Hand brake (park brake) cable stretch ???

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Hand brake (park brake) cable stretch ???

Postby SinWolf on Wed Jan 19, 2011 1:03 am

Hi guys...

My hand brake has been adjusted to its maximum, and I stil don't have a decent park brake... even with the rear brake shoes replaced, I'm experiencing the same problem....

Could it be that my cable has stretched ?? Do I need to replace ?? Or is there a way to install some kind of spacer on the cable to take off some slack ??

Is this a common problem ??

And then... On the topic of new rear brake shoes... Do you just install them *and let the auto adjuster thingy outo-adjust the brakes" ?? Or do you need to manually tighten them through the inspection hole on the "inside/back side" of the wheel drums ??

Thanks
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Re: Hand brake (park brake) cable stretch ???

Postby DaveXT on Wed Jan 19, 2011 5:43 am

Hand brake cables do stretch over time. Maybe 10 years 200000 km.
Drum Brakes should be fully adjusted up till locked then backed off till free, then the auto adjusters will do there job when the brakes are applied in reverse.
Might help if you can give more details of the model and age, km etc so that others can give more specific advice.

Dave :)
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Re: Hand brake (park brake) cable stretch ???

Postby Joe on Wed Jan 19, 2011 5:44 am

You need to manaully adjust them SinWolf. This will also bring the adjustment to the handbrake back.
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Re: Hand brake (park brake) cable stretch ???

Postby NowForThe5th on Wed Jan 19, 2011 5:44 am

The "auto adjuster" doesn't. You need to adjust the brake shoes manually and quite regularly. This will tighten up the action of your handbrake (the one in the car, not the one at home :lol: ) so there shouldn't be any need to adjust the handbrake cable under normal circumstances. If, after adjusting the brake shoes, you still have excessive movement in the handbrake lever then, by all means, adjust the cable, but as a last resort, not first action. Cables can stretch through excessive force being applied too often - my handbrake will hold the vehicle on a moderate slope on the first click, on steep slopes on second or third click but I rarely use the third and if I need to then it's time to adjust the brake shoes again.
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Re: Hand brake (park brake) cable stretch ???

Postby SinWolf on Wed Jan 19, 2011 2:03 pm

Thanks guys...

I did a google search, and found that the "auto-ajustor" does not work too great, and that manual adjustment is necessary...

I think this will solve my problem, so I'll do the manual adjustment tonight !

THANKS again for your response !
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Re: Hand brake (park brake) cable stretch ???

Postby SinWolf on Fri Jan 21, 2011 4:45 pm

Hi guys.... false alarm....

I installed new brake shoes, and adjusted them as specified in that article I found (with google search)...

The brakes are now working 100%, and the hand brake cable is also now 100%...

Long story short... If you install new shoes, (make sure that your hand brake cable is not tensioned to tight), then manually adjust the shoes until they "rub" against the drums... Now you can adjust your hand brake so that its sufficient... And then, manually check them with every service, and adjust if necessary, cause the auto adjuster doesn't really work that well....

:P :P
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Re: Hand brake (park brake) cable stretch ???

Postby NowForThe5th on Fri Jan 21, 2011 6:16 pm

Yup, got it in one.
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