Handbrake Repair

[lapdog]

Hey guys, found out that Fraud has a kit to stop the handbrake from going thru the sunroof and stop the dreaded drag that we all hear. Of course its available after the warranty period has ended. Anyway bought the kit; it consists of 2 half circle brackets and 2 funny looking springs, Has anybody fitted this.....Is it easy to install

[tab]

There'a a TSB posted here that I assume is what you're talking about.

Whether it fixes it or not is debatable

[cobrav8]

I have had this kit fitted to my car - worked for a while, but......back to same old now

[lapdog]

I have been to the dealer on 2 occasions regarding this problem, never once did they indicate that there was a kit available , that's why I assumed it had recently come out. Anyway fitted it up on Sunday morning adjusted up 4 clicks works like a dream and no drag.....fingers crossed

[benjam]

All the kit is, is two replacement springs, two new metal arc shaped retainers that stop the springs moving around, plus instructions on how to properly install and adjust as per normal workshop procedures. I believe this TSB was for BA mk1 Falcons, certainly BF models would already have the metal retainers.

The underlying shh shh noise problem is that it's a crappy design/implementation for this car. As far as I can see the spring which is held in place against the backing plate, once inserted into the handbrake shoe, also pulls the shoe against the backing plate. The problem is that the spring loses it's tension, presumably under stress from heat and through normal use. It gets worse when you try and stop the noise yourself by applying the handbrake while moving, which puts more strain on the spring. To fix this, I've tried bending the spring inward slightly so it then applies more tension on the shoe to keep it against the backing plate. But didn't work for that long. Next time I can be bothered, I'll try bending it more with pliers. Interestingly only my passenger side has ever had the noise.

If your handbrake is up near the roof, you can fix by adjusting 2 ways. First, the handbrake shoe. There is a little gear/wheel at the base, you can adjust it with a special Ford tool, but you can just take the shoe off and adjust it. What it does is open/close the shoe which increases/decreases the diameter of the shoe. Bigger diameter = less clearance between the shoe's pad surface and the inside of the brake drum/disc. This can also be the cause of shh shh noise if there is not enough clearance. Ford says you should adjust this when replacing shoes that obviously would have more pad material than a worn shoe. Second and more effective way is to tighten the handbrake cable under the rear of the car. Put a bit of locktight on the nut too. The cable can stretch so bear in mind you may be covering another problem.

Never had this problem with cars I've had that use handbrake cables connected to the rear brake calipers. I wonder why Ford and Expensive Daewoo do it differently?

Ben

[Superoo]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the FG claims an auto adjusting handbrake if I'm not mistaken. Is the underlying design the same as BA/BF?

I don't think I could stand forking out for an FG and hearing the dreaded SHH SHH....