Possible Cure for Dodgy Handbrake..

[Arctic]

Originally Posted by HarryM1BYT

Probably it would work as well as a new one, but an old one would have to have both ends of the pin restored to their original length. Having said that, your method might prove to be tricky to get a decent weld onto.

As said, we used a bit of door handle link bar to bridge the gap.

Welded up and ready to fit once fitted Harry i will send you my old one so you will have one ready if anyone else sends you theirs to be welded.

I will also keep everyone notified of how the compensator works out
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My man also wanted to weld here marked with an arrow saying it would still swivel as there is movement for the cables ? i my self am not so sure.therefore i said i would wait and see how this one performed first.
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[JeffD]

I would still love to see an unmodified one of these all mounted up on a jig so it could be studied properly - either there is something very subtle about the design I'm not appreciating or its a wierd solution to the problem! Cant help feeling its been deliberately designed to be a bit "loose" which if you weld the wrong areas will rob it of its original design feature. mmmmmm

[gerry3]

Originally Posted by Arctic

Welded up and ready to fit once fitted Harry i will send you my old one so you will have one ready if anyone else sends you theirs to be welded.

I will also kept everyone notified of how the compensator works out
1

2

My man also wanted to weld here marked with an arrow saying it would still swivel as there is movement for the cables ? i my self am not so sure.therefore i said i would wait and see how this one performed first.
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Don't weld the parts you have marked in your last photo.
Your method will do the job, so long as the part holding the two cables can still swivel and not foul the bent bar.
The offer made by Harry is intended for members who are not very handy or have the equipment. Its the best method for repairing one which has stretched and returns the bracket to its normal size, with the addition of the welded bar to prevent it going again. All for the price of the postage.
Should any one have a new one, the same mod. can be done the same way, contact Harry and I am sure he will oblige.

[Barnowlnoddy]

The chap doing my testing is well aware that some cars have H/B problems. His opinion is that no matter how high the lever or number of clicks, if it holds the car then it passes. Surely the object of the exercise.
Curiously my 1961 Rover 100 always had this problem too, in this case it was always the true "right angle" principle of the cables across the rear axle. Any variation and the cables never exerted the proper effort. Barnowlnoddy

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by gerry3

Don't weld the parts you have marked in your last photo.
Your method will do the job, so long as the part holding the two cables can still swivel and not foul the bent bar.
The offer made by Harry is intended for members who are not very handy or have the equipment. Its the best method for repairing one which has stretched and returns the bracket to its normal size, with the addition of the welded bar to prevent it going again. All for the price of the postage.
Should any one have a new one, the same mod. can be done the same way, contact Harry and I am sure he will oblige.

I agree, don't weld it there! It not only needs to swivel, but the rods need to be loose to be able to rotate. The rotation allows a few more degrees of swivel.

That's not a bad bit of welding your man has done BTW

As already said, if you want an old one refurbed and modified or a new one modified, you only need to ask me.

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by Barnowlnoddy

The chap doing my testing is well aware that some cars have H/B problems. His opinion is that no matter how high the lever or number of clicks, if it holds the car then it passes. Surely the object of the exercise.
Curiously my 1961 Rover 100 always had this problem too, in this case it was always the true "right angle" principle of the cables across the rear axle. Any variation and the cables never exerted the proper effort. Barnowlnoddy

I had one like that, it had a rod operated handbrake. The more it moved from the 90 degrees, the less efficient it became - exactly the same priciple as your arm pulling up the handbrake lever. The fewer clicks/ the better it works

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by Arctic

Hi Gerry.
Both above a new why would it not work on an old one top bar only needs to be heated up and bent down to meet the nail head as such i will call it, please explain always willing to learn

Heating it up would make it easier, but its fairly soft anyway. Just grip the rod in a good tight vice and it will tap down with a hammer quite easily cold.

[T-Cut]

It's a fascinating thread with some great ideas for fixing what is undoubtedly a pretty poor design. Looking at various photos of the new and 'stretched' compensator, it seems clear to me that the root cause of the problem isn't the softness of the U-bar, but the diameter of the rivetted pin that retains it. There's too much slop between the U-bar and the casing. The difference between the diameter of the retaining pin and the ID of the U-bend gives enough leverage for the bend to be pulled along the bar. In theorythe U-bar would eventually pull out of the casing.

It seems to me that maybe an easier solution that doesn't require any welding is to simply replace the pin with one that fits tightly in the U-bar. This would eliminate the leverage around the bend and prevent it creeping. I'm assuming the the bend in the original U-bar is circular, which seems logical but may not be correct (?).



The pin appears to be rivetted into the case, so it could be drilled out, the holes enlarged and a new pin with a more suitable diameter inserted/rivetted. I suppose if you used one of those swivels with a split pin drilling, you could just retain it with a washer and a split pin. I guess the strength of the drilled out case would then be the question.

James_Death copyright acknowledged in my drawing.

TC

[JeffD]

I'm not so sure you could do that - I think the whole thing is deliberately designed to be "loose" so any slack caused by slightly different cable lengths, unevenly adjusted/worn shies etc is taken up by the flex - isnt that the whole point of a compensator?

When you think about it if the sole purpose of connecting 2 cables into 1 could be achieved with a rigid plate with 3 holes in it - its got to have flex through a number of planes

[T-Cut]

As I read it, the compensation is provided mainly by the swivelling/rocking of the hook plate. The upper leg of the U-bar is there to retain the plate so it doesn't turn too much about the lower leg. I think you would prevent creep if the pin was larger diameter without locking the U-bar completely in the case.

The tension on the hook plate is the same as that in the U-bar, but the rolled end doesn't straighten out because there's virtually no sideways moment from the cable barrel. It's the sideways moment in the casing which allows the creep in the U-bar.


TC