Escort handbrake and some other annoyances.

Jun 25, 2006 2 Replies
K

I had my 98 escort jacked up at the back today and noticed that when the handbrake is on it was only locking the passenger side rear wheel, the drivers side back wheel was able to spin freely although you could hear that the shoes were contacting the drum but only just.



I'm not sure how to solve this as there is also a lot of play in the handbrake lever and the adjuster nut is adjusted as far as it will go. Whats the best soloutin to sorting this out as it's getting annoying when you need superhuman strength to be able to pull the handbrake on tight enough to stop the car rolling down a hill.



I've also noticed a clattering knokcing sound coming from under the front of the car when driving over uneven surfaces at slow speed, it's the same sort of sound I had when my anti roll bushes went last year. The bushes were replaced less than 12 months ago so 'i'm certian it's not those. The wishbones were also replaced about 18 months ago, could it be these that have failed again?



Any help muh appreciated.



Kris



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C

You need to completely slacken the handbraker cable. Remove the drum on the drivers side, remove the brake shoes and take out the self adjuster arm that has the handbrake linkage on. Give the pivot a good dousing in WD40 and leave for 120 minutes or so then try to free it off. It should move freely. Once you've got it moving freely, pop a blob of grease on it and reassemble the rear brakes. It's always a good idea to do the passenger side as well.

Once you've done all that, pump the brakes a few times to let the adjusters take up the slack and then readjust the handbrake.

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M

The handbrake problem is caused by a failed self adjuster on the faulty side. Slacken the cable, clean the brakes and drums, replace any leaky cylinders/worn shoes/worn drums, lubricate the self adjuster pivots, rebuild, use the footbrake a bit to move the shoes out, then adjust the cable.

I have often found the clunky noises at the front to be the bushes on the anti roll bar where it pivots on the front subframe

mrcheerful

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