Omega Owners Forum

Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: gbh on 02 October 2016, 09:27:02

Title: Handbrake
Post by: gbh on 02 October 2016, 09:27:02
I've got to do something to improve the handbrake as it just catches as high as it will go about 8 notches i think.I took the wheels off yesterday and had a look for these star adjusters but i just cant see them and i looked closely but everything in that area looks to be in very good order but the cable needs tightening.So i put the estate up on the ramps and sprayed WD on the heat shield nuts not knowing which ones have to come off to access the adjuster.So can someone please guide me in? I hope its not the front ones as i'm not that thin!!!
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: powerslinky on 02 October 2016, 09:35:40
Just done mine with advice from on here . Cannot do you a link  . .but if you search back on "general help" & look for my thread " rear handbrake adjusters " there are some pictures . Basicly you reach the star adjusters through a hole in the disc & hub assembly . Easier if you take the caliper off, remove disc & then you can plainly see what has to be adjusted . Adjusting "blind" means you don't know for sure which way to turn the star adjuster . but my thread should explain it all.

hopefully someone will post up the link to it for you  . . .HTH  :y
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: RobG on 02 October 2016, 09:36:05
http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=90580.0
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: tunnie on 02 October 2016, 09:36:18
(http://images.omegaowners.com/images/guides/servicing_rear_brakes/IMG_0534.jpg)
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: RobG on 02 October 2016, 09:37:21
Just done mine with advice from on here . Cannot do you a link  . .but if you search back on "general help" & look for my thread " rear handbrake adjusters " there are some pictures . Basicly you reach the star adjusters through a hole in the disc assembly . Easier if you take the caliper off, remove disc & then you can plainly see what has to be adjusted . Adjusting "blind" means you don't know for sure which way to turn the star adjuster . but my thread should explain it all.

hopefully someone will post up the link to it for you  . . .HTH  :y
http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=137284.msg1761706#msg1761706
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: gbh on 02 October 2016, 10:20:40
My star adjuster if there is one doesn't look like that at all!!! I can see the spring at the top and there is a slim silver object on top which should be the adjuster but different to the one pictured!! Are there different versions? 2.6 elite estate 2001!! on a Y reg
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: gbh on 02 October 2016, 10:24:18
Which heat shield comes off?
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: RobG on 02 October 2016, 10:44:05
My star adjuster if there is one doesn't look like that at all!!! I can see the spring at the top and there is a slim silver object on top which should be the adjuster but different to the one pictured!! Are there different versions? 2.6 elite estate 2001!! on a Y reg
Star adjuster is between the brake shoes at top of pic
(http://images.omegaowners.com/images/guides/servicing_rear_brakes/IMG_0531.jpg)
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: RobG on 02 October 2016, 10:49:25
Which heat shield comes off?
If you can`t reach the cable adjuster with a deep socket it`s easier to remove the shields in the pic (circled orange)
(http://images.omegaowners.com/images/miscpics/underbody/HEATSHIELDS.jpg)
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: powerslinky on 02 October 2016, 13:50:18
My star adjuster if there is one doesn't look like that at all!!! I can see the spring at the top and there is a slim silver object on top which should be the adjuster but different to the one pictured!! Are there different versions? 2.6 elite estate 2001!! on a Y reg

There will be one  . . .  but difficult to see through the small hole. hence my advice to remove caliper & disc ( no need to remove brake pipe . .just sit the removed caliper on an axle stand or similar)  once you have the disc removed you can see clearly how it all works. The star adjuster is above the spring & revolves from 6 to 12 o'clock NOT   3 - 9  if that explains it  :-\

As said done mine last week also on a y plate 2.6 estate . . .could not manage to do it without removing the disc & seeing exactly where the star adjuster was .

Once both sides adjusted up  .  .handbrake is superb now  :y :y
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: Doctor Gollum on 02 October 2016, 15:06:17
Which heat shield comes off?
None. Leave the cable well alone ;)
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: Nick W on 02 October 2016, 16:04:19
Adjusting the cable is the very last thing to do. If you can't get an adequate working handbrake using the adjusters inside the drum, back them off, remove the disc and examine the shoes. Those are probably original and worn-out. Fit new and adjust again. This is basic drum brake work that hasn't changed in decades.

