Handbrake Compensator Differences.
 

I don't know if anyone has ever noticed this but I did today for the first time, I've done one for the ZT and I have quite a few in my odds and sods, I noticed a difference and so I lined up these three to show what I mean. The length of the rod is not uniform on any of them, the longest one will of course eat into the adjustment ability of the cable. I've picked a really short one for my car and I'm posting this as a heads up to avoid losing adjustment on the cables. I wonder who supplied them and why they were accepted when they're all so different, it explains a lot of handbrake issues as so many of these things are basically rubbish.

The compensators have been stretched on both of the ZTs I have had, they start like the one on the left and end up like the one on the right, which is why you often end up out of adjustment, plus they spring as well which is why it is often difficult to get the handbrake to hold.

I converted both of mine to stainless steel shackle which is easy enough to do as I had a spare one. The D link is only a few of quid on Ebay and you just knock the pin out and change the link over and peen the pin back over.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/for...424915d8a8.jpg

Not my point.
 

My point is that they're made in differing lengths, it's basically the person who was putting in the bends didn't have the tooling to make them all equal. It's not the tension that is the issue and I've welded mine up to be sealed, stainless steel is weaker than the ones you replaced and isn't the answer.

The point is they aren't made in differing lengths Mike - they stretch as mentioned. :}

The more they are used the longer they get. I welded mine up, and then fitted a Mini compensator to Mrs Noc's 75.

Not so.
 

They might stretch open where they're not sealed but, if you turn them over the tooling marks line up in the bend in the same place on all of them. It really does mean that they're not made the same length. I can post another picture if you're not convinced, the bend tooling marks are the same where it reaches around the pin, all level. It's the process of putting them together that was flawed, they do not roll themselves out around the pin or there would be just a kink in the metal.

post a picture of all three in a line (left to right) but with the photo taken from the side.

macafee2

It's a long time since I looked at this, but IMO, the 'U-rod' doesn't stretch, but it's the location of the bend that creeps. The repetitively applied tension on the rod 'pulls' it around the pin. Compare the stretched compensator (left below) against new and it's clear that the first stage of failure is the opening up of the U-bend. This can only hapen if the rod is being forced around the pin. The rod becomes mis-shaped, so instead of being parallel, the two arms open out to the maximum angle possible within the confines of the 'case'. This reduces the rigidity enough for the rod eventually to get pulled around the bend until the increased compensator length prevents handbrake adjustment.

Sorry about the size of this image, I simply copy/pasted it from a 2011 thread
http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/a...cableclamp.jpg
This explanation is proven by the fact that the very first method of fixing the problem was to simply weld a link across the ends of the rod. This stopped the 'stretching'. The substitution of the welding fix by using the steel shackle is mechanicaly identical. The two ends are anchored in place, so the effective length of the compensator remains fixed.

TC

Here you are.
 

The third one isn't as visible as the first two so I've taken the shot of those two. The bending process seems to have been rather random or maybe the riveting process was. It's not a total issue related to stretching, it's an issue related to who made your compensator.
As you can clearly see, the bend marks are in the same places but the lengths of the compensators differ, it's not a big problem really but one I for one am aware of for future reference.

As TC said the bend creeps over time. This gives the appearance that the compensator has stretched.When you reach the limit for tightening the front cable nut and have to replace the compensator it can only be because something has elongated - it didn't leave the factory with the nut tightened too far down.

If you look at TC's photo you can see that the free rod end after the bend has moved up, which is what you would expect as the bend creeps round.









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The design was poor anyway, disregarding the 'stretching'. The compensator has a small lateral movement so is limited when compensating for unequal adjustments of the rear shoes. The Mini one has lots of sideways movement so is the most desirable.