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Handbrake Adjustment


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I have a 2000 1.6i and I went to adjust the handbrake because its right at the top. Took off the handbrake gator in the car and found it was fully adjusted to the bottom of the thread so that's a no go Grrrr. The car has Drum brakes on the rear, Before I take off the rear wheels / drums I would l like to know what to expect ? I'm thinking maybe the self adjuster needs resetting ? on some cars the is a hole in the brake drum with a wheel behind it that you can turn by putting in a screwdriver through to turn the wheel to adjust the brake shoes in and out is this the case on a Mk7 Escort ? Had a look in the Haynes manual but cant see anything about resetting this adjuster ? ( it just shows it on a picture / sketch ) Do I have to disassemble the whole drum brake / shoes to reset ? Another thought maybe there is an adjuster under the car where it splits from the handbrake cable to go to each wheel ( cable equaliser ) ? again I cant see this by looking in the manual ? What's the best / first step to check ?

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Hi Stu

Thanks for the info to adjust the shoes is it just a matter of turning a screw ? or turning a wheel mechanism ? or a cam with ratchet teeth ? to make them go in or out or what should I find in there ? I read about releasing the handbrake cable fully first, then adjusting the drums, then adjust the handbrake after that, correct ? As you can tell I'm no mechanic but trying to learn :smile: tried looking at YouTube but there are lots of different types of set ups so would just like to know which one I have got

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The Haynes manual just says " check the automatic brake adjuster is fully retracted " is this done after the shoes have been adjusted out closer to the drum ? or do you retract the adjuster when the shoes are pushed right in towards the centre ? It does not say ? I am thinking the first option sounds more logical

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Hi Stu

Thanks for the info to adjust the shoes is it just a matter of turning a screw ? or turning a wheel mechanism ? or a cam with ratchet teeth ? to make them go in or out or what should I find in there ? I read about releasing the handbrake cable fully first, then adjusting the drums, then adjust the handbrake after that, correct ? As you can tell I'm no mechanic but trying to learn :smile: tried looking at YouTube but there are lots of different types of set ups so would just like to know which one I have got

The Haynes manual just says " check the automatic brake adjuster is fully retracted " is this done after the shoes have been adjusted out closer to the drum ? or do you retract the adjuster when the shoes are pushed right in towards the centre ? It does not say ? I am thinking the first option sounds more logical

Haynes is correct, slacken cable, adjust rear adjusters, once happy with that take the slack out of the cable and ONLY the slack

Inside the drum between the shoes is a bar that has a worm and cam type adjuster, 1 part is fixed the other should move, it has a small spring on the moving part. The moving part can seize up which stops them adjusting, basically as the shoes wear they have to travel further and the auto adjuster SHOULD take up the slack.

 

So you can use a couple of screw drivers to slowly pull the shoes outwards as if they were gonna press on the drum, keeping a eye on the adjuster go up a click or 2 at a time trying the drum on after each bit of adjustment until the drum just slips on with a very slight resistance when rotated. Before you start adjusting its worth making a reference mark for where the adjuster position is prior to altering anything, that way if you over adjust and can't get the drum back on you can de adjust and start again, this will probably make more sense when you are looking at the brakes.

 

Also if you have a lip on the brake drum this can make getting the drum on and off/over the shoes a bit more difficult so its worth ginding the lip away.

 

Last of all work safely pal, safety goggles, axle stands etc,

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HELP !!! I loosened the handbrake adjusting nut under the gator on the handbrake lever in the car, I had the brake drums off sprayed everything with brake cleaner, looked at the adjuster I could only adjust it one way ? by pushing the cam end with a screwdriver I pushed it all the way in towards the centre of the car on both sides ? no idea if this is correct ? or if it should of been moved the other way towards the outside of the car ? Put it back together and I still had no more adjustment on the handbrake cable under the gator in the car it did not help its still right to the top ? and after checking the brakes still work, I did an emergency stop to check the ABS was working and now the ABS light has come on ? and I get a vibration through the pedal now ? It was not doing that before and the ABS light has never come on before what have I done wrong ?

Edited by Nick Barnes
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Found another problem when I rechecked it, 1 of the rear wheel bearings was broken , when I took the hub off it fell out in pieces, ( didn't fall out the first time ) could this be why the ABS came on ? could it sense the movement in the wheel ? new bearing on its way, still need to find out why I cant adjust the handbrake ? it looks like the adjusters moved from where I pushed them to, so that seems to be working ? new handbrake cable now I'm thinking ?

