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[jonny2112]

Have stripped down the brake assembly as per instructions following mot issue. Everything seems to be free enough but will reassemble and check. When I removed the star adjuster thing, it came apart in two halves - male and female if you like. The male section has a threaded end, but the female housing is hollow. Is there something missing? I have had a look round the work area but don't see anything. Seems strange that there is nothing to provide resistance for the male part.
Thanks.

[Welung666]

Have stripped down the brake assembly as per instructions following mot issue. Everything seems to be free enough but will reassemble and check. When I removed the star adjuster thing, it came apart in two halves - male and female if you like. The male section has a threaded end, but the female housing is hollow. Is there something missing? I have had a look round the work area but don't see anything. Seems strange that there is nothing to provide resistance for the male part.
Thanks.

No that's how it should be. When you wind the star it slowly feeds the thread in/out to alter the distance between the two ends

[jonny2112]

Cheers pal 

[sjc]

Just make sure you have the forked end of the adjuster screw pointing out the way 

[jonny2112]

Just make sure you have the forked end of the adjuster screw pointing out the way 

Didn't see this earlier, and not sure what you mean by that..

In any case, still no joy with the whole thing!!
Got reassembled and thought job was a good un, but still not totally efficient. Used adjuster to increase the strength, but the hub still turned clockwise, though not anti. Stripped it down again and now realise that when I put pressure on the slack bit of cable at the back of the wheel, there is no movement in the rear brake shoe. The forward shoe moves out at the bottom, which I presume is stopping the wheel turning forwards, but with no movement in the rear shoe is this why the wheel will turn backwards?
Sorry for the silly, ignorant questions, but I'm absolutely knackered and have just about had enough!
I can't help thinking it's something easy that I've missed, but any help and advice, as always, is much appreciated.

[sjc]

Has the end of the cable seized where it attaches to the handbrake mechanism at the back?

By "forked" end, I mean the end with the slot in it that engages the shoe.

Do you have a Haynes manual so you can check everything is assembled correctly?

[jonny2112]

Not sure about the cable as I think it's ok as the front shoe is moving.
I see what you mean by the forked end, as oppose to the threaded end?
Yes, I'm just going for the Haynes to have a look.

The Adjuster that fits to the cable is a strange piece of kit. When the cable is applied should it move outwards in both directions, thereby engaging both shoes?

[Abiton]

Not sure about the cable as I think it's ok as the front shoe is moving.
I see what you mean by the forked end, as oppose to the threaded end?
Yes, I'm just going for the Haynes to have a look.

The Adjuster that fits to the cable is a strange piece of kit. When the cable is applied should it move outwards in both directions, thereby engaging both shoes?

Yes, if you look carefully at this pic, from Marks DTM's excellent maintenance guide:


The lower item is actually made up of two parts that fit together. As the cable is pulled, the two parts should slide/rotate relative to each other, resulting in both end bits that contact the shoes moving further apart.

It sounds like yours has rusted into one solid lump. May just need a good soak in plusgas then a bit of force to free it, then you can clean up both bits, grease and reassemble.

The star adjuster at the top of the image can be fitted either way round, and may or may not be the same way round on both sides of the car.

[sjc]

Not sure about the cable as I think it's ok as the front shoe is moving.

That's what it will do when the drum is off - the "leading" shoe is pressed against the drum and that pressure, in turn, moves the whole mechanism to apply force to the other shoe.  If you use a screwdriver against the outer lip of the backplate to stop the first shoe moving and then pull on the cable, you should see then other shoe move then.

[sjc]

It sounds like yours has rusted into one solid lump. May just need a good soak in plusgas then a bit of force to free it, then you can clean up both bits, grease and reassemble.

That's what I was talking about on the other thread - a picture says a thousand words and all that... 

[jonny2112]

I'll try that with the screwdriver, just to make sure the other shoe moves.
I took the adjuster apart already - it didn't seem that bad but had to remove the spring clip to get it out in the first place, so it's moving freely now.
Any idea why the wheel will only move in one direction when brake applied? If it moved both ways I would sense a bigger problem.

[sjc]

The adjuster is only one part of your problem and it doesn't really effect the handbrake performance that much - if it needs adjusted your handbrake lever will come up further before the handbrake comes on but it will still work.

The mechanism at the bottom being seized is what normally causes poor performance.  The part that the cable attaches to (and operates the leading shoe) should be free to move inside the sleeve-like part that operates the trailing shoe.

[jonny2112]

The mechanism at the bottom being seized is what normally causes poor performance.  The part that the cable attaches to (and operates the leading shoe) should be free to move inside the sleeve-like part that operates the trailing shoe.

Sorry, I think I'm confusing matters here with my terminology. I am referring to the mechanism at the bottom, the lower item in the above pic. I'll check what you said about holding the front shoe still to make sure the rear shoe is 'moved' by the mechanism. I've just wasted two days off work trying to sort it out, so it will have to wait until tomorrow night if there's any light. It's a fiddly job, and everything seemed to go back together alright, and in place. I just can't get my head around why it's not working. When I use the star adjuster at the top, the hub locks out ok  :-/

[jonny2112]

Has the end of the cable seized where it attaches to the handbrake mechanism at the back?

Just had a thought about this!! I have only tested the whole thing by pulling on the accessible bit of cable at the rear of the wheel, and not by using the handbrake lever itself.  Perhaps the cable is seized somewhere between the compensator bar and where it exits the guide?
Plan for tomorrow! 

[sjc]

Has the end of the cable seized where it attaches to the handbrake mechanism at the back?

Just had a thought about this!! I have only tested the whole thing by pulling on the accessible bit of cable at the rear of the wheel, and not by using the handbrake lever itself.  Perhaps the cable is seized somewhere between the compensator bar and where it exits the guide?
Plan for tomorrow! 

Ah, ok, you were only pulling on the exposed bit of cable.

The handbrake lever will apply much more force than you can by hand mate so give that a go and see how you get on.