Weak handbrake advisory on MOT

[Guest allgoodpeter]

An Esprit I am hoping to buy has just passed MOT with the above advisory. As a newbie Esprit (soon to be - I hope) owner, is that something typical and easy to rectify?

I used to own a string of Alfasuds which had very similar front calipers to the Esprit rears including handbrake mechanism and I remember adjusting them was always a nightmare until I got the hang of it.

[andydclements]

The norm is for the self-adjuster to not self-adjust. The ideal solution is a calliper strip and re-build which isn't too bad.

[Guest allgoodpeter]

Sounds familiar from my Alfa days. Or presumably an exchange unit from a specialist maybe?

[braziers]

there are a lot of cars that only just pass the 16 % hand brake limit citreon saxo you have to pull on the hand brake like buggery to reach the limit and thats how they come out of the factory. it all depends on if the tester want to advise or not. how does the hand brake feel in reality does it hold well ? fast fit centres like to use a lot of vt32 advisory as they may get work from it

Edited March 28, 2012 by braziers

[Guest allgoodpeter]

Only had a quick feel several weeks ago - seemd to be like all the Esprits I have tried, like pulling on a tree stump, held OK but not on much of a hill.

I could never get my girlfriends Mk 1Fiesta to a good balanced efficiency either but the 'suds were great when setup properly, bit odd being on the front wheels but useful in the ice as a poor mans LSD. Sadly no handbrake turns though except in reverse.

[Sparky]

They're generally awful, even a few weeks after a good strip/adjust. My MoT guys (who now see loads) are so used to them that they rarely comment nowadays, they just pull them harder.

[Guest allgoodpeter]

So a good idea to go to someone who is familiar with them then!

[molemot]

Always good to make friends with your local Mechanic's Mafia....helps a load in discretionary situations. One of the things that can cause handbrake problems is rusty cables...that effectively stops the self adjust from working. Otherwise it can be the handbrake operating mechanism on the caliper...the shaft corrodes in the bearing and, although you can pull it ON, the return spring won't return it to OFF and, again, it won't self adjust. You can free this up by w*nking the lever back and forth whilst spraying the shaft/bearing interface with WD40. Helps to have a Glamourous Assistant to heave on the handbrake lever whilst you work underneath in the mire, moving the caliper lever back to OFF and spraying WD40, which will drip in your ear. Problem is, if the other side self adjuster is working, you can end up with that side locked solid.....great fun, these cars....

[Guest allgoodpeter]

Or if it all gets too much to bear, just ask the glamourous assistant to move your lever up and down a few times? Take your mind off it wouldn't it?

Related to that, my then girlfriend back in the mid eighties turned out to be a dab hand at grinding my valves.

[Sparky]

I remember her! I greased her nipples once.

Or was it twice...?

[braziers]

or get your glamourous assistant to take your car in for the mot . that usually works

[Guest allgoodpeter]

I remember her! I greased her nipples once.

Or was it twice...?

Don't know , I'll ask her , she's my wife now!

[rogerch]

I'm not familiar with the callipers on your car, but should they be same as my 88 stevens, this was my solution to the ongoing handbrake issues. It's probably nearly a years since I put those springs in and I have not had adjust it since.

[Guest allgoodpeter]

Dont know .....but I wil soon, I just bought the car. Collecting next week so guess I will be learning fast!

[rmorrow]

I'm not familiar with the callipers on your car, but should they be same as my 88 stevens, this was my solution to the ongoing handbrake issues. It's probably nearly a years since I put those springs in and I have not had adjust it since.

 

Can someone explain how Roger's fix works? Does it really add any more load than the coil spring that's already on the caliper handbrake lever?

I'm struggling to get through an MOT due to zero handbrake force on RHS....

[Mr_John111]

Morrow

A tip for you (assuming its the self adjuster that has failed) also assuming inboard caliper as per Citroen gearbox.

What I would do for the MOT is fit very worn brake pads on the rear. Then I would drive round the block and bed the pads in. The self adjuster ratchet would then be in a different place to 'normal' and the hand brake would work.

When MOT passed swap back to meatier pads.

One other thought, is the caliper piston back at the horizontal ? If its at 45 deg the ratchet won't engage

John

Edited August 15, 2013 by Mr_John111

[balled46]

It is also important to use the hand brake. I always use mine once on each journey out even if I do not strictly need to.

[peteyg]

I had major problems with one of my calipers on the S2. Ended up rebiulding then replacing the calipers, all very expensive when it turned out it was the handbrake calbe that was knackered. The self adjusted would work fine on the bench but not when on the car. Got there in the end!

 

I assume you've already adjusted the cables etc?

 

Pete

[Nelly]

Pete this guy bailed just after he got the car and sold it on.  He is no longer on here.  Did make quite an impression for all the wrong reasons though!

[rmorrow]

Hi Neil - I think Peter was directing this at me and I'm still here!!

I had a new cable last year and then the car scraped through the MOT, but no such luck this year! I've had the calliper off and the handbrake lever is moving the piston OK and the ratchet mechanism seems fine. I've put it back with the above spring modification and I'm going to bleed the system later today and then see what happens - I'll keep you posted...

But I'd still like to know how Roger's mod actually works...

[Mike6]

Had my MOT today and expected the handbrake to be a problem but it was ok. However it failed on one of these new MOT requirements on warning lights. The brake fluid warning light didnt come on when engine started. After spending a few hours fidling and following some really horrendous wiring I just couldnt sort it. So swapped the fan warning light into the brake fluid holder and took the car back to the MOT station. The tester was happy that the light came on and then went out so issued the pass certificate.

 

Sneaky eh!!