Handbrake shoes
 

When I recently had my V70 tested I half expected it to fail on the handbrake as the lever comes up a long way[and certainly more than I prefer]however it passed so that wasn't so bad.I'm now due to put on new rear pads and thought that while there I'd see about putting in new brake shoes,however as I understand it[could be wrong]there are two different types.If this is so how do I know which type I've got?I can't be doing with stripping the whole lot down to find out as I then couldn't leave the car alone to go buy some and without the car it would be more awkward to do so.The car is a year 2000 registered at the beginning of Jan that year P1 2.4[140]n/a petrol.V70

It may just need adjusting, theoretically the hand brake shoes should never wear out as the are only applied when the vehicle is stationary and do not rub against the drum, if it were me I would take the drums off to check before going to the expense of new shoes.

Handbrake shoes
 

In my experience there is only one type of shoe. If you give your reg number to a decent parts supplier, you should get the correct ones if there are more than one type.
In theory, the shoes should never wear out, but in reality they do wear but, more common is delamination. This is where the lining becomes detached from the metal shoe and often breaks up or slips round to lodge in another position. This is not a good situation as the lining can jam up and lock the brake.
The design of the system is for the parking brake to be applied when the vehicle is stationary. The MOT test requires the wheel to be turning to test the performance which is not what it was designed to do, except in an emergency, although the split system is the secondary brake.

Hope this helps ! Cliff.

It was more the idea of delamination than wear that bothered me[although I've had cars with the same handbrake set up-Senators,Monza,Omega and others and never known this to happen on any of them]Looks like I'll have to strip them down and check and then go from there as to adjust or replace.Thanks for the replies.

I have always struggled to get a good handbrake, even using all new parts. I have been informed that using the proper Volvo shoes is the way to go. Not sure how true this is, but for the sake of a few pounds, just might make all the difference!

I have used pattern parts in the past and had poor handbrake performance on two V70's.

IMHO Just go with the OE Volvo shoes. Yes they will cost more but chances are you will only do it once for the car whilst it's in your ownership and if anything is going to work, they will.

I found them to be a revelation and would NEVER bother with anything else.

100% agreed. I tried a reputable but pattern part and struggled with performance. My indie recommended going with OEM and they restored performance to normal.

Joe

From my memory of when I did mine-
There were two types available (see link below) with the only significant difference that I recall being a small hole in the web of the shoe which is either round or elongated, I never did work out what the relevance was and ended up buying the discs, calipers and pads online then taking the shoes to the local motor factors to do a side by side comparison.
Adjustment seems to be the key to handbrake performance and there's a few threads on here, but basically the handbrake cable must be fully slackened off with the adjuster before you adjust the shoes.

two types

I think something must be sticking/seizing as today I popped round to mates house and as I was backing off his drive there was a bang-not loud or harsh-from the rear,stopped to have a quick look underneath and as I pulled handbrake on to do this I found that the lever came up about 50% of the way that it did before the bang and the handbrake holds it very securely even on a slope! When I do the rear pads I'll strip the lot down get it cleaned up and make sure all is free.

That sounds like one or more of the shoes had delaminated and is jamming.
I would look at it sooner rather than later in case the handbrake jams as you're driving...not good.