Handbrake

[Pete McCue]

Good afternoon all, guess who? 
I seem to read quite a few bits about handbrake issues. Is there anything particularly that can be done as a pre-emptive measure to ensure everything keeps working as it should?
Can the cables be lubricated, for example?
Cheers.

[Joesson]

@Pete McCue
My understanding is that the brake cables are covered with a plastic material and as such should be maintenance. free But, these are now beyond the best before date and any OE protection/lubrication is long gone and some Members have used a thin mineral oil to lubricate them.
As for myself I have been fortunate thus far and not had a problem in this area, however , when I replaced the rear calipers (and renovated the fronts) I did lubricate the outside / rear end of the cables with silicone grease, (my OE rubber shrouds being in good order). The inner/ front end similarly. I did this as part of the process of refitting the new calipers so could get some movement in the cables for the greasing.
To help with this and any adjustment I suggest that the best "pre-emptive" thing to do in this regard is to arrange for easy access to the "transmission" tunnel that encloses the brake ( and gear change ) cables. While some Members have acquired special compact ratchet drive assemblies to remove the two, difficult to access screws, some of us have gone the, necessary, full route of removing the seats to get access to the awkward screws and NOT replaced them. The tunnel remains quite secure and rattle free with just two,accessible, screws.

[Gaz mr-s]

https://www.mr2roc.org/index.php?topic=74553.msg897736#msg897736

My last method of putting oil down was a syringe & a long needle. 1mm dia approx.  It doesn't all go down, still comes up to some extent.

[paulj]

@Pete McCue without wishing to spook my car by saying this, my maintenance is just doing the handbrake adjustment routine from the lever end a couple of times a year or whenever the brake starts to slip.  Has worked fine for 8 years and hoping for many more

https://www.mr2roc.org/index.php?topic=68798.0

[Joesson]

@Pete McCue without wishing to spook my car by saying this, my maintenance is just doing the handbrake adjustment routine from the lever end a couple of times a year or whenever the brake starts to slip.  Has worked fine for 8 years and hoping for many more

https://www.mr2roc.org/index.php?topic=68798.0

And are you "Screwless" ( in 2 positions)?

[tomato]

 Changed mine with oem replacements as one side clearly stretched.

Still have to re-adjust every 6 months, annoying but but once done works a treat.

[Ardent]

ooooh this still upsets my OCD

Could the stretch, be in the link cable, between the handbrake lever and the saddle to the actual handbrake cables.

I know the likley answer is no.
But has anyone compared a new vs a used one? Is there a difference in length? How much?
We know the range of motion at the crank arm is small. (or at least the action on the silver bullet in the caliper is)
A few mm stretch on the link cable could/would make a big difference. Mr T allowed for quite a bitof adjustment at that end. But what was he allowing for? A stretchy link cable?

[105e]

The first time i went to adjust my h/brake cables i noticed that they were not level, it turned out to be the fault of this link cable as it had not been fitted as to be level. I took it out and refitted it one turn over to make it level at the end..  But ive never known if it had just been fitted wrong or if (unlikely i thought) it was supposed to be fitted at an angle...

[paulj]

And are you "Screwless" ( in 2 positions)?

Indeed.  Some may say that I have more than one screw loose