Handbrake cable adjustment after new shoes
Just fitted new rear brake shoes but handbrake still feels loose even after adjusting the cable to max. Shoes seem to contact the drum okay when spinning by hand. Is there a trick to get proper tension, or did I miss something during install?
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After new shoes, the self-adjuster needs to ratchet up properly- often you have to drive and brake in reverse a few times or manually turn the star wheel through the access hole to take up slack. Also, if cables are stretched or seized, adjustment won’t help much. I ran into this after a shoe swap; had to free the cables and do 20-30 reverse stops to let the auto-adjuster work. Shoes were from https://elartcom.eu/categories/brake-shoes-10 - good fit for my model, came with new return springs which helped everything seat right. After bedding in and adjusting properly, handbrake now locks at 5 clicks and holds on steep inclines. Much better than before. Make sure springs are hooked correctly and no binding in the mechanism. Their site has decent shoe sets- check for hardware inclusions if possible.