Handbrake adjuster mechanism on rear drums

Hi all,
I have a pretty basic 1.6 460 from 1994 which is the model with drum brakes on the rear. I've just replaced a leaking wheel cylinder and the brake shoes which all went fine except....

The handbrake adjuster mechanism won't ratchet properly despite all the springs etc definitely being correct (I have the haynes manual).

I think that the problem may be the way the forked end of the adjuster sits on the leading shoe (not shown in haynes properly) because the forked end doesn't hold the ratchet arm hard enough in against the gear wheel to make it move. The shoe has a small dent on one side with a bump on the other and I can't tell whether the adjuster should sit on this or somehow click into into it.

Very hard to describe this problem properly in words but I just wondered whether anyone had changed their brake shoes and knew how the adjuster should sit?

Thanks,
Alastair

Hello Alastair,

The only thing I can suggest is that you double check that you have the correct shoes, and that the shoes are the correct way around.
By this I mean the leading and trailing edge of the shoe are facing the correct way...

Not sure if this will help you, but if you have too many problems, best get it checked by a specialist. :-) :-)

Tony
Volvo 440 1.8i 192,000 miles :-) :-)

Hello Tony,

The shoes are definitely the correct way round (the trailing shoe has the handbrake connection so is easy to spot) and the adjuster clicks into the leading shoe ok. The foot-brake operates fine at the back, its just the handbrake adjuster which won't ratchet up to take up the slack (it does just start to operate when the hand brake is pulled right up).

Does the 1.8 model have drums on the back? I don't suppose you've changed shoes on one of these by any chance?

Thanks,

Hi Allastair,

Is the adjustment for the handbrake cable at the end of it's travel?
So, youve got the adjustment to the max, but the handbrake only just starts to pull the shoes when the lever is right up?

Tony

Volvo 440 1.8i 192,000 miles on the clock.

Alastair,

Is it possible that the ball end of the cable could have slipped out of its socket at either end...?

Tony

Volvo 440 1.8i 192,000 miles on the clock.

The ball end on the cables was still in place on both sides when I last checked.

The adjuster on the cable (under the middle of the car) is set so that there is only just a little slack with the handbrake down. You can feel through the actual handbrake lever that the cable is being pulled but doesn't cause the shoes to touch the drum until its pulled all the way up.

The adjuster that I can't get to operate properly is the one inside the brake drum which automatically takes up wear on the shoes so that they always sit close to the drum. It is basically a screwed rod with a nut (with teeth on the outside) that moves round to push the rod outwards. The problem is that the ratchet lever which moves the gear nut round doesn't seem to sit close enough to cause it to move.

Unfortunately this isn't too easy to describe in words!

Thanks,

Finally got the problem fixed after consulting a freind. Turns out that the adjuster should just sit on the shoes (not actually click into it) and that all it needed to get the adjuster working properly was to bend the ratchet in about 2mm.

Cheers,

[drivesavolvo]

Hi there. the handbrake does not self adjust when you fit new shoes.
You have to adjust it one tooth at a time and replace the drum. with new shoes the drum should very slightly drag. check free movement by using a hammer to knock the drum all the way round the outside in about 10 places. keep adjusting both sides of the car until the handbrake drags on the first click and locks up on the second. it should however pull up by 3 or 4 clicks. As for the haynes manual throw it away, it is not a workshop manual but a basic service manual. a number of items on Volvo's in haynes are incorrect and could cause damage to your car.

[Peter Milnes]

Don't just sit there grinning, tell us about the mistakes if you know them. That would be very helpful to us other Volvo owning erks.

All the best, Peter

I'm not sure where you got this information from but it is incorrect. It may be that if you own an older version of this car then the adjuster is manual.

The adjuster in question is the one inside the drum which on my '94 460 is definitely automatic. There is not only a screw adjuster (which you could indeed move round by hand if you wished) but also a ratchet arm which moves the screw along when the brakes are depressed and hence pushes the shoes closer to the drum. In many cases I suspect that people manually adjust this when they cannot get the automatic adjustment working (this is dangerous as the shoes will not be continuously adjusted by normal braking but will require constant manual adjustment).

As for the Haynes manual, indeed it isn't a full workshop manual but these aren't easy to come by and can be expensive. Without Haynes I wouldn't have got this problem fixed (so it's definitely better than nothing!)

As I mentioned in my last post, I did get the problem fixed. After replacing the drum the first few presses of the brake pedal gave a resulting clicking from the brake area as the ratchet moved the screw along. After then adjusting the handbrake cable under the car it passed its MOT first time!

Thanks for all advice,
Alastair.