Handbrake adjustment

[Inex]

Hi all,

 

I came across this issue over a long trip in my Octy. I could hear a very high pitched squealing from the rear on high speeds and as soon as I hit the brakes it went away so I figured some caliper won't release the pads well enough. I stopped, I put my hand on the each rim and I realize the right rear wheel was pretty hot and the disc had some scratches on it. Fast forward 700 km after my trip ends and I start feeling it when stopping at the red lights.

 

Went to the mechanic, pulled the caliper out, sprayed some oil under the piston gasket and made sure the bolts are lubed (they were), made sure the handbrake cable is not stuck (it wasnt). However, noticed the little arm that pulls the handbrake cable won't pull all the way.

 

We open up the interior to reach the adjuster and I find it in a very skewed position, a lot more than what this picture shows (this pic is taken after loosening it a bit and knocking on the arm behind the caliper). 

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zzhz5l6nflwd56g/IMG_20161109_122456.jpg?dl=0

 

Luckily, we did this last night before the snow came in this morning, otherwise I would have had a stuck rear wheel today, BUT, the handbrake is not so strong now. It is good enough for small speeds and for being parked or inclined though. Mechanic advised we leave it like this (at least for the cold season) so I don't risk braking the wheel at high speeds.

 

Will this need further adjustment? Shouldn't the adjuster be sitting in a straight position instead? 

Edited 9 November, 2016 by Inex

[CWARD]

It looks like the bracket is angled deliberately probably to allow for the slightly different routes the cables take to the calipers. Very little movement is required on the caliper levers for them to activate the pistons. Unless the handbrake was binding there shouldn't have been any reason to remove the tension on the cable. If you had to knock the arm to release the tension in the cable after adjusting the nut then problem lays with the cable, which is probably corrosion or dirt. 

[Inex]

I don't think he had to. He just did it anyways initially thinking the lever has to pull all the way till it rests on the stoper. We released the cable from the lever and the cable was smoothly going back and forth.

The conclusion was that yes, the handbrake was binding on the right wheel. The problem is I have only had the car for 2 months now and I have no idea what kind of adjustments were done before.

My concern now is if its ok to have the adjuster sitting like that?

[xman]

Broken cable strands (therefore stretched) to rh rear wheel.

Edited 9 November, 2016 by xman

[Inex]

But it would be stretched on the right side which means for the left wheel, right?

[xman]

?? Your pic shows elongated rh cable surely.

[Inex]

Forgive me - I have no idea what RH stands for... My mechanic said the cables are crossed which means the cable from the left wheel is the one on the right in my picture. Correct?

[CWARD]

The stopper is only only for the lever to go back to release any tension on the caliper spring and cable. With the handbrake off the lever should be rested on the stop. Take up any slack on the cable at the handbrake brake lever until the caliper levers are just off the stops. Pump the hand brake lever up and down a few times and it should come back to rest on the stops. If it doesn't adjust to release some tension a half turn at a time until it does. Again pump the lever up and down until it settles. If one side refuses to go back to the stop then you have a binding cable so check the routing and outer cable is correct and if it is then the cable will need replacing as it will be corroded. 

Left cable supplies left wheel and visa versa, they don't cross over anywhere.

[CWARD]

Looking at the manual the adjustment bar should be equal and you have more tension on the left cable.

 

http://workshop-manuals.com/skoda/octavia-mk2/brake_systems/brake_brake_mechanics/handbrake/removing_and_installing_the_hand-brake_cable/

[Inex]

OK - that makes sense.

 

Strange enough, while I was inside the car, looking at the adjuster, the mechanic pulled and pushed on the cable from the right wheel and sure enough the left one moved in the car. Could the previous owner do this to try and hide the elongated cable?

[CWARD]

Possibly but surely it would be easier to have just replaced the cables they aren't expensive.

[phillip]

I had a similar problem last week on a mate's '03 plate Golf....I went to adjust the handbrake and saw an identical picture to yours above...it turned out that the nearside caliper wasn't operating the handbrake at all, so I ended up replacing the caliper for £70. Half hour job

[Inex]

So the cable was not elongated - the caliper was not operating.

 

My handbrake operates, both wheels actually. Still the adjuster sits weirdly like that....

[phillip]

Hmmm...sounds like your cable might have stretched then ??

[fergal]

i had a similar problem this morning when police woke me up to find my car had handbrake failure and was in middle of road is there adjusters at the back to take the slack up if they not equal lengths at handbrake cable end

 

[xman]

On 10/03/2018 at 15:45, fergal said:

i had a similar problem this morning when police woke me up to find my car had handbrake failure and was in middle of road is there adjusters at the back to take the slack up if they not equal lengths at handbrake cable end

 

 

No.

Cables should be the correct length. Minor (a few mm) length discrepancies are taken care of by the handbrake end bar to which the cables are attached. It can tilt a bit.

Any significant variation is either a failed/failing cable or a faulty caliper, which requires replacement cable or caliper.