Saint.V8

Dyed-in-the-wool 100% RR Junkie
Full Member
Last year the L322 MOT was almost a bust due to a very ineffective handbrake….so this year I decided it was about time to take a look at the handbrake shoes and replace them.

Changing the shoes is dead simple enough….it is the adjustment afterwards that is a PITA.

So to start, lift and secure the vehicle, both rears wheels have to be off the ground for this task as you need to adjust each side once the shoes are fitted!

Working for a company who specialises in Aircraft tooling, GSE and components, I decided to use a small 45tonne Aircraft Axle Jack (we do have some 150 tonne axle jacks but they are too big to get under!) rather than lugging out the 12tonne bottle jack I normally use, and also the Aircraft Jack uses compressed air to operate meaning I didn’t have to pump it up manually :D:D:D

But even though the jack is capable of lifting over 15 L322’s at once, there is no excuse not to also support on stands too!

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Remove the road wheel

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Lever out the calliper spring

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Now you have two options, either loosen the brake pads and then remove the whole calliper and bracket as a complete unit or (as I did) remove the calliper and then remove the bracket

Pop out the calliper slide/guide pin bung

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Take the cover off the bleed screw and crack open while pulling/levering the pads away from the disc. Maintain leverage on the pads and do the bleed screw up, this way the brake system doesn’t draw air back into the system if you do the bleed screw up while it is still pouring brake fluid out of it!!

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Using a 7mm allen key, undo the two slide pins and carefully remove the calliper out of the way. Tie it in place so it doesn’t fall or hang on the brake hose.

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After applying some penetrating fluid to the calliper bracket bolts use the right size spanner/socket (5/8 if I remember correctly)

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Using a 6mm allen key, undo the disc retaining screw

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Remove the adjuster hole bung

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Line the hole up to the adjuster cog (approx 6 o’clock position) and use a flat blade screwdriver or