PARKING BRAKE FAILURE
 

Hi All,

Just had my MOT, (dont know what you guys 'over the pond' call it) and my 01 4.4 has failed due to parking brake efficiency not being up to scratch!

Can anyone shed any light on what could be the first port of call, ie. handbrake cable, and how I would tackle it/them...?

Has anyone had any similar experiences, or just have any ideas?

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Ian

I would check first inner and outer brake pads , then rotor wear.... Then cylinder pin, sometimes it's becoming frozen and not pushing brake pad, how it's suppose to.

The parking brake is a simple baby sized drum brake in the hub of the rear rotors and just needs the cables adjusted every so many years. To adjust it just pull off the leather surround from the e-brake handle and pull the lever up a few clicks, then look under the handle and you will see a couple nuts of some threaded rods. That is where you tighten it. Just go a few turns in on each and check the tightness of the handle untill you get it to where it feels properly tight. Not a hard job, just need a deep socket and extension.

that only adjusts the tension of the cable, does not actually adjust the distance between the brake pad to the brake rotor. to adjust the parking brake, remove one of the rear lug bolts in each of the rear wheels, lift up rear end with sutiable jack, and shine a flashlight inside until you see the star wheel adjuster, turn this clockwise until the wheel no longer moves, then back it off 6-8 turns. and then adjust the cable tension as weasel has mentioned.

Thanks for you replies gents, I'll have a look into it over the next few days and report back my findings!!

sorry to bring this thread back to life, but I am having an issue with my parking brake as well now and need a little help.

I did a rear brake job and when I did this I backed up the parking brake drum and put it all back together without tightening it. Now I need to adjust them... which direction should I be turning the adjuster on each wheel. I tried doing this the other night but didn't really seem to gain on it. I can see the adjuster, it is at about 3-4pm but I can't seem to get it to tighten, I am guessing I was going in the wrong direction. Hints?

anyone know which way to turn the sprocket things?

this pic shows adjustment , says adjust up for left wheel , down for right wheel ?this was on a 3 series .
the bentley manual says adjust down for left wheel and up for right wheel .turn until wheel no longer turns then back off 12 notches .this is for X5 .