Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: jonny2112 on 09 March 2010, 15:12:13
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Failed the MOT on poor passenger handbrake efficiency and am trying to sort it out. Can't get the disc hub off, and whilst continuing with 'rotate and tap' method, was considering that the shoes may need to be backed off as well. think I have located the star shape adjuster, but I can't adjust it. Firstly there does not seem to be too many 'teeth' in it to catch the screwdriver, and secondly I don't have a wide enough bladed driver. In the guide the screwdriver doesn't seem to be overly big for this task and I was wondering if I may be doing something wrong!? :'(
Any help much appreciated.
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Just having a look at Haynes, and it looks like the adjuster is actually a wheel which sits at right angles to the hub (9.11) which suggests that it can be moved by pushing the outside teeth either up or down, to loosen or tighten; rather than a socket type affair I thought it was earlier'
Too dark to check now, but does this make sense to anyone?
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That is correct .. and you only find out which way to go by "trial and error" .. the adjuster wheel can be fitted either way, so experimentation is the only way to find out .. :(
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might sound daft but make sure your hand brake is off ,i made this mistake once after spending a hour messing about , lol :y
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I take it you've read/printed this off ??
http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1152564750
The adjuster is shown in the third picture in the second section ... and also at the top of the 4th picture second section .. :)
HTH
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Cheers pal, I'll be on that at first light!
I didn't relate the pic to what I was looking for as I thought I had already found it .....d'oh!!
Thanks again :y
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Rotate and tap didnt get me very far so i tried rotate and wallop which did the trick and knocked the discs off by hitting them from the inside with the wooden end of the hammer,obviously with some care applied so as not to tear out the handbrake innards.No need to be too shy.
Oh and write down which way the adjuster needs to travel to ease off or tighten for both sides. I forgot and continued to forget and ended up taking the discs off again rather than bugger about guessing and fiddling with the screwdriver too much.
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Please be aware that which ever direction works for one side will be the opposite for the other side!
I 'think' it is up on drivers side and down on other side.
The so called toothed wheel you are working on actually has rounded cut outs as opposed to straight like a cog or gear wheel.
If you are trying to adjust Handbrake travel then you are working on the wrong adjusters! You should be under the car working on the handbrake adjuster which is just before where the cable divides to each side.
eddie
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You're doing the right thing taking the disc off to inspect the inards, but unless the shoes have been over-adjusted in the past (and rubbing all the time) they're unlikely to need replaced.
The mechanism for converting the handbrake cable movement into brake force is pretty crude and very prone to seizing. This is what is probably causing your poor handbrake performance.
The only way to fix this is to strip it down, clean all the rust off the moving parts and re-assemble with a dab of copper grease where the parts all meet.
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Also, as others have said, back the adjusters right off to remove the drum/disc. They're usually rusted on to the hub and need a good skelp with a hammer to free them off. A good soak with release oil round the centre of the hub can help too.
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Sorry, should also have said...
To adjust the handbrake correctly, loosen the handbrake cable adjuster a fair bit (it's a bugger to get to because of the prop and exhausts, I use a few long extension bars and long reach socket) then adjust the shoes up on each side so they're almost touching the drum.
Lastly, remove the slack from the cable with the adjuster at the back of the handbrake lever (the one that's hard to get to again).