Klive
Junior Member
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- 724
A useful handbrake tip.
Don't adjust these cars too tight. You want more than a couple of clicks on the lever for it to activate, otherwise you're at risk of the shoes rubbing continuously and then delaminating. This can have serious consequences if you haven't realised that it's happened.
It's difficult to realise if you've backed off the adjuster sufficiently with the wheels off the ground as they're tight to turn anyway. If you're not sure then take the car for a comfortable drive where you're not applying the brakes too much. If you have a sensitive bottom you may feel or even hear (with your ears, not your bottom) a slight consistent vibration from the rear that varies with speed. If you do it could mean your shoes are rubbing.
Another way is when you come to a gentle stop after your gentle drive, touch the drum part of the discs. BE VERY CAREFUL, if they have been rubbing or you've just slowed from a zillion mph then they will take your skin off. (It's the way they work by converting kinetic to thermal energy, but that's enough of the physics lesson.) If one drum is much hotter than the other then the hot drum's shoes could be rubbing. If both drums are very hot then both could be rubbing.
If your equipment is in good order and they are adjusted correctly then the handbrake will hold the car, even on a hill, and you'll have many less stressed moments when it's either parked or more importantly, in for the MOT.
Don't adjust these cars too tight. You want more than a couple of clicks on the lever for it to activate, otherwise you're at risk of the shoes rubbing continuously and then delaminating. This can have serious consequences if you haven't realised that it's happened.
It's difficult to realise if you've backed off the adjuster sufficiently with the wheels off the ground as they're tight to turn anyway. If you're not sure then take the car for a comfortable drive where you're not applying the brakes too much. If you have a sensitive bottom you may feel or even hear (with your ears, not your bottom) a slight consistent vibration from the rear that varies with speed. If you do it could mean your shoes are rubbing.
Another way is when you come to a gentle stop after your gentle drive, touch the drum part of the discs. BE VERY CAREFUL, if they have been rubbing or you've just slowed from a zillion mph then they will take your skin off. (It's the way they work by converting kinetic to thermal energy, but that's enough of the physics lesson.) If one drum is much hotter than the other then the hot drum's shoes could be rubbing. If both drums are very hot then both could be rubbing.
If your equipment is in good order and they are adjusted correctly then the handbrake will hold the car, even on a hill, and you'll have many less stressed moments when it's either parked or more importantly, in for the MOT.