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They are very simple to adjust the shoes as I described above, Its a tough one tbh pal, if your not 100% on what you are doing then its probably best you get some help with it, as the last thing you want is to end up with no brakes.

Hi Stu

I'm not happy lol I have the SADIM touch, everything I touch turns to rubbish instead of the Midas touch ? while it was jacked up I thought I'd change the front fog lamp bulb EASY JOB EVEN FOR ME I couldn't even get the plastic cover off from the underneath of the car that lets you get access to the foglight all the screws were seized up haha. I just wasn't sure if I had to pull out the adjuster cam or push in ? it didn't seem to make the shoes move in or out when I pushed the cam right in ( not that I noticed )? And the manual does not say either whether its in or out to adjust shoes in or out ? It certainly did not do anything to the handbrake cable, so I still could not adjust it ( the job I was trying to do in the first place ) ? on the second inspection I am sure the adjusters had moved back out to where they where before ? and after a test drive, and taking it apart again to recheck and finding the broken wheel bearing when it fell out in bits, I was totally peed off

any way I put it back together ( checked I had solid brakes and handbrake ) drove it to the local garage 200m with the ABS light on and a rumbling bearing to get them to look at it.

It will now cost me 3 times the price in spare parts as I could get them for GRRRRRRRRRR and 60 Euro an hour labour GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR, So much for saving money and learning

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The picture that Studabear put above is how the adjusters will look when fully off or slackened or no adjustment yet...the flat part of the cam will sit flat against the backplate...when you press the pedal the shoes push out and that cam with its spring will click round until it's self adjusted ...as yours did when you had driven it and looked again so it had self adjusted as you said it's back to where it was...so you are adjusting it correctly..

I would imagine a knackered bearing will set of the abs warning light as the abs sensor ring on most cars (don't know exactly on yours as mines a mk3 without abs)is sensitive to even the slightest misalignment or run out...even a tiny hairline cracking in the sensor ring will shut down the abs ...

The notched ring has a magnet sensor next to it that picks up the speed of the wheel as the metal notches go past...if one wheel is moving at a different speed ie skidding it pumps in the abs...

Sorry I'm going off on a tangent...

It's sounds like you maybe need a new handbrake cable/cables...they do wear out or stretch over time...

Hope you get it sorted soon mate..

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The picture that Studabear put above is how the adjusters will look when fully off or slackened or no adjustment yet...the flat part of the cam will sit flat against the backplate...when you press the pedal the shoes push out and that cam with its spring will click round until it's self adjusted ...as yours did when you had driven it and looked again so it had self adjusted as you said it's back to where it was...so you are adjusting it correctly..

I would imagine a knackered bearing will set of the abs warning light as the abs sensor ring on most cars (don't know exactly on yours as mines a mk3 without abs)is sensitive to even the slightest misalignment or run out...even a tiny hairline cracking in the sensor ring will shut down the abs ...

The notched ring has a magnet sensor next to it that picks up the speed of the wheel as the metal notches go past...if one wheel is moving at a different speed ie skidding it pumps in the abs...

Sorry I'm going off on a tangent...

It's sounds like you maybe need a new handbrake cable/cables...they do wear out or stretch over time...

Hope you get it sorted soon mate..

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The picture that Studabear put above is how the adjusters will look when fully off or slackened or no adjustment yet...the flat part of the cam will sit flat against the backplate...when you press the pedal the shoes push out and that cam with its spring will click round until it's self adjusted ...as yours did when you had driven it and looked again so it had self adjusted as you said it's back to where it was...so you are adjusting it correctly..

I would imagine a knackered bearing will set of the abs warning light as the abs sensor ring on most cars (don't know exactly on yours as mines a mk3 without abs)is sensitive to even the slightest misalignment or run out...even a tiny hairline cracking in the sensor ring will shut down the abs ...

The notched ring has a magnet sensor next to it that picks up the speed of the wheel as the metal notches go past...if one wheel is moving at a different speed ie skidding it pumps in the abs...

Sorry I'm going off on a tangent...

It's sounds like you maybe need a new handbrake cable/cables...they do wear out or stretch over time...

Hope you get it sorted soon mate..

Hi Springy,

Thanks for the input, just got the cab back from the garage 2 new wheel bearings @ 42.26 each ( I did ask if they where made of gold and diamonds haha they weren't even Ford ones ) and 70 Euros labour GRRRRRRRR should of just got new bearings myself and saved 150.00 Euro but at least I know its safe now. He also said probably the handbrake cable needs renewing now just need to look up you tube to see how easy that is. LOve your vids on you tube BTW good luck with your brakes

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