Handbrake, as in the left most pedal that engages the emergency break, right ?
As far as I know, on the American 98 XLT which I have, the adjustment is made automatically. There is a drum and pads built into the read rotor and this is the emergency break.
How many miles do u have ? It's unlikely that the pads are worn since they hardly see any use. I thought that mine was week as well but all you have to do is just step on it harder.
Mike, I also have a '98 Explorer in the UK and I will be doing a full brake overhaul in a month or so - I'll be fitting 4 new discs, that's rotors to most of you on here ;-) , all the pads and handrake shoes. Too late to help get yours through the MoT but I gather from the Haynes manual that there is an adjuster on the parking brake shoes. I haven't looked for it yet but according to Haynes they are the 'knurled nut' type that you used to get on non-automatic adjusting drum brakes. Usually the knurled nut is turned by using a screwdriver as a lever to 'click' it in the appropriate direction. According to Haynes you get access to the parking brake shoes by removing the wheel, then the caliper, then the disc (after backing off the adjusters). No need to pull any shafts. I have just ordered the shoes from a eBay UK seller for £39 GBPounds. The discs and pads are coming from the USA at a total cost of £148 GBPounds including shipping. Ford UK wanted something like £430!!! Hope this helps
Simon H
There is a star wheel adjuster for adjusting the parking brake shoes, accessible from the backing plate, the adjustment hole is covered (usually) by an oval shaped rubber plug.
I need to adjust the park>98 Explorer XLT 4x4 -in UK. Just failed it's annual safety test due to non
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