replaced rear pads- but handbrake now rubbish!

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PW@Woodsport
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Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2004 6:40 pm
Location: durham
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Re: replaced rear pads- but handbrake now rubbish!

Post by PW@Woodsport »

wombat that may well have worked for you,indeed ive done that myself and they have just happened to be right,but its russian roulette mate,the way i advise to do them 100% guarantees a perfect handbrake....nothing left to chance.

Thing is if you do just wind them back and pop the pads in one or both calipers might have reset and you would have the whole job to do from scratch so its not worth the hassle.

The mind boggles that for years ive never seen anyone post the correct way to do this job and just "wind em back,stick pads in,job done" threads.....yet i post my findings on this oversight and the fact that you may have little or no handbrake doing it this way plus a guaranteed method to get it right first time everytime and it gets dragged through the gutter for some 4 pages??? mad.
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Alex_Dunn

Re: replaced rear pads- but handbrake now rubbish!

Post by Alex_Dunn »

SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT I HAVE TO WIND BACK THE CALIPER back 90 degrees??? :mrgreen:

sorry but i just have read this whole thread and have found it quite funny.
JohnnyC
Posts: 7001
Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2004 10:25 pm
Location: West Yorkshire

Re: replaced rear pads- but handbrake now rubbish!

Post by JohnnyC »

Alex_Dunn wrote:SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT I HAVE TO WIND BACK THE CALIPER back 90 degrees??? :mrgreen:

sorry but i just have read this whole thread and have found it quite funny.

You haven't read it properly then :P - it's 180 degrees :D
chris99
Posts: 151
Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2005 2:04 pm
Location: Harrogate

Re: replaced rear pads- but handbrake now rubbish!

Post by chris99 »

:lol: :lol: :lol:
Alex_Dunn

Re: replaced rear pads- but handbrake now rubbish!

Post by Alex_Dunn »

but ive done it by 90 degrees before and wat does paul woods know really?? :mrgreen: most he does on mr2s is an oil change :wink:
Alex_Dunn

Re: replaced rear pads- but handbrake now rubbish!

Post by Alex_Dunn »

sorry really cant say that with a straight face :lol:
pnjmcc
Posts: 828
Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2004 11:15 am
Location: Australia

Re: replaced rear pads- but handbrake now rubbish!

Post by pnjmcc »

Bit too scared to ask but ......

When I changed my rear pads I didn't do the 180 bit and yes the handbrake is a bit crap. But I also have the problem of the car feeling like a dog with worms (ie dragging it butt along the ground) kinda feeling like rears are stuck on some times (but not all the time). Could this also be because I didn't do the 180 thingy ?

Thanks in advance
Regards
Paul
92 G-Ltd.
Alex_Dunn

Re: replaced rear pads- but handbrake now rubbish!

Post by Alex_Dunn »

yea do i the 180 degrees thingy and all will be solved
pnjmcc
Posts: 828
Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2004 11:15 am
Location: Australia

Re: replaced rear pads- but handbrake now rubbish!

Post by pnjmcc »

Thanks Alex,

Looks like I now have summit to do at the weekend

Regards
Paul
92 G-Ltd.
www.mr2turbo.info

Re: replaced rear pads- but handbrake now rubbish!

Post by www.mr2turbo.info »

I did mine I used a new disk, new pads, and all the shims, and if I'd have wound the piston out 180 degrees I'd have never got the caliper on, it was a tight fit as far back as I could possibly get it.

Pictures of the internal parts of the caliper etc are on my site, BTW.

--Robin
PW@Woodsport
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Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2004 6:40 pm
Location: durham
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Re: replaced rear pads- but handbrake now rubbish!

Post by PW@Woodsport »

jesus ive explained this like a hundred times,....

Here we go AGAIN!

Sometimes the piston wont clear the disc when wound out 180,so you take it back in to its starting point then add another 10 degrees ,it wont go back any further but this time when you take it back out 180 it wont come out as far,but it will still get the 180 rotation it needs.....if it still doesnt clear the disc wind it back to the new starting point and add another 10 degrees of wind in,now back out 180.....repeat this over and over until the caliper fits.....just trust me it works and is the only way to do it.

Maybe i should do a full pictorial write up for the KB that explains each and every step in minute detail.
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shaft120

Re: replaced rear pads- but handbrake now rubbish!

Post by shaft120 »

WOW - absolutely classic thread !!

Almost a year later and still proving entertaining and informative.

Firstly I'd like to thank Paul, who has just saved me a couple of hundred quid. Mate, you have the expertise and patience of a Shaolin monk.

I was this close to paying for 2 new calipers after my mechanic told me mine had siezed. I was actually looking for some 2nd hand ones and then realised that the problem only seemed to affect the handbrake (not foot) and also seemed to coincide with a recent pad / disc change. After reading these threads and the most amusing arguments that followed, I decided to ask my mechanic to try the 180 degree thing out. After a skeptical look, he did and low and behold all works fine now.

I'd just like to say to those who questioned Paul in quite a rude manner (for example: I'm not trying to argue the toss....but you're wrong). It doesn't matter if your Adrian Newey or Ken Tyrell, if you haven't worked on an MR2 before you wouldn't have known about this reset mechanism. To have the bare faced cheek and audacity to claim that, as you haven't personally heard about this method, it must be wrong, is the height of arrogance.

Cheers Paul - One Pint owed (for info posted last year!), please keep posting the great tips.

Regards,
Frank
PW@Woodsport
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Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2004 6:40 pm
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Re: replaced rear pads- but handbrake now rubbish!

Post by PW@Woodsport »

you're very welcome frank,glad it helped you out... for years owners have been advised to just wind them back,fit pads,job done....and it aint so! most end up with a frigged handbrake as a result,anyway the advice has helped at least one member so it was worth the arguing :lol:
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brynrobson
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2016 10:58 am

Re: replaced rear pads- but handbrake now rubbish!

Post by brynrobson »

Hi All,
I'm hoping someone can help me know where I went wrong.

Original fault:
Worn rear pads. Handbrake poor and off the last click of the ratchet.

Works done:
Disconnected handbrake at the disk end.
Wound the piston in for 15 mins (I assume that it just keeps spinning after a certain point)
Wound the piston out 180
Pumped foot pedal four times
Reconnected handbrake

Not done:
Slackened handbrake under the plastic under panel of the car.
Messed with any adjustment of the handbrake lever.

Result:
Footbrake, done. Need a bleed but that's irrelevant.
Handbrake, done. It works and bites much better than before but it won't click on the ratchet. I thought that it might be too tight and, as I hadn't loosened it from under the car, it wasn't getting that far - but I can get the handbrake to pretty much the halfway point, where it would have been clicking.
PW@Woodsport
Posts: 7642
Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2004 6:40 pm
Location: durham
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Re: replaced rear pads- but handbrake now rubbish!

Post by PW@Woodsport »

Nice thread revival!

Just remove your stone guard plastics from under the car, and using a 12mm spanner undo the cable adjusters at the cable pivot bracket, two or three turns on each should be enough to get your clicks back.

As a note, the cable should always be slackened off there before going through the rear caliper proceedure.
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