XC90 Failed MOT on Parking Brake

[fuzzypicture]

Ok, first time how to, so be gentle....

First off, get hold of some long flat nose pliers, they need to be long handled for the extra leverage. Got these ones from B&Q for about 8 pound.
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grind a curve into the ends like so..
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You now have the special volvo xc90 adjustment tool!

Move passenger seat to rearmost position.
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stick fingers into the footwell air vent and pull.
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Remove trim gently.
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Fold back carpet and you should now be able to see the adjustment mechanism.
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Place car in gear / park and release parking brake. reapply one or two clicks.
insert your new volvo adjustment tool as so...
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and pull apart. lots of force needed, but you will hear the mechanism click like a handbrake. Pre-applying the parking brake ensures that it is not on too tight. Drive for a couple of days, and re-adjust.
you can also adjust small steps by turning the barrel whilst holding the end near the circlip (circled) with a spanner.
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In order to fit new shoes, you need to remove the circlip and wind the barrel back in until it releases, there should be no tension on the cable, fit the shoes, wind the barrel out so the groove for the circlip is clear re-insert circlip and then adjust as above.

Mine now holds tight on some seriously steep hills.

Hope that helps.


Joe

[bobdabuilda]

Brilliant, thanks Joe

[xcmarty]

i recently replaced all discs and pads and park brake shoes on mine, rear parts cost about £120 at eurocarparts and to be honest it wasnt any dramas doing the job.

including the fronts i spent about 5 hrs on my drive doing it. not bad really considering how long you can take chewing on jacking cars up/down etc...

i then drove the car with cruise on (about 50mph), on a dual carriageway and kept pressing the parkbrake pedal with medium force whilst holding the release lever in my right hand.
this meant i could lightly bed them in and not be in danger of the brake staying on.

i pulled over, re-adjusted, drove home in the same manner and the brake has been much much better since. about 3 clicks is all you can get and it bites really well.
you'll need to get them bedded in a little to get full contact between shoe and drum or it will just feel like a poor park brake for ever, i was happy driving at 50mph and pumping the parkbrake on/off to get them worn in a little, seemed to work.
obviously in normal driving conditions these park brake shoes do nowt so they wont ever really bed in if you dont actually do it in this manner.

ps mine is a manual so i need the park brake. also i had no instructions i just used common sense and it was no dramas.

enjoy

[paulheywood]

Thanks for all the replies - especially the recommendation about CP in Polesworth, impressed with their service.

They actually replaced the brake shoes but the note does say "allow time to bed in" so my [hopefully final] concern is that it still won't be good enough to pass the MOT (Retest on Monday).

Do people generally concur with xcmarty's view of bedding them in ? Drive around 50 and pump the brake on and off ?

[400-ascona]

MOT due in a couple of weeks. Park brake hasn't worked since we bought it. Managed to sort it today however.
I fitted new shoes when I did the discs last year. The adjuster was pulled apart on the cable, and I couldn't get it to go together. I also had a feeling that the hooks had come unfastened under the cool box.
I removed the cool box/DVD (2 screws and it slides backwards and off). Underneath is all the DVD electronics, so I had to remove gear surround and lift the whole centre console. Eventually found the cables disconnected underneath. However needed to close the cable down to be able to reconnect.
So the key to solving is understanding the adjuster on the passenger side. The 'C' clip doesn't really do anything technical, except stopping you screwing the adjuster too far forward by physically baulking it. Removing this clip, and screwing the adjuster all the way forward allows you to close the adjuster mechanism up, and gives you the most play in the cable, allowing the hooks to be re-connected. I then wound the adjuster back far enough to allow the clip to be re-fitted. Adjusting using "BestGear Design" (thanks David!) pliers, I succesfully adjusted to 8 clicks, and then fine tuned with the screw adjuster. It now tightens on 5th click, and locks the park brake solid. Even dropped in drive with the handbrake on and it refuses to move.
The only issue I have is you didn't warn me about the pliers taking a chunk out of my finger when they slipped off David!
So in conclusion the XC90 park brake can be very effective if adjusted correctly and connected up properly.
Rob.

[ex Triumph Man]

When applying the parking brake on my D5 auto (11my) I always put it in Park first. Wait till you feel the transmission locking pawl engage; car feels as though it "rocks" in to position, then apply parking brake.
The effect of this is that the transmission is taking any strain then the parking brake acts as "belts-and-braces".

[400-ascona]

Originally Posted by ex Triumph Man

When applying the parking brake on my D5 auto (11my) I always put it in Park first. Wait till you feel the transmission locking pawl engage; car feels as though it "rocks" in to position, then apply parking brake.
The effect of this is that the transmission is taking any strain then the parking brake acts as "belts-and-braces".

I prefer to go the other way and let the park brake take the strain, and protect the gearbox. The theory being in my mind is that the park brake is easier to fix than the gearbox.
Rob.

[pdrvolvo]

Originally Posted by paulheywood

Hi there,

XC90 has just failed MOT on parking brake efficiency and I'm after some advice really. It's always been a bit rubbish (seems very difficult to press and doesn't really hold) but because it's an auto I could 'Park' it and not worry.

It's a 2003 that I bought off a dealer 6 months ago, I'm pretty sure the Used Warranty doesn't cover it but I rang him anyway, he said he's 99% certain that the lack of use (it's always been like this) causes the friction material on the drum to decay and therefore it's not holding, but because it's 'my problem' if they strip it down (at £80 and hour) and it is that then it's my charge, if it's something else then I guess we'd debate it then.

So have I got any other options ? The MOT garage (non-volvo) said they'd look at it but until they know what it is it's hard to estimate...

I'd like to have an independent garage look over it but I don't think there's a local one around Coventry.

Anyone got any other advice ?

Comments appreciated.

On my t6 i replaced the rear hubs/bearings and while doing this found that the h/brake shoes had fallen too pieces.The disc/drum design has never been great IMO and the foot operated h/brake is not very good either but thats how it is.Anyway once i fitted new h/brake shoes which was no real problem and not expencive the h/brake was fine again.Prior too doing this work my AWD system dident work like many other xc90's but it now works fine so a bit of a bonus there i think.


peter.

[bobdabuilda]

Originally Posted by 400-ascona

I prefer to go the other way and let the park brake take the strain, and protect the gearbox. The theory being in my mind is that the park brake is easier to fix than the gearbox.
Rob.

I also do this.

[Rockhopper]

Second that too - strain taken by brake shoes not transmission.