Brakes: Parking Brake: How hard should peddle be?

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

Do you mean the non volvo approved genuine Volvo parts - numbers 0793438 30793437 (2 off each) which you can buy from your local dealer?

To be fair I know the approach the dealers will always take is to restore the system to working factory spec... but the factory XC90 Mk1 parking brake is a flawed design that doesn't age well and fitting the adjusters is a pragmatic alternative to a substantially greater amount of cost and effort.

Yes exactly the ones i mean they are meant for the 850 series .

The XC90 parking brake is "adequate" when maintained properly . If you neglect it and use a non type approved adjusters to get it working without fixing the underlying cause its not right is it ..

The main cause of poor xc 90 parking brakes is not using the parking brake when parked up on a public highway which is illegal of course .
Another cause is not adjusting the cable adjuster at each service keeping the clicks under 3 ...

The active area of the brake drum get rusty and rust is like glass when polished and has just about no friction .
Another cause is using non genuine shoes which do not have the correct soft high friction shoes required . Cables are rarely to blame for poor parking brakes .

Thee last tip is that when new shoes and drums/discs are fitted they need to be bedded in on the road to heat them up , re adjust on the cable when cold and you should have a parking brake which is up to standard .

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Clan

Yes exactly the ones i mean they are meant for the 850 series .

The XC90 parking brake is "adequate" when maintained properly . If you neglect it and use a non type approved adjusters to get it working without fixing the underlying cause its not right is it ..

The main cause of poor xc 90 parking brakes is not using the parking brake when parked up on a public highway which is illegal of course .
Another cause is not adjusting the cable adjuster at each service keeping the clicks under 3 ...

The active area of the brake drum get rusty and rust is like glass when polished and has just about no friction .
Another cause is using non genuine shoes which do not have the correct soft high friction shoes required . Cables are rarely to blame for poor parking brakes .

Thee last tip is that when new shoes and drums/discs are fitted they need to be bedded in on the road to heat them up , re adjust on the cable when cold and you should have a parking brake which is up to standard .

My view is that I think it's a flawed design where the resting clearance between the shoes and the drums (fractions of a millimeter) is maintained by a 10 foot long cable under tension... as you say in some models they use in drum adjusters instead.

Totally agree with everything else though, adjusters are often used to try and overcome rusty drums and non genuine shoes and that's not a good approach.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

My view is that I think it's a flawed design where the resting clearance between the shoes and the drums (fractions of a millimeter) is maintained by a 10 foot long cable under tension... as you say in some models they use in drum adjusters instead.

Totally agree with everything else though, adjusters are often used to try and overcome rusty drums and non genuine shoes and that's not a good approach.

sure , the cables don't stretch though as i said they are the most reliable link in the system very rarely do they stick unless damaged and water gets in , when you have a good working brake it will lock on the 2nd to 3rd click , a cable that stretches won't do that . the cables are no longer tan an S80 which works great , the foot pedal is the problem the leverage isnt as good as a hand lever i feel . The Americans demanded the foot pedal at the last moment hence the way it is fitted .

[Father Ted]

Wow. I pop back in to ask a question about VIDA and find a thread I started 18 months ago is still running!
I got to the bottom of my problem a few months back, but, I'll admit, I haven't got around to carrying out the repair yet.
I only just passed my MOT so stripped the rear discs off to check.
One was pads on rust. Only about 20% of the disc was clean steel.
The other one had a groove worn in it.
I cleaned the rust off and it holds a little better, but I'll be getting new discs / shoes and adjusters in the next few weeks. Probably a job for when I'm off at Christmas. (wish it could wait for summer!)

[Pgbenson]

Originally Posted by Father Ted

I only really use the XC at weekends and holidays.
Lately I've noticed that on Sundays my left ankle is absolutely killing me.
I've finally come up with a cause: it's pressing the parking brake.
Now, admittedly, my shoes don't help (noticed a big difference when wearing my work boots), and I have achilles problems in both feet, but still, should the parking brake be stiff enough to press that it's causing pain?

I have it adjusted so that it holds the car in drive on 4 clicks, is that too tight? How many clicks do others go through before it holds the car?

I really need to come up with a solution. I've decided to stop using it for the time being and simply put the car in P when I'm stopped.

They emergency brakes are terrible. They pivot and have no adjuster at the shoe, only on the cable near the gear shifter.

The best, quickest and cheapest fix is to simply install adjusters where the pivot is and increase the gap therefore spreading the shoes apart. They'll never be 100% but this simple job makes them inrecognisable

[barrybritcher]

always use both or you'll end up like a customer at my work - rolled out the car park, across two lanes and into the wall opposite