problem still occured.
The problem is that when i apply the brake there is no middle ground. it's either off or on. Most would think hey thats not to bad but what is really giving me the shits is that once it is on it wont come off. The only way i can get it off is to hold the handle up and then reverse the car then let brake off. The strange thing is that it is locked 100% when the car is on a forward motion but then when the handle is up at the same spot it is only partially locked in reverse.

This problem is only occuring in the right rear. the other side is fine.

oh and just as a side question does anyone know how much a head gasket will be for a
22re, It's not been my weekend.

cheers for all your help
Mike,

[sam-131]

have you taken the drums off and inspected wheel cyclinder sized? theres some form of spring in there as well check that ok also cable jaming ? many possablitys just gotta inspect them thats always the fun part isnt it

[30psi 4agte]

i take it we are talking about a drum brake rear end?

you neeed to pull off that wheel and suss it out. mabe a sping has come off or the pin that holds the shoe in place is broken

[chubbylover53]

No it's disc rear and i've taken off the disc and inspected everything comparing it ot the otherside and everything seems fine which is why i'm so confused. When i pull the handle up only 1 of the brake shoes seems to be pushing out but i'm only able to test this while the disc is off.
I'm thinking perhaps i have put it in backwards but then i dont think that is even possible.

come on all you drifters surely you can help.

[slide86]

the reason why its locking on fowards is that the shoes are set up in a "leading" and "trailing" type design (im pretty sure).

When you try to go foward, the motion of the drum grabs the shoes and actually pulls them into the drums causing the lock up.

When the drum goes backwards it sort of pushes the shoes away allowing for a bit of movement.

edit: now i find out its disc! but the principle is still the same. the other shoes thats not moving, its not jammed out is it? was it hard to get the disc off?

[30psi 4agte]

sounds like a siezed caliper m8

the seal around the piston is designed to pull it back after application. if its dmaged or the pistons is rusted it can sieze on after apllying brakes as there is nothing to pull the piston back.

[sam-131]

disc rear end ey well thats a diffrent kettel of fish
your best bet would be to reco the cailpers (or second hand ones in good cond) also check the spring that the cable is connceted to on both cailpers if not i am stumped did you just replace pads?

[klusio]

I had the same problem, took the calipers into ABS local brake shop had them stripped and free'd up basically a sevice.

work fine now.

hope you find the problem and a simple fix.

[Toobs]

The handbrake on a car with a disc brake rear end is basically a mechanical drum that pushes against the inside of the disc.
It sounds like one of the retaining spring thingies (yes technical terms I know) is unclipped.
These springy things are done up / undone by twisting the spring and holder 90 deg to the shalf.

Proper adjustment of the handbrake is done by loosening the adjuster at the handbrake end all the way and then adjusting the rear shoes so that the disc only just fits over the shoes without rubbing.
Basically adjust the shoes so that the disc won't fit over and then go half a turn back.
You can then fine tune the adjustment with the the adjuster on the handbrake lever end.

[Draven]

OMG
Toobs for teh win with the evil dead 3 quote

</OT>

[mc68]

errr you guys are completely forgetting the swing arm arrangement on rear calipers without an internal drum handbrake..

[Toobs]

errr you guys are completely forgetting the swing arm arrangement on rear calipers without an internal drum handbrake..

Swingarm?
Got pics to illustrate?

[Big T]

One of these thingies... rear disk spoontahs have these.



Eddie.

[chubbylover53]

the brake isn't applied using the caliper it's done inside the disc like toobs said. The whole reason i was adjusting them was cause they squeeked like a bitch and so i loosened them off a bit and bam it locks. Now i dont know how to reverse my problem.

I think slide86 may have the answer with the trailing and leading thingo..
Cheers for all your replies. very helpful

[thomasbl]

Not sure about your specific calipers, but i have had a similar problem with a few holden ones. The handbrake actuator and cam can become siezed or worn and not function properly. If you are able to rebuild the calliper yourself, get hold of a rebuild kit and have a go. Otherwise take them in to a brake place, have them overhauled and you should be right. I would do both sides, even if only one is playing up.