Hi all,
Today I picked up my RHR brake caliper and my dumbass decided to check if the parking break mechanism work so I pushed on the lever. A moment later I noticed a label on the mechanism saying: CAUTION, DO NOT operate the lever before fitting and applying the pressure! Ooops. What have I done?
Before you fit it you are meant to turn the piston in as far as it'll go, then back it out half a turn or so to get the dimple/peg aligned with the brake pad notch.
It has aligned perfectly when I dry fitted it.
It will probably be ok. They just don't want you to wind the piston out.
Quote from: Carolyn on March 14, 2026, 08:19It will probably be ok. They just don't want you to wind the piston out.
The whole 'winding out the piston by 180 degree' is a bit confusing tbh. I did some reading online yesterday and many suggest to do so but without an explanation what exactly is happening inside the caliper.
But I fitted the brake caliper now and ... The handbrake doesn't pull tight on this side.
Quote from: Nomad on March 14, 2026, 09:57The whole 'winding out the piston by 180 degree' is a bit confusing tbh. I did some reading online yesterday and many suggest to do so but without an explanation what exactly is happening inside the caliper.
But I fitted the brake caliper now and ... The handbrake doesn't pull tight on this side.
Did you pump the footbrake slowly and firmly ten times before your tightented up the cable? The winding out 180 is to make sure the mechanism for winding the piston out is properly engaged.
The lever pushes out a threaded rod, which threads into a fitting in the back of the piston. When you pull the handbrake the rod pushes the piston out. The piston winds out on the threads when the footbrake is used. The nipple on the brake pad stops the piston from simply spinning on the rod and not moving along the threads.
Thanks Carolyn.
Yep followed the procedure: started up the engine, pumped the brakes 10 time, adjusted the handbrake.
When the handbrake cable is disconnected from the RHR calliper and I move the handbrake mechanism by hand, it fully blocks the wheel. That means the handbrake mechanism works how it should, right?
The problem I am getting now is that the LHS handbrake cable pulls nicely, blocks the wheel and also returns back nicely, the lever on the brake calliper returns to the stop pin.
On the RHS I can't block the wheel with the handbrake at all and also the cable doesn't want to return back after releasing the handbrake. So the lever sits about 5mm from touching the stop pin on the calliper.
I thought the RHS handbrake cable is bad but I've pumped some penetrating oil using a tube and a bicycle pump and and it cleared a lot of dirt and it moved nice and easy when operating by hand now.
Is this an adjustment thing or do I need another handbrake cable?
MOT is next week.... oops
This is how I've cleaned the handbrake btw
It sounds like you found the problem. If the cable is moving smoothly, it should do the job.
Yep, definetely the cable. I've managed to adjust the handbrake to it best balance between blocking the wheel and binding after releasing the parking break. Hopefully I can get away with it with an advisory. Going forward I will replace both cables.
Quote from: Nomad on March 14, 2026, 18:46Yep, definetely the cable. I've managed to adjust the handbrake to it best balance between blocking the wheel and binding after releasing the parking break. Hopefully I can get away with it with an advisory. Going forward I will replace both cables.
Well done. It's lovely to see such perseverance!
Make sure you use OEM cables.
Aaaaand the MOT failed. I've managed to get rid of 11 advisories but failed to fix the handbrake...
I had a look at the cables one more time today and it almost looks like if both cables are not the same length. Or maybe one has been stretched.
When it comes to ordering a new cable, how do I know which do one I need?
My car reg is 02 but if I look up the VIN in the Toyota's ECP, the production date is 12/2001.
On the GT4-play website the PRE FACELIFT cable is dated - 12/1999- 05/2001
and FACELIFT- 08/2002- 09/2005
My car falls into the timeframe in-between those two dates. So which one do I need?
@Nomad Is your car a pre or post facelift? Which rear bumper? Which tail lights? Which tail lights. 5 Speed P(FL) or 6 speed (FL) ?The cars are visually different. Go by that.
Get a pair. Yours may both be stretched, one more than the other. Just replacing one is a bad idea.
My taillights are without the circle lights also the underbody bracing are just two bars with no cross members connecting them together. I would say it's a pre-facelift. I definitely will replace both. Just wanted to make sure which ones to get.
As a i recall the cables are different lengths. So the possibility of wrong cable or wrong side is a thing.
The OEM's have a color tab to denote the difference.
Today I've tried to disconnect one handbrake cable from both callipers at the time. They fully work on their own but stop as soon as connected to the balance bar as a pair. During the handbrake operation the LHS cable seems to pull out much further than the RHS. The RHS cable which was seized moves freely now btw.
I started to strip the interior parts down to access the top of the fuel tank and I think I found the problem.
The LHS cable was replaced 2 years ago (previous owner kept a record of it). When they replaced the cable, they didn't secure the bracket behind the fuel tank, just left it there, didn't even pull the grommet through. With this quality of work who knows if they've used the correct length cable...
I've read online that you can lower the tank instead of a full removal. Do I have to remove the lid which is glued over the access hole over the tank? Also what about the rubber tube from the fuel filler pot to the tank, does it need to be disconnected? I've got a transmission scissors type jack which I am planning to use to support the tank.
I have finally fixed my handbrake.
I replaced both cables with genuine cables 2 years ago but what ever I did the near side handbrake was rubbish & if you the looked at the plate under centre console you could see it was pulling to one side.
Previously I had bought a Pagid calliper from Euros, but this was rubbish. Then bought a used OE calliper and this wasn't much better.
Today I fitted a matching pair of eBay callipers. Discs & pads were only 5000 miles old so kept these.
Fitted new callipers paying particular attention to make sure everything was free.
Setup as per instructions and now my handbrake is perfect. The plate under centre console now pulls perfectly level. 2 clicks and both wheels can't be moved by hand. 6 clicks & car won't pull away under engine power.
My actual brakes are now much better, firmer pedal and it now pulls up straight & level.
So I definitely think matching callipers along with genuine cables is the answer.
@SurreyMR2 Thanks, that sounds promising. How difficult was it to fit the cables?
Quote from: Nomad on Today at 21:51@SurreyMR2
Thanks, that sounds promising. How difficult was it to fit the cables?
It wasn't fun to be honest. I had car on ramps one end and axel stands at other end so access was quite tight. I had tank as empty as I dared to help removal. An extra pair of hands would have helped.
Oh dear, I am on my own this weekend so will have do it myself. How did you lower the tank? Did you disconnect cables and hoses?