Adjusting your handbrake

[Anonymous]

If you are finding that every time you pull on your handbrake you are smacking your passenger in the face, it is probably time to adjust it. The normal amount of "clicks" is between 5 and 9.

I have just adjusted mine for the second time and thought I would take a few pics and write a brief how-to. Might be of some use to the tighter among you (like me) who don't want to pay Mr.T to do it.   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

Tools:

1) A pair of bricks, lumps of wood, neighbours cat, whatever, to chock the front wheels and keep the car in one place.
2) 1 x Philips screwdriver and 1 x flat head screwdriver.
3) 14mm socket and wrench.
4) 2 x 10mm spanners (in my case 1 x 10mm spanner and adjustable wrench)



Firstly, make sure you are on level ground. Take your carefully chosen solid lumps and chock your front wheels. If you are feeling really professional you could jack up the rear of the car and put it on axle stands, but I didn't myself.



You need to remove the centre console to get to the handbrake adjustment mechanism, which should be a doddle. Unfortunately Mr.T in his wisdom put two of the screws in a ridiculously fiddly place.

If you slide the seat forwards you will see the rear screw...easy peasy!!



The front screw however is between the seat and the centre console...doh!



I know some people have managed to access this screw with an "L" shaped screwdriver, I however only managed to round the head of the screw doing this....give it a go if you like, personally I won't again.

Sooooooo, to get to the front screw you need to partially remove the seats! A really simple job, just four bolts.

Slide the seat forwards and remove the rear two bolts. The bolt on the door side is covered by a plastic cover which just unclips (shown removed in pic). While you are there, take out the rear screws on the centre console.



Slide the seat back and remove the front two bolts.



Now you will be able to tilt the seat back so you can access the front screw from under the seat. There are some wires to the underside of the seat, but there is plenty of play in them.



Unscrew the gear knob and remove the little plastic cover (it simply unclips) at the base of the handbrake lever.



Gently pull up the centre console until you expose the wiring connector block shown in the pic below. This is on the passenger side, and is unclipped using a thin flat head screwdriver.



You can now move the centre console clear of the handbrake, allowing you access to the adjuster mechanism. Be aware of all the wiring under the console when you are moving it around.



At this stage I would put a couple of bolts loosely back in place on the drivers seat as you are going to be in and out of the seat.

From the passenger side you will be able to see the handbrake adjuster mechanism, which is simply a locknut and adjuster nut.



Release the handbrake, then holding the adjuster nut in place, loosen the locknut. Wind the locknut to the top of the thread, then loosen the adjuster nut to just below it.

Jump in the drivers seat and start the engine. Press the brake pedal firmly twenty or so times (to simulate normal driving and take up any slack between pads and discs). Turn off the engine.

Hand-tighten the adjuster nut as far as you can (which won't be very far), pull the lever up firmy once, and release. Now tighten the adjuster nut gradually until you find the handbrake has the correct amount of travel, somewhere between 5 and 9 clicks. I personally like as little amount of travel in the lever as possible, so I go a little lower. This is my choice however and is done at my own risk!!

Once you are happy with the travel, release the brake, jump out of the car push the car forwards/backwards to make sure the handbrake is not binding. Don't forget to remove the chocks behind the wheels when you do this!!  s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

If all is well, tighten the locknut whilst holding the adjuster nut still, then start re-assembling!

Wiring clip back together, centre console back on, gearknob and plastic cover back on, screws back in, seats bolted back down, quick double-check the handbrake light comes on when you pull the lever and that the electrics (windows etc.) are ok (no wiring connectors knocked loose), then have a cuppa/tinny and think of the money you have saved!!

This took me 45 mins, and that included making notes and taking piccies, it is not a tough job!

I hope this is some use to somebody, and if I have made any errors please let me know and I will amend accordingly.

Ian

[roger]

Just to add....having taken my centre console off a few times (short shift, gaiter etc) and using an L shaped Phillips as described, last time I left out the front screws when I re-assembled.

I wasn't sure whether this would show itself, but its been about 3 - 4 months now and I have not seen or felt any movement in the console since, so I reckon not putting them back in could be a TOP-TIP.