406oc.co.uk

So I take my 406 for it's annual test on Saturday, and surprise surprise, the only thing it fails on, is the handbrake with virtually zero efficiency.

So I set about stripping the rear end, and find that one of the shoes on each side has no material on it, so duly replaced and overhauled, including manual adjustment and lever adjustment, the car goes back today, and he fails it again for the same problem!!!!!!

So I check the cables, and they appear to be moving freely, the lever when pulled on, feels like the back axle will come off when you try to move forward, so I'm at a loss now.

Funnily enough the garage will probably pass the car tomorrow once they have done the 'repairs.'

Ideas?

If the rear wheels lock when you try to pull forwards I can only suggest you take it back and get them to retest after YOU apply the handbrake. Maybe take a large and scary looking friend with you.

Drive back to the garage with the handbrake on and off repeatedly to bed the shoes in a bit....

Not too much, maybe 10 second bursts of handbrake at about 15mph should generate enough heat/friction without getting to hot....

To say I am pissed off is an understatement.

Having tomorrow off, is going to cost me money in lost earnings, and I'm not convinced that they have done it right.

If they let me pull the handbrake on, and it passes, a report to VOSA will follow soon after.

As Ginger says, bed the shoes in by driving a little with the handbrake on, then readjust and it should be fine.

I was preparing My Suzuki for its MOT one year and always took the drums off and adjusted the handbrake manually because the drums would fill with mud and wear the shoes out really quickly and the self adjusters were crap. There wasn't much meat left on the shoes that time so I replaced the whole lot (including new cylinders) then took it to the garage and it failed cos it wasn't bedded in. A conversation ensued about driving it around a bit to bed the new brakes in, which I refused to do cos it wasn't MOTd!! So i took it home and put the old shoes back in, took it back and got my ticket, then went home and swapped them again, bloody idiotic!

Quinny wrote:So I take my 406 for it's annual test on Saturday, and surprise surprise, the only thing it fails on, is the handbrake with virtually zero efficiency.

So I set about stripping the rear end, and find that one of the shoes on each side has no material on it, so duly replaced and overhauled, including manual adjustment and lever adjustment, the car goes back today, and he fails it again for the same problem!!!!!!

So I check the cables, and they appear to be moving freely, the lever when pulled on, feels like the back axle will come off when you try to move forward, so I'm at a loss now.

Funnily enough the garage will probably pass the car tomorrow once they have done the 'repairs.'

Ideas?

Did the pivots inside the disc/drum move freely (where the cable attaches)?

Jack up the car and fit a breaker bar and socket onto a wheel bolt and see how tight the handbrake is holding.

Pivots and manual adjusting wheels were lubricated, so all was fine. Cables checked tonight while daughter pulled handbrake on, and all seemed to be moving. 3 notches max on the lever, and even then it takes some pulling and I'm a strong bloke.

I'll drive around in the morning before they get their hands on it, and ask that they put it back on the rollers before giving the go ahead to do anything else.

Watch this space gents.

Good idea to put it in the rollers first, you need it to read more than 100 on each wheel.

So adjusted the handbrake this morning to the point where I had smoke coming off the tyres under applying while on the move.

Took it in, and the tester wasn't there, but one of his guys was very surprised at the amount of resistance which I showed him, and said they would ring me later.

Sorry to take the p*ss as I know how annoying these things can be but it would be ironic if he failed it on worn front tyres after spinning them up due to an excellent handbrake

They have rung me to say that a new fitting kit is required, and that it may not be ready today. I've told them in no uncertain terms that it MUST be ready today without question, as I am not taking any more time off work.

Watch this space.

Fitting kit?
If they mean the spring clamps to hold the shoes in place just use nuts bolts and washers as it probably means its struggling to grip the back plates and allowing the shoes to move sideways.

+1, the fitting kit is just the springs for the shoes and the spring/bayonets to hold them on. It's about £6 iirc.

I used gutter bolts on my old 406, as they are slim and countersunk to fit nicely in the spring/bayonets combo.

I still think they are pulling a fast one.....

Hmmm, I reckon the fitting kit is BS too, but I'm now wondering if they're going to discover that the backplates are rotten, which is neither a cheap or easy fix.

they are pulling a fast one, go and get your car back and go some where different, it may be that their rollers can't grip your tires and that it needs some concrete or something in the boot to give it a bit of extra grip