Another handbrake issue?

[HarryM1BYT]

I've just done Highonthehill's (Chris's) handbrake and spotted what might be a new issue....

The front end of the handbrake, the bit with the ratchet on it, forms a sort of L shaped bracket. Looking towards the front, from the back of the car, only the very right hand end of the L bracket is fixed down to the transmission tunnel. What I found on Chris's car, was that the angle of the L had opened up - instead of being 90 deg and flat down on the tunnel, it had been strained and opened up by pulling on the handbrake so it formed an angle of around 110 deg. So directly under the handbrake bracket was a gap between it and the floor. His lever in the off position would threfore be around 3/8" higher than normal. Has anyone else spotted this gap under the bracket?

His adjuster nut had been wound down to the very bottom and had its thread stripped completely, by someones attempt to adjust the handbrake and it would not unscrew. It was at risk of the handbrake suddenly releasing as the nut pulled down the thread, but yet it would not unscrew from the rod. We ended up drilling down the side (the axis) of the nut, to release it, with a 3mm drill.

Chris was also complaining that the handbrake had only seemed to be working on one wheel, which turned out to be due to one side having been almost correctly adjusted at the hub and lots of play at the other hub - way beyond the range of the compensator to adjust for.

His compensator had only stretched by about 5mm. I still had to use a spacer under the adjuster nut, to get it to the correct 25mm setting.

We also found one hub bearing cap off, rattling around inside the wheel and the second one on the point of falling off (which might explain the rattle as he reversed into my drive?).

His handbrake now begins to work on the first click

Sorry Chris, I meant to show you my FBH installation, but was distracted by the problems we had sorting your handbrake out. Other than that, a very nice motor.

[T-Cut]

I would assume that this problem is only likely in cases where the handbrake has been subjected to greater than normal force? I've not seen any of the fitments, so this is just mind's eye really. Would it be possible to use a couple of hefty self-tappers on the base of the L-plate to stabilise it?

TC

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by T-Cut

I would assume that this problem is only likely in cases where the handbrake has been subjected to greater than normal force? I've not seen any of the fitments, so this is just mind's eye really. Would it be possible to use a couple of hefty self-tappers on the base of the L-plate to stabilise it?

TC

It may have been normal for the bracket to be like that - I just do not remember seeing one in that state before. Too pull the bracket back down, would need something like a 6mm nut and bolt down through the tunnel. It did seem a bit odd to me, that Rover didn't fix it close to the angle in the bracket, but instead relied upon a fixing 2" off to one side.

It might be a result of the poor function of the handbrake - someone heaving on it rather harder than should be necessary. I've just been out to check my bracket and it is a little way up from the tunnel, but not nearly so bad. It just needs the lever shroud to be lifted and a torch shone down.