Handbrake

Howie666 · 10th July 2017, 22:37

Hello. If I am going to change the rear brake shields/handbrake parts, should I have the handbrake cables replaced at the same time? I believe it is a pig of a job!
Thank you folks:-)

Rooney · 10th July 2017, 22:41

No, the handbrake cables are rarely, if ever the problem.

Get one of Artic's compensator's fitted

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/for...ke+compensator

RogerHeinz57 · 11th July 2017, 00:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Howie666

Hello. If I am going to change the rear brake shields/handbrake parts, should I have the handbrake cables replaced at the same time? I believe it is a pig of a job!
Thank you folks:-)

If we assume the compensator has been upgraded, and the back plates are goosed, yes is the answer to your question regarding the cables replacements. These can be quite a task to remove and re-use. Most of the time a level of damage will take place and you will then face the car being off the road whilst waiting for parts to arrive coupled with the idea that the cables will be the same age as the car itself it would be worth doing all the necessary repairs at the same time preventing further problems.
Please be aware that not everybody will agree on this, and the club will do their best to provide un-biased opinion, so for this reason, I would advise you make your own judgement based on what you agree with.

Hope it all works out well.

Howie666 · 11th July 2017, 14:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by RogerHeinz57

If we assume the compensator has been upgraded, and the back plates are goosed, yes is the answer to your question regarding the cables replacements. These can be quite a task to remove and re-use. Most of the time a level of damage will take place and you will then face the car being off the road whilst waiting for parts to arrive coupled with the idea that the cables will be the same age as the car itself it would be worth doing all the necessary repairs at the same time preventing further problems.
Please be aware that not everybody will agree on this, and the club will do their best to provide un-biased opinion, so for this reason, I would advise you make your own judgement based on what you agree with.

Hope it all works out well.

Thank you. You are right, I have Arctic's modified compensator fitted. My issue is that the back plates are shot and clearly dropping rust on the rear hubs, interfering with the abs sensors.
Russ was kind enough to provide me with a pair of backing plates to replace the existing ones (once I get them powdercoated) but I have a couple of issues.
(1) there is a length of brake cable attached to each plate and I don't know how to remove it.
(2) once the plates are ready to be fitted, how would the existing brake cables on the ZT fit into them? From what I can see, the cables have to feed through the plates from the handbrake shoe side, difficult if the cables are already in situ on the old plates. Hence my wondering about just replacing the whole thing!

Any advice most welcome

RogerHeinz57 · 11th July 2017, 15:51

A lot of effort is likely to be needed to deal with this. The best in my opinion would be to soak the cables ferrule(S) in plus gas for a good period of time they pass from the rear of the back plates, apply copious amounts of heat to the ferrules as they pass on to the ledged section of the backplate, and encourage the cables out using grips to hold the ferrule, and move the backplate during the process in a clockwise then anti clockwise direction, allow to cool off slightly, re apply plus gas and repeat until the cables free off. A word of caution though, the cables will have a plastic inner sleeve which mus not become damaged. Once this is successfully completed on the cables on the car, move to your replacement backplates and repeat the process.
Also a decent hex bit socket will be needed to undo the 4 allen bolts that secure the back plate to the arm, the use of a 1/2" drive bit will be desireable as some of these will be tight !

Rooney · 11th July 2017, 22:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Howie666

Thank you. You are right, I have Arctic's modified compensator fitted. My issue is that the back plates are shot and clearly dropping rust on the rear hubs, interfering with the abs sensors.

Sorry, I didn't know you already had one of Artic's compensators fitted when I posted my first reply obviously.

Roger is right, this is a heavily debated point and you must draw your own conclusions however, here's my tuppence ha'penny worth (and some will say it's over-priced)

I have never seen any of these handbrake cables stretch. Ever.

You said your plates are shot. I'd suggest that fitting the replacements you have will fix your problem. I think replacing the cables at this stage would be like cutting off your leg because you broke your metatarsal.

I also noticed I posted the wrong link earlier, and so whilst it's not relevant to your problem, others using search may benefit so I'm going to throw the correct one on at the end of this post.

Previous threads on handbrake cables have descended into childish flaming, there's never any need for that, just do as Roger suggests and weigh up your options then make the best decision for you.

Good luck

Artic's live thread for the SSC https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/for...d.php?t=153360

Howie666 · 12th July 2017, 00:35

Thank you for your kind reply and your advice. To be clear, I am not worried about the handbrake stretching, my concern is much more to do with the level of corrosion on the backplates and the handbrake cables themselves, centred on the difficulty of connecting these existing cables to the backplates!
If other examples I have seen are anything to go by, the rust will be on an epic scale!
If my local garage can manage it, I will be happy, but being a belt and braces sort, I want a backup plan

10th July 2017, 22:37	#1
Howie666 I really should get out more....... MG ZT 190+, Trophy Blue Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Preston Posts: 2,067 Thanks: 1,401 Thanked 309 Times in 195 Posts	Handbrake Hello. If I am going to change the rear brake shields/handbrake parts, should I have the handbrake cables replaced at the same time? I believe it is a pig of a job! Thank you folks:-) __________________ Commission Number 352 To do list: 1. Reversing sensors 1a. Headlights polished - DONE! (Magic Mike ) 2. Auto dip rear view mirror 3. Seats replaced - DONE! (thank you Mischief) 7. Bodywork repainted 8. Inlet manifold changed for a working one - DONE! (Magic Mike )

12th July 2017, 00:35	#7
Howie666 I really should get out more....... MG ZT 190+, Trophy Blue Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Preston Posts: 2,067 Thanks: 1,401 Thanked 309 Times in 195 Posts	Thank you for your kind reply and your advice. To be clear, I am not worried about the handbrake stretching, my concern is much more to do with the level of corrosion on the backplates and the handbrake cables themselves, centred on the difficulty of connecting these existing cables to the backplates! If other examples I have seen are anything to go by, the rust will be on an epic scale! If my local garage can manage it, I will be happy, but being a belt and braces sort, I want a backup plan __________________ Commission Number 352 To do list: 1. Reversing sensors 1a. Headlights polished - DONE! (Magic Mike ) 2. Auto dip rear view mirror 3. Seats replaced - DONE! (thank you Mischief) 7. Bodywork repainted 8. Inlet manifold changed for a working one - DONE! (Magic Mike )

10th July 2017, 22:41	#2
Rooney Suspended MG ZT 135+ Rover 75 CDTi Tourer, 75 2.5 V6 Saloon Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: County Antrim Posts: 2,027 Thanks: 835 Thanked 882 Times in 557 Posts	No, the handbrake cables are rarely, if ever the problem. Get one of Artic's compensator's fitted https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/for...ke+compensator

11th July 2017, 15:51	#5
RogerHeinz57 I really should get out more....... A Reasonably Priced Car Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Burton Latimer Posts: 2,530 Thanks: 408 Thanked 1,064 Times in 712 Posts	A lot of effort is likely to be needed to deal with this. The best in my opinion would be to soak the cables ferrule(S) in plus gas for a good period of time they pass from the rear of the back plates, apply copious amounts of heat to the ferrules as they pass on to the ledged section of the backplate, and encourage the cables out using grips to hold the ferrule, and move the backplate during the process in a clockwise then anti clockwise direction, allow to cool off slightly, re apply plus gas and repeat until the cables free off. A word of caution though, the cables will have a plastic inner sleeve which mus not become damaged. Once this is successfully completed on the cables on the car, move to your replacement backplates and repeat the process. Also a decent hex bit socket will be needed to undo the 4 allen bolts that secure the back plate to the arm, the use of a 1/2" drive bit will be desireable as some of these will be tight !