Anglefire Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 My handbrake is a little near the top and the brakes have had a good "bedding" in since being replaced - so I thought I'd adjust the rear shoes to just tighten them up a little. Well, after a couple of miles down the road where I stopped to drop my eldest off at her friends, I had to get out and readjust them back again as i was smoking! Knocked them bad a notch or two and got back home with no smoke on arrival but still feeling a bit hot - so knocked the passenger side a notch. The handbrake cables aren't tight - but I feel the adjustment isn't right still. Any tips? I did them on ramps so not hanging down or anything - and what size is the adjustment screws? I have everything under the sun and nothing quite fits! No rush I decided to put the car away and crack open a couple of cold ones. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 Adjusters are 1/4" square, I use a 1/4drive extention reversed and find a socket to fit the other end , a 1/4af bihex will fit and you, can get on easy with the wheels in the way with a small ratchet Rear adjustment , never set up the cable length with the axles hanging, block them up to running height Disconnect the cable, lock the shoes adjuster up firmly then fit cable adjusted to suit the fit of the pin, de adjust about 4 clicks Or about one turn Do make sure the trailing shoe is not upside down the unused square hole for the handbrake lever must be at the bottom Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 So here's how I do it.... Back end jacked up and weight of the car on axle stands under each upright. (Wheels off!) Disconnect the handbrake cable at both drums. For each side in turn: Adjust until the drum binds, then back off 1 "click" Reconnect the handbrake cables each side. Use the hand brake cable adjuster at each drum to take up any slack in the cable. Check that the drums are not binding - it they are back the cable adjusters off until they are free Try the hand brake... Regardless of the amount of travel, does the hand brake lock the drums up nicely? Assuming it works.... If the travel on the handbrake is too much or too little, remove the tunnel trim to get to the adjuster just behind the hand brake level. Slacken/Tighten to adjust travel on leave. Refit all the parts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted July 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 Looks like you have the same jack and stands as me! (Well the ones I bought, I made my own as a student when I was about 19 - tested on a press to 7tonnes from memory. Just a bit high at times on the Spitfire - but ideal on my old Disco! Actually after I adjusted them, the brakes felt much nicer - and the handbrake did seem to hold better - it wasn't great before. I'll bite the bullet and drop the wheels off and do it properly. But we are away next weekend so will either be one evening or in a week or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted July 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 14 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said: Adjusters are 1/4" square, I use a 1/4drive extention reversed and find a socket to fit the other end , a 1/4af bihex will fit and you, can get on easy with the wheels in the way with a small ratchet Thanks Pete - I did wonder if it was 1/4 but I have one and didn't seem to fit - but as it happens I did try my 1/4 adapter for screwdriver bits and seemed to work ok! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 Most of the adjustment for the handbrake is the cable adjustment - once the adjusters are set right the foot brake should be good (hard to tell as so much braking effort is at the front) but the handbrake can still be rubbish if the cables are too slack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted July 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 The cables don’t seem to be at all loose - but I guess they must be if the handbrake lever is high up. Or the shoes are too far away, which they clearly aren’t ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkshire_spam Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 Cables are in a kind of Y shape, it's possible for the cable that runs across from 1 drum to the other to be tight, but if the link that runs from that to the leaver itself is slack then you'll still have long travel on the handbrake leaver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted July 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 So is item 6 attached to item 10 then? And it’s not a “slot” which allows some movement between? not something I’ve really studied tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 The cable should self centre thro 10 it is slotted 10 is pinned to the lever which has aselection of holes to enable some change in leverage the angle of the lever is critical or leverage is easily lost All, angles and hole are in the wsm. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted July 10, 2018 Report Share Posted July 10, 2018 One thing that has not been mentioned is to give the brakes a good hefty application of the right foot. This will centre everything. Then do a final tweek to the adjusters if required. I will be honest too. On non-rotoflex cars, I don't bother getting the wheels at ride height to adjust the cable. I do it at droop, and the geometry of the cable means it isn't a big issue. (rotoflex must be done at ride-height) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglefire Posted July 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2018 I think I might fit the Mintex pads I bought for the front at the same time as I sort the back out and then the hefty application can bed in the front too! But thanks all - I'll give it a go when I find some time! Doesn't help but youngest is learning to drive and so I do have to enjoy a white knuckle ride some evenings! (She isn't that bad - passed the theory first time and passed a mock test yesterday!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68vitesse Posted July 10, 2018 Report Share Posted July 10, 2018 I always adjust rear brakes on my Mk1 Vitesse with the wheels on to properly seat the drum, does seem to make a difference. Regards Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted July 10, 2018 Report Share Posted July 10, 2018 7 minutes ago, 68vitesse said: I always adjust rear brakes on my Mk1 Vitesse with the wheels on to properly seat the drum, does seem to make a difference. Regards Paul Interesting. Do you have the drum retaining screws fitted? They should hold the drum in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68vitesse Posted July 10, 2018 Report Share Posted July 10, 2018 Yes. Regards Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad4classics Posted July 12, 2018 Report Share Posted July 12, 2018 After reading this thread I decided it was about time I greased up the secondary cable guides and compensator; in the process I discovered that the clevis pin joining the compensator to the lever was rusted solid so that they were moving as a pair! In operation, the relative movement between these two parts is quite small, so with the handbrake on or off, not something you really notice with a cursory glance, especially tucked up where it is. No amount of fighting it under a car on axle stands would shift it - so I had to disconnect the secondary cable from one wheel and feed it back through the secondary cable guide and out of the compensator; disconnect the cable from the handbrake to get the argumentative pair on the bench where I could give them some “what for” with a large hammer and a punch to remove the clevis pin and separate them. Feeding the secondary cable through the cable guide was really fun because I found the threaded straight end on my cable was just too long to go round the guide in one go; I had to fight it into a loop and feed the threaded portion though each end of the guide separately – greasy springy cable going everywhere except where I wanted it to go! Cleaned and painted the lever and compensator and reassembled everything with new clevis pins and plenty of grease. After adjusting things as per the WSM as Pete indicated earlier, the handbrake feels a whole lot more positive. David 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted July 12, 2018 Report Share Posted July 12, 2018 On the lever pivot pin there is a felt pad to oil/grease, bit late now its all back together but on mine I drilled and tapped the pivot pin to take a greaser as I had to hammer my pin out of the lever , it had not been lubed for 40 years Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad4classics Posted July 12, 2018 Report Share Posted July 12, 2018 4 hours ago, Pete Lewis said: On the lever pivot pin there is a felt pad to oil/grease, bit late now its all back together but on mine I drilled and tapped the pivot pin to take a greaser as I had to hammer my pin out of the lever , it had not been lubed for 40 years Pete My lever pivot was fortunately free, bug the rubber seal was hard and breaking up and there was only a few wisps of the felt pad left. Made a pad out of some thick felt; middle hole I punched but had to cut the outer edge with shears - it's sort of round.? and very well greased. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave.vitesse Posted July 12, 2018 Report Share Posted July 12, 2018 Remember to grease the cable guides as there is a lot of friction loss going on. On the MK2 Vitesse the cable guides are welded to the body and not the chassis. This is to allow for the Rotoflex couplers. The problem with this setup is the force of the handbrake cable causes the body flex, and end weaken and crack. As the body is now weaker than the rear brakes you end up with a very poor handbrake and a springy feel to the handbrake leaver. This is a common problem on MK2 Vitesse. If you have any concerns then take the base of the rear seat out and have a look at the body, lower area of the spring hump, when you operate the handbrake. Look for cracks and movement. If yes it requires welding and strengthening. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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