That might then require adjustment of the cable, which you do with a deep socket and long extension. Removing the heat shields is just making the job much harder, as you'll break some of the fixings, and getting the shields back over the exhausts isn't easy.
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: gbh on 03 October 2016, 14:11:42
Thanks for all the info and help,looks like i'll get some new shoes ordered then when i strip down i can replace.Hope i can find those star adjusters so i can get the drums off!! Any recommends for shoe supplier?
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: Doctor Gollum on 03 October 2016, 14:33:10
The first place you find that stocks them ::) best get a fitting kit too, as the fittings will be as old as the car, and new makes the job nicer ;)
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: powerslinky on 03 October 2016, 18:20:40
Thanks for all the info and help,looks like i'll get some new shoes ordered then when i strip down i can replace.Hope i can find those star adjusters so i can get the drums off!! Any recommends for shoe supplier?

20 minutes a side to remove wheel, remove caliper & then disc  to expose whats there already . Decent chance the shoes could be alright . . . mine were & the  handbrake was so far out of adjustment ,it hardly worked at all . Quick adjust up by turning star adjuster & replacing  disc  on & off several time so disc just turns freely & thats it .
Worth a look before you buy new shoes  IMO   ;)
Also if your handbrake is hardly working  . . .discs should come off without any adjustment on the star adjuster IMO :-\ :-\
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: steve6367 on 03 October 2016, 23:44:03
On both of mine I've simply tightened the cable when the MOT says excessive travel. 5 minute job but I imagine there a reason using the star adjusters is better?

Steve
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: Doctor Gollum on 04 October 2016, 02:40:18
On both of mine I've simply tightened the cable when the MOT says excessive travel. 5 minute job but I imagine there a reason using the star adjusters is better?

Steve
The star adjusters actually allow you to adjust the hand brake mechanism.

Simply stretching the slack out of the cable achieves nothing constructive...
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: annihilator on 04 October 2016, 08:50:22
Quote
Simply stretching the slack out of the cable achieves nothing constructive...

except making the handbrake hold and getting a MOT pass.
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: Nick W on 04 October 2016, 08:59:50
Quote
Simply stretching the slack out of the cable achieves nothing constructive...

except making the handbrake hold and getting a MOT pass.

But it is a short-term fix that stretches the cable, and is harder to do than the long established procedure.
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: annihilator on 04 October 2016, 09:55:51
Didn't say it was long term but will get you a mot pass and what if you've fitted new everything surely with unworn discs and shoes there isn't any wear to adjust.
John.
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: Doctor Gollum on 04 October 2016, 13:46:56
Didn't say it was long term but will get you a mot pass and what if you've fitted new everything surely with unworn discs and shoes there isn't any wear to adjust.
John.
In which case, why would you not set each side correctly on reassembly... ::)
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: Bigron on 04 October 2016, 15:56:16
I hate to shout, but can you not hear the underlying message in these posts?.....
DO IT PROPERLY!

Ron.
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: terry paget on 04 October 2016, 17:24:01
Maximum leverage is achieved when the cable is at right angles to the brake operating lever. This is achieved when the star adjuster is adjusted so that brake is hard on after minimum movement. If the cable is tightened on a worn brake this leverage is lost.
There is a 4:1 leverage at lever end inside the brake, so long as the ingenious pivot arrangement is not rusted solid, as often occurs after 10 years of neglect. Cure is to remove the drum and free it. A well adjusted free handbrake is powerful and light to apply. A rusty h/brake adjusted at cable front end may feel solid, but will be a lousy brake.
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: powerslinky on 04 October 2016, 17:29:50
Didn't say it was long term but will get you a mot pass and what if you've fitted new everything surely with unworn discs and shoes there isn't any wear to adjust.
John.

Not if the handbrake is not fairly equal on both wheels .No amount of cable adjusting will rectify that. Common fault is that one side self adjusts & the other does not. It won't "should not" pass if too far unbalanced on the testers   brake test  "dials".

Surely if you are fitting new discs & shoes you would be setting up correctly anyway ?  :-\
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: annihilator on 04 October 2016, 18:10:38
what a kerfuffle, you lot are so easily wound up  :-*
am I bovvered  ;D
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: powerslinky on 04 October 2016, 18:31:46
what a kerfuffle, you lot are so easily wound up  :-*
am I bovvered ;D

Straight out of the Saff'end Concise Dictionary that word . . ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: steve6367 on 04 October 2016, 20:45:31
Well good news is it did get me a MOT pass on both and took 5 mins on each  :y

I will do it properly - but I didn't have time to strip the back brakes to get the pass.

The post about mechanical advantage makes good sense, I had not really seen what was being adjusted before.
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 06 October 2016, 10:53:05
The maintenance guide coves everything you need for a proper service and setup
Title: Re: Handbrake
Post by: steve6367 on 07 October 2016, 15:46:53
The maintenance guide coves everything you need for a proper service and setup

Thank you - another job for the list  :y