Handbrake bad design?

[hogweed]

Originally Posted by slovcan

I thought they stopped using asbestos in brake linings.

I thought so too… on that subject, not strictly relevant, but I AM the OP I remember my father and I scrubbing algae and lichen off the asbestos tiles of our bungalow roof with wire brushes, and disappearing into clouds of asbestos dust for hours… I’m hoping, as it’s about 50 years ago, and no obvious ill effects, we’ve got away with it

Just didn’t know back then

[Jim Jamieson]

I’m an old school HGV mechanic and back in the day, now almost 50 years we sanded the brake drums and shoes to clean them up before testing.

I’m surprised I don’t suffer from asbestosis.

Now back to the 75 handbrake, I must be doing something right as I’ve had continuous ownership of at least 1 75 for 16 years now and never fitted a brake compensator on any of my three 75’s yet I can hold the car perfectly on any slope when brake is on 3 to 4 notches.

Prior to every MOT I strip off the disc/ drum and sand the internals plus clean up the shoes then after slackening off the adjustment at the handbrake I adjust each wheel in turn to get it so it is rubbing slightly then tighten up at the handbrake. I have on my first two 75’s added a short spacer behind the adjuster nut but only last week when doing my project car this spacer wasn’t required and yes I have it holding at three notches.

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by Jim Jamieson

Prior to every MOT I strip off the disc/ drum and sand the internals plus clean up the shoes then after slackening off the adjustment at the handbrake I adjust each wheel in turn to get it so it is rubbing slightly then tighten up at the handbrake. I have on my first two 75’s added a short spacer behind the adjuster nut but only last week when doing my project car this spacer wasn’t required and yes I have it holding at three notches.

I think the reason you are getting away without distorting the compensator, is that you don't need to apply as much force in use of the handbrake. You say you service it once per year.

Others may let the drums build up rust, so gradually more and more effort is needed to apply the brake, the result is the well known compensator stretch. I have not needed to touch mine since I first had a go at it, though I have readjusted it once. My maintenance is one of just applying the handbrake gently, for the last yard or two, as I come to a stop. It keeps the drums polished.

[p2roverman]

Originally Posted by hogweed

I thought so too… on that subject, not strictly relevant, but I AM the OP I remember my father and I scrubbing algae and lichen off the asbestos tiles of our bungalow roof with wire brushes, and disappearing into clouds of asbestos dust for hours… I’m hoping, as it’s about 50 years ago, and no obvious ill effects, we’ve got away with it
Just didn’t know back then

Rover doors were lined inside with sprayed on BLUE asbestos in the mid 30s. 45 years ago I scraped all this off a couple of doors working in a confined space. There is always the worry in the back of my mind that I might get the dreaded asbestosis.

[madeupname]

Originally Posted by p2roverman

Rover doors were lined inside with sprayed on BLUE asbestos in the mid 30s. 45 years ago I scraped all this off a couple of doors working in a confined space. There is always the worry in the back of my mind that I might get the dreaded asbestosis.

We had a training session on asbestos a few years ago. From memory I think that Blue asbestos was mostly used in furnace linings and is not a problem (might be wrong). It is the white/grey asbestos which, when it breaks down into fibres, can lodge in the lining of the lungs and cause irritation and lead to cancer.
But so can smoking, breathing in diesel particulates, eating ultra processed foods etc.

[Jim Jamieson]

I decided to put mine to the test today as my car will be due it’s MOT in about three months.
My driveway has a slope downwards, so parking the car after a run I put the handbrake on three clicks then put it into drive.
The car didn’t move at all so that’s good enough for me.

[hogweed]

Well, drove it frequently with the brake on for a couple of hundred yards, and observed the handle rising gradually towards the ceiling.

Left her in last week for a couple of little jobs, and got the brakes readjusted at the back etc, and it's MUCH better now - in fact, it's the first time I've had what you would call a working handbrake in the 8 years I've owned the car

Still not sure it'd be up to handbrake turns, but getting a bit too old for that sort of thing now anyway

[ryszard]

Hi,has anybody replaced theire handbrake shoes and found a great difference,reason I'm asking is despite putting on a compensator and doing the adjustments several times I still have to wind the nut on the handbrake inside the car to get a good leverage,since I've had the car it's never held on the 3rd click despite many times at adjustment including taking off and cleaning the drums,replacing back plate and all the proper adjustments.Before I get new shoes wondered if any one else has done so.Regards Ryszard...

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by ryszard

Hi,has anybody replaced theire handbrake shoes and found a great difference,reason I'm asking is despite putting on a compensator and doing the adjustments several times I still have to wind the nut on the handbrake inside the car to get a good leverage,since I've had the car it's never held on the 3rd click despite many times at adjustment including taking off and cleaning the drums,replacing back plate and all the proper adjustments.Before I get new shoes wondered if any one else has done so.Regards Ryszard...

The original compensators deform/stretch, have you fitted a modified one?

Several people have fitted new shoes and found it has made the holding power of their handbrake much worse, so best avoided unless there is something amiss with the shoes.

Having to wind the nut up a long way, suggests you are getting the adjustment at the hub wrong, as many people and even trained mechanics do. That applies to the 75 and many other cars as it has for many decades. I was taught what I was doing wrong in my teens by an old school mechanic, when I couldn't get a decent handbrake on an A40.

1. Slack the front adjuster right off.

2. Wind the hub adjuster to completely lock the hub.

3. Maybe give the drum a good thump with a heavy mallet to centralise the shoe.

4. Back the adjuster off only enough to make the hub reasonably turnable by hand. Many make the mistake of backing it off too far (as described in the manual) - DON'T! Properly adjusted there will be some drag from the shoes. The slight drag will make no difference to the car.

5. Finally, after both sides have been done at the rear, adjust at the front nut. You should be able to easily set it to 3 clicks or even 2. With the car on the level, handbrake off - you should be able to easily push the car with absolutely no binding. At 1 click, you should find it quite difficult to push the car. That is 3 clicks with maximum effort applied to pull the handbrake on and the handbrake should then be capable of locking your rear wheels on the move. The 75's handbrake is as good as any handbrake on any car I have driven - but only if properly set up.

My final advice is to give the handbrake some work to do, to keep the drum free of inner surface rust. Apply the brake in the last yard or two as you come to a stop. Just applying the brake once at a standstill does the drum no favours at all - it needs work to keep it clean.

[hogweed]

You’ll be one of the few guys here who can understand a joke we used to tell when I was a teenager:


A little guy is drinking quietly at the bar, and this enormous Glaswegian comes in, somewhat the worse for wear, says “I don’t like the shape of your face, Jimmy” and nuts him violently, leaving him unconscious on the floor. As he staggers out again, he shouts back “When he wakes up, tell him that was a Glaswegian Kiss”.


Next night, the Glaswegian guy is standing drinking at the bar, when the little guy comes up behind, taps him on the shoulder and, as he turns round, knocks him to the floor with one blow, and calls out to the bar “When he wakes up, tell him that was an A40 starting handle”.


Wouldn't work nowadays, would it

Just ignore me. Carry on…