Useless handbrake
 

I have noticed my handbrake is gradually getting worse and worse on my 2005 V70.

Its now got to a point it won't hold on a hill - so no chance of an MOT pass.

The lever travel doesn't seem excessive and the force to apply feels right - but it just doesn't appear to feed down to the wheels.

I will strip it all down when I have a chance, but I need the car every day so need to get parts in before stripping down.

I have new (genuine) shoes and the earlier adjusters (which I have been told can be used to eliminate the "rock". Given its all got to come apart anyway I will put new discs and pads in too - but what else should I be getting in to sort this out?

Any ideas for common faults?

Thanks!

Hello.
I replaced my disks pads and hand brakes pads wile ago. Once you fit the new pads. All will be ok.
Dont forget to loose the adjustment nut close to the hand brake. Once the new pads are fitted, pull 6 clicks on the hand brake and tight the adjustment bolts on the hand brake. Done......

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/fo...ic.php?t=60081

a 7mm allen socket. Access to a wire wheel and solvents to clean pins as necessary. A rubber compatible brake parts lube.

A light silicone spray to clean the expander (at the end of the cable).

The hardware kit so you can just cut the old curly-q shoe retainers.

Anti-squeal for the brake pads.

Can o' brake cleaner spray and a wad of discardable cloth or packing paper to catch the sluicing filth.

Small torch to aid in loosening the bleed screws. Some tin foil to make your wrench fit the bleed nipple exactly. Beer

new springs and shoe retainers . clean and grease shoe expanders on the ends of the cables :car:

I would check that your cables are moving freeley. When you next have it stripped down, check that both sides are showing enough travel.
I had this problem but only realised after doing a full rebuild.
I tried to free it off with penetrant and pushing/pulling on the the expander/cable where it comes through the hub. A WORD OF WARNING, it is easily possible by doing this to ACCIDENTLEY disconect the handbrake cable from the handbrake lever in the car, as they are just looped over the bar. So maybe limit it to pulling away from the hub, then use the handbrake lever to return it, otherwise you will have you to remove your centre console to reconnect the cable to the bar.
If a cable is stuck I would just go for a replacement, as freeing off doesnt last long until sticking again.

Sticking cable is an obvious solution... bet its a b*****d of a job without a ramp?

I did a test last night. Engine braking in 5th gear slows the car quicker than the handbrake... lol

If you can safely lift and support the car to remove a wheel, you can change the cables too.
Doing it right first time will always be quicker than revisiting and further troubleshooting so I wouldn't mess with the handbrake on a 10+ year old P2 Volvo without changing everything.
Too many make long and hard work of a relatively simple fix.

I would also only use genuine Volvo or ATE parts.

I agree with chesire, I wasted a lot of time before replacing the cables.
Check out sir rob on youtube, he is a great help, especialy the tip for attaching a strong wire to the ends of each cable before removing, so you can reroute the new cables. As rob says, it is an easy job, just some small screws(after removing the console cover around the gear stick, there are 4 I think and then you need to disconnect the cigarette lighter from in the rear of console) .The cables just pull out where they disapear into the cabin, through thier rubber housings.
Only tricky bit is getting the extender arm in the hub back into the cable end, pushing it down verticaly seems to click it back in. Plus some thin long nose pliers for getting your spring clip retainers back in(just rember there orentation before removing)
If you struggle to get your hubs off, with the cable adjuster nut in the cabin released, it is a sure sign of stuck cables.
There are some good guides on here and Chesires youtube, so as long as you prepare well its no problem

Other than a set of springs for the drums every part I have bought and fitted have been genuine parts (in terms of engine/running gear etc, not phone holders etc).

I shall get cables - is it one or 2 of them?

It's a pair & as others have said a must do - no point doing half a job. Might as well go OE, only about £50 the pair.

Bear in mind that hand / parking brakes are intended to keep a stationary vehicle from starting to move, rather than changing a moving vehicle to a stationary one. The physics (inertia) involved is quite different.

But why can I not do a handbrake turn like I could in my old Cortina mk4 ?
Dave

You might find your problem is seized expanders; I had that on my XC70 and again on the XC90. The brake feels ok when you pull it on, without excess travel, but it just doesn’t work. Freeing them off is easy once you get them off the car and a light smear of copper grease will stop it happening again.

Absolutely! But its also a seperate braking system for safety purposes (hence hydraulic handbrakes are not legal in the UK) should there be a system failure elsewhere (and yes I know the split braking should deal with that)

Handbrake turns in a cortina? Pretty sure drifting transits is more fun :)

Thanks,

If im doing the job I will do the whole lot :)

Been in to the main dealers... how much for a pair of handbrake cables..... ? :o

At a guess, £100?
Certainly a lot more than the £20 total I paid for ATE cables.

£120 plus VAT (give or take) so I declined.

If I could have found ATE for less than £30 each I would have got them, but alas they were more than that so went borg and beck... lets see if they are any good

£24 95 euro carparts:car:

I don't know how they are for cables as I've never bought any,but Borg and Beck are/were a well known and respected maker of clutches,so hopefully you should be fine:thumbs_up:

Genuine are £24.95 @ ECP?

I won't go near the place unless I am desperate. Prefer to support smaller independant and small chain motorfactors (that don't sell crap)

Borg and Beck are now owned by firstline and are part of a much bigger group (whos name escapes me federal mogul maybe) but also contains AP and a few other well known names.

Perhaps you're looking in the wrong place. :thumbs_up:
https://m.autodoc.co.uk/ate/195888

Hi simon is it the same number cable for both sides
THANKS Dave

don't get hung up on manufactures its just a Bowden cable

It was on mine but I would always recommend that everyone makes their own checks.
Vida is invaluable for parts numbers but if you don't have it, feel free to pm your chassis and I'll check.

I would say that you do need to concern yourself with manufacturer because the quality and fit of the sheathing and the hub connector are just as important as the cable itself.

Take your pick over the countless threads where people have handbrake niggles due to tiny margins of fit from inferior manufacturers.
If you want a factory fresh handbrake again without any issues, ATE or genuine every time.

OK thanks Simon,
Dave

I had a lousy handbrake for a few months there. I had fitted the adjusters which made the shoes sit out at the top away from the back plate and knacked my shoes and disc, Took the adjusters off, re-fitted the original spacers and fitted new disc/drum and shoes. Hand brake has never been better, what a transformation and it can hold the car on a hill in first click position. You really don't need the adjusters and the original design also holds the shoes flat and straight which the adjusters can't!