Defender hand brake....

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ER1C

Well-Known Member
Posts
4,694
Location
Cheshire
3 years ago my hand brake stopped working I stripped it down, replaced the cable... I don't think I replaced the shoes.

One of my pet hates was always that a new cable was right on the end of its adjustment.

So I am not in the same scenario again. I have the adjustment screw on the handbrake mechanism (wind in bolt) right at the edge of stop/no stop (i.e there is no free travel).

I have just replaced the cable knowing it wouldn't fix it but hoping it would..

I now have a working hand-brake but its right on the edge again both in terms of

1. hand brake is fully up with hardly any feeling of resistance.
2. The adjustment screw is set correctly.
3. the cable adjustment is set at the far end of adjustment.

Thoughts ? I could get new shoes but I assume that would only help if there were free play in the cable? i.e pulling the handbrake were moving the mechanism considerably before it stops.

I have the rear prop off so before I sign off and accept its now an MOT pass but not something I am comfortable with I wanted to ask "what say you" ?

I can whip it off and have a look inside but I know the pads were a pig to get on last time so I was hoping to avoid.
 
There really should not be any wear on the pads......after all you do not use them to actually brake only to hold the thing when stationary.

Is there any chance that the cable is wrong?

You say you have adjusted the transmissionand , I assume you did it per the book,

You say the handbrake end is also adjusted, Is it staying in the correctly adjusted position? has the locking nut moved? I know my hand brake cable does stretch over time. It gets adjusted every year a little bit.

IS the handbrake handle mechanism badly worn?

Cheers
 
You sayb that you have adjusted the cable, however, 90% of the shoe adjustment is done on the tapered, square headed adjuster.
Have you nipped that up as well?
 
When you say it stopped working and you stripped it down.

Is it possible that you re assembled it in someway , how I have no idea, incorrectly?

But when I replaced mine , for the first few months the handle was quite low.

Cheers
 
I cant see how it can be assembled incorrectly as it does work, I will have to take the cover off and have a look. I would have re-assembled as the last chap had which could be a mistake ;) Seeing some posts about others who did the same as me and eventually worked out the rollers/plungers were in the wrong way around.

The square headed adjuster was correct.
 
Just popped the cover off.... all looks ok..

****loads of dust in there, bit worried about lying under it and moving anything even with a mask on.. How did other folk tackle to minimise asbestos risk ? Spray it down with brake cleaner ?
 
Modern brake pads/shoes do not have asbestos in them, at least they should not but who knows on stuff from far away places. If yours are worn or they have glazed from being overheated [ handbrake left on some or was sticking due to crud in the expander.] then replace.
Wear a mask and clean out with brake cleaner.
 
Modern brake pads/shoes do not have asbestos in them, at least they should not but who knows on stuff from far away places. If yours are worn or they have glazed from being overheated [ handbrake left on some or was sticking due to crud in the expander.] then replace.
Wear a mask and clean out with brake cleaner.
Its a 92 Defender I wouldn't class as modern :)
 
The same safety rules apply,mask goggles ect, and the brake cleaner will limit the amount of dust.
Getting the shoes on to their location points against the pull of the springs is a job that requires a bit of a knack with a tire leaver/large screw driver to pop them into place. Those on this forum who own or have owned a series will know this:)
 
If the cable is too slack when the handle is pulled all the way on (providing all the shoe adjustment has been done correctly) then you need to make the cable outer longer. This is done with the adjuster 'screw' at the handle end, but if it's still too slack, which seems to be what you are saying, then you need to make it longer still...

Fit some spacers to the cable outer (basically washers) to hold the cable jacket further back from the hole where the cable enters the cab. Not a very clear explanation, but on mine I had this problem by extending the distance from where the cable attaches to the handle (number 9) and where it leaves the outer. I did it by taking off the hand brake 'stiffener' (number 24) and put something behind it. This extra 5mm took up a bit of the slack and everything's working great.
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