mumof4 Posted October 8, 2007 Report Posted October 8, 2007 Any ideas on how i sort out the handbrake on the veccy?..ive sort of kaput it a bit by driving with it on a couple of times..(yes i know..blond moments)..when i put the handbrake on..it doesnt hold the car.I have to raise it with both hands as far as i can to get it to engage.Ive been having a gander and i cant figure out how to get it all apart to see if i can adjust it.I am assumeing ive stretched it somehow??..I darent use the handbrake stuck in traffic like i was yesterday when i put it on and my daughter pointed out we were rolling back slowly... Any ideas?? cheers peeps. Quote
Smilge Posted October 8, 2007 Report Posted October 8, 2007 Any ideas on how i sort out the handbrake on the veccy?..ive sort of kaput it a bit by driving with it on a couple of times..(yes i know..blond moments)..when i put the handbrake on..it doesnt hold the car.I have to raise it with both hands as far as i can to get it to engage.Ive been having a gander and i cant figure out how to get it all apart to see if i can adjust it.I am assumeing ive stretched it somehow??..I darent use the handbrake stuck in traffic like i was yesterday when i put it on and my daughter pointed out we were rolling back slowly... Any ideas?? cheers peeps. Mum .... pretty sure it will have a self-adjuster within the rear drums where the adjustment is taken up by pressing the footbrake. There will be an adjuster to adjust the cable slack normally around the hand brake lever or where the single cable splits into two underneath the rear of the car. First, I would find if there is an inspection hole on the rear drums and have a look to see if the pads are worn to limits and if they're ok then adjust the cable until you can safely apply the handbrake ......... usually 3 to 5 clicks. Quote
mumof4 Posted October 8, 2007 Author Report Posted October 8, 2007 ahh..forgot i had a manual....reading up on it now..i have to remove the whole centre console..eek! :) :P..oh my lord..i have to take the rear wheels off and put the flamin thing on axle stands. Quote
insider Posted October 8, 2007 Report Posted October 8, 2007 ..i have to remove the whole centre console..eek!Bit excessive just to adjust the handbrake - are you sure you're reading the right bit? Quote
mumof4 Posted October 8, 2007 Author Report Posted October 8, 2007 i was reading the wrong bit..according to the manual..i chock the front wheels,put rear of car on axle stands both sides,release hand brake, take the gaitor off by removeing part of the centre console (bit by the gear stick), remove both rear wheels, undo the nut on the primary cable..and it goes on....heckythump Quote
mumof4 Posted October 8, 2007 Author Report Posted October 8, 2007 ooooookkkkkk......handbrake should only go up 7 clicks..mine goes up 10 and a bit more....Will sort it out on saturday when i have more time. Quote
Saif Rehman Posted October 8, 2007 Report Posted October 8, 2007 Mum, could be that the brake cable has snapped on one side. I had a Vauxhall Astra estate and i drove off one day with it still on, next time i used it the brake handle went up by 10 clicks instead of the usual 4. It was confirmed by the mechanic - he asked me to have the handbrake fully on, first gear and try to drive of whilst he stood at the back. he noticed only one side of the car going down (indicating the brakes in the drum working) Has a gander underneath and sure enough, passenger side cable snapped. Easy repair and cheap. Quote
mumof4 Posted October 9, 2007 Author Report Posted October 9, 2007 Ahh..thanks for that Saif.. (glad im not the only one who has done it! :D) I will have a look <out comes the Haynes again to see what i need to be looking for> Saif, was it the Primary cable that snapped?as the cable is in 3 sections, primary which connects the lever to the equaliser plate.Then there is the left and right hand rear (secondary) sections which link the equaliser to the rear brakes, lastly there is the cables that connect the rear of the secondary cables to the levers on the rear brake shoes with some sort of spring clip. I really do hope the primary or secondary cables havent snapped as it may be a cheap fix but according to Mr Haynes here, i have to remove the rear exhaust system from the cat then take the heat sheild off to gain access to the handbrake compensater plate. :lol: Umm...anyone busy on saturday?? :lol: Quote
Saif Rehman Posted October 10, 2007 Report Posted October 10, 2007 Mum, the cable that had snapped was, what you have called the 'secondary' cable i.e. NOT the one from the handbrake lever. To be honest with you i don't know the in's and out's of fitting it as i left it with the mechanic once he had it confirmed. But i am sure the exhaust did not need to come off on my old Mark 3 Astra 1.7td estate as he works from a lock-up next to his house with no fancy tools or liftsTake it along to Kwik-Fit or the likes for a 'quote' and ask them about the fitting sequence and whilst the car is raised up, have a quick look. glad im not the only one who has done itThat's not all...................Once in the same car, i parked on a small incline, handbrake on, went in to house, came back to drive off but brakes would not release - stuck solid. Left vehicle where it was whilst i went to work, phoned AA who apparently tried to release rear drums by hitting it with a big 6ft pole and a sledgehammer! No sucess so they recovered it to my friends garage. And in the process put two hugh flat-spots on the rear tyres when they winched in onto a flatbed!Got rid of the car after that - too unlucky! Touch wood - no problems with Galaxy....................yet! :lol: Quote
big_kev Posted October 10, 2007 Report Posted October 10, 2007 i was reading the wrong bit..according to the manual..i chock the front wheels,put rear of car on axle stands both sides,release hand brake, take the gaitor off by removeing part of the centre console (bit by the gear stick), remove both rear wheels, undo the nut on the primary cable..and it goes on....heckythump Jack back of car up....put handbrake on....try turning each rear wheel by hand. Should be obvious if one of them has the cable snapped or is not otherwise working. Means you only have to investigate problem on one side rather than both..... :lol: Alternatively F.A.B. Quote
mumof4 Posted October 10, 2007 Author Report Posted October 10, 2007 going to be checking the brake shoes just in case.... Quote
big_kev Posted October 10, 2007 Report Posted October 10, 2007 (edited) going to be checking the brake shoes just in case.... Check the one that turns with the handbrake on first.......unless they both do :lol: . Remember to chock the front wheels, both in front and behind.....(note: this does not involve Cadbury's ). Alternatively F.A.B. Edited October 10, 2007 by big_kev Quote
mumof4 Posted October 11, 2007 Author Report Posted October 11, 2007 going to be checking the brake shoes just in case.... Check the one that turns with the handbrake on first.......unless they both do :lol: . Remember to chock the front wheels, both in front and behind.....(note: this does not involve Cadbury's ). Alternatively F.A.B. Ok..what does F.A.B mean??? :o rear brakes are discs......will be doing the handbrake ones. Bugger..i went out and bought 4 huge chocky bars!! :o Quote
big_kev Posted October 11, 2007 Report Posted October 11, 2007 Ok..what does F.A.B mean??? :lol: Guess ! Quote
mumof4 Posted October 11, 2007 Author Report Posted October 11, 2007 Fire and burn? umm find another bugger?? gis a clue or even better tell me.lol Quote
mumof4 Posted October 11, 2007 Author Report Posted October 11, 2007 Find A Bloke.... :oWhat i wanna do that for?????..am quite capable of trying to fix on me todd :lol: Besides, they get in the way and dont listen to me :o :o Quote
big_kev Posted October 11, 2007 Report Posted October 11, 2007 What i wanna do that for?????..am quite capable of trying to fix on me todd :lol: Besides, they get in the way and dont listen to me :o :o I was thinking of..... Damage to your manicured nails and delicate skin... Your expensive clothing could get dirty and oily.... You would have someone to blame if it didn't work.... Plus how far you would have to jack the car up to get your bum under it... :o Quote
mumof4 Posted October 11, 2007 Author Report Posted October 11, 2007 I was thinking of..... Damage to your manicured nails and delicate skin... Umm..no manicured nails here skin is ooo soo delicate though... Your expensive clothing could get dirty and oily.... :o I have overalls :lol: You would have someone to blame if it didn't work.... If it didnt work and someone else did it..meant they didnt listen to me and did it wrong :o Plus how far you would have to jack the car up to get your bum under it... :o Oi, my rear aint THAT big!! :o yer cheeky swine :o Quote
mumof4 Posted October 13, 2007 Author Report Posted October 13, 2007 Handbrake all sorted now..and all i did was remove a wheel. :lol: (I do like those air gun thingy mebobs) Why?..coz i never did it...Had help from JB, thanking thee muchly who turned up with axle stands etc.. Anyroad....on the left rear wheel, the disc had to come off as this bit was seized..( the adjuster bit) Had a few probs getting the caliper and disc off as a bolt was on very tight and there would have been no way i would have been able to get it off. Anyway..a couple o pics Result is that the shoes were fine, the cable was tightened quite a lot as the wheels would move even with the handbrake on,The handbrake now works as it should. Am sure JB will have a few words to say judging by the amount of mutterings i heard about "bloody Vauxhalls being crap" :lol: Quote
johnb80 Posted October 14, 2007 Report Posted October 14, 2007 Translations from mumof4 technical description so others might understand it. Handbrake all sorted now..and all i did was remove a wheel. :lol: Had the car jacked up for me, I removed the wheel and noted that the long wheel bolt was at the top (Note, Vauxhall quality control sets a very low standard that they consistantly fail to reach, 4 bolts, one of em shorter than the others.... cool idea, does wonders for wheel balance etc.) (I do like those air gun thingy mebobs) Air impact wrench, she was everywhere with it like a kid with a new toy, even the dog was hiding his nuts just in case. Why?..coz i never did it...Had help from JB, thanking thee muchly who turned up with axle stands etc.. Well to say she never did it she managed to get pretty black hands, she did keep muttering about Haynes manuals and shoving screwdrivers in holes. Anyroad....on the left rear wheel, the disc had to come off as this bit was seized..( the adjuster bit) Had a few probs getting the caliper and disc off as a bolt was on very tight and there would have been no way i would have been able to get it off.Not so much the tightness it was the access to the bottom retaining bolt that was difficult due to metal brake pipe and spring in the vicinity. Anyway..a couple o pics Result is that the shoes were fine, the cable was tightened quite a lot as the wheels would move even with the handbrake on,The handbrake now works as it should. Am sure JB will have a few words to say judging by the amount of mutterings i heard about "bloody Vauxhalls being crap" :lol: Though a Vectra is definately not on my list of dream cars it was surprising to find that the cables and mechanism for the handbrake not siezed. The adjuster was a bit tight but freed off easily and the whole system worked well when adjusted correctly. Mumof4's servants kept the tea flowing and apart from bing punched by her doorstaff the job was almost a pleasure. Just remember that the little light on the dashboard isn't on because Mr Vauxhall thinks you need Christmas lights in there, it because you've left the bloody handbrake on. A good day was had by one and all. J Quote
mumof4 Posted October 14, 2007 Author Report Posted October 14, 2007 You FAB now then... :lol: He has bigger and better tools than me.... :lol: Translations from mumof4 technical description so others might understand it. (I do like those air gun thingy mebobs) Air impact wrench, she was everywhere with it like a kid with a new toy, even the dog was hiding his nuts just in case. Why?..coz i never did it...Had help from JB, thanking thee muchly who turned up with axle stands etc.. Well to say she never did it she managed to get pretty black hands, she did keep muttering about Haynes manuals and shoving screwdrivers in holes. Mumof4's servants kept the tea flowing and apart from being punched by her doorstaff the job was almost a pleasure. Just remember that the little light on the dashboard isn't on because Mr Vauxhall thinks you need Christmas lights in there, it because you've left the bloody handbrake on. A good day was had by one and all. J Ahh...an air impact wrench..i did like that..was ace!!,I wanna one... :lol: I kept muttering about the haynes manual as you werent following what it said to do!!..tut......mind, you did ask eventually what it said.... :lol: as for the doorstaff , well...just her way of saying hello :lol: I shall remember in future to see if my dash is lit up like an over decorated xmas tree before i move the car , gotta admit, the handbrake works pretty damn well now and only comes up about 4 notches at a push!,,i don't have to use both hands now to raise it as high as i can to make it work. Quote
El Dingo Posted October 14, 2007 Report Posted October 14, 2007 Cool dude that John, very cool. :lol: FAB was a Thunderbirds thing, wasn't it?Y'know, FAB Scott, FAB Virgil, etc... Quote
big_kev Posted October 14, 2007 Report Posted October 14, 2007 He has bigger and better tools than me.... ;) You made an inspection then..... ;) Quote
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