Handbrake Adjustment

[tonee]

SOLVED: Refer to post below for my full guide

Hello,

I'm trying to adjust my handbrake to make it tighter. I've pulled out the right rear wheel to find the adjustment hole where I should see a cog to make the adjustments. However when I look inside there are no cogs to be found! At guess at this stage is that the cover has been pulled out previously and they didn't put it back in the original way so that the hole aligns with the cog.

Attached is the photo with the wheel off, let me know if it looks abnormal or I'm doing something wrong.


Thanks!
Tony

[lancerdarryl]

The adjuster is at the bottom,get a torch and you will find it.It doesn't matter where the rotor is put on to the hub flange.

[tonee]

The adjuster is at the bottom,get a torch and you will find it.It doesn't matter where the rotor is put on to the hub flange.

So if I remove the rubber grommet to expose the hole I should see the a cog somewhere at the bottom? Is it meant to be a cog or another type? What I saw in the hole was a blue horizontal spring and below it is a piece which is some sort of long and silver, but definitely not a cog.

[lancerdarryl]

Look at the end of the long silver bit and you will see the teeth

[tonee]

Oh great thanks, I'll have another look.

Just to confirm, down is to tight and up is to loosen and this applies to both sides?

[tonee]

Thanks Darryl I got it all sorted.

For the guys who need to do this this is what I had to do:

1. Remove the rear wheels
2. Remove the small round rubber grommet on the rotor to expose the hole
3. With the handbrake off you need to rotate the rotor until you can find a silver vertical cog (adjuster)
Left wheel: position the hole at 7 O'clock (Refer to attached photo)
Right wheel: position the hole at 5 O'clock
4. Use a flat head to move the cog's teeth. Down is to tighten, Up is to loosen.
5. Tighten and turn the rotor until you feel that it is biting and has friction.
6. Loosen with a few clicks so that the rotor can move freely
7. Don't forget to put back the rubber grommet like I did!

[Quismiff]

Nice, I'll need to do this soon, I can't wrap my head around why Mitsubishi chose a drum handbrake over a dual purpose caliper like the Nissan's where the piston in the caliper is self adjusting and you just need to wind it back in when you replace the pads

[lancerdarryl]

Drum handbrake system is a lot easier to service. The integrated type caliper is a pain when you have to replace pads the piston always seizes when you are trying to wind it back in

[Quismiff]

Drum handbrake system is a lot easier to service. The integrated type caliper is a pain when you have to replace pads the piston always seizes when you are trying to wind it back in

I would have thought it would be the other way round, I tried servicing a drum brake once, it didn't end well too many parts for my little brain

I guess people would only consider changing them when it was metal on metal, or they were slipping down their driveway with the park brake on. Being used to the WOF system in NZ (6 monthly inspections on cars over 10 years old), if you had an imbalance on your braking they'd tell you and you'd look at it all and replace the pads, usually before you run into trouble. I've only had the one seize on me on my wifes Honda after it had been sitting for months in the open, took it off and soaked it in penetrating oil, rebuilt it, and was all good for a while and when it didn't work just found a good one on a wreck and swapped it all out in about half an hour.

[Lancer1993]

On my old Lancer CC Coupe the one thing I wish I'd done was replace the rear drums with disc brakes I got of Proton M21. I had all the parts but after the engine died (which I later fixed) I thought it was time for an upgrade and here I am with my CJ.

[RavenFox]

Thanks Darryl I got it all sorted.

For the guys who need to do this this is what I had to do:

1. Remove the rear wheels
2. Remove the small round rubber grommet on the rotor to expose the hole
3. With the handbrake off you need to rotate the rotor until you can find a silver vertical cog (adjuster)
Left wheel: position the hole at 7 O'clock (Refer to attached photo)
Right wheel: position the hole at 5 O'clock
4. Use a flat head to move the cog's teeth. Down is to tighten, Up is to loosen.
5. Tighten and turn the rotor until you feel that it is biting and has friction.
6. Loosen with a few clicks so that the rotor can move freely
7. Don't forget to put back the rubber grommet like I did!

Also judging by the lip on your rotor you might want to replace your rotor if you already haven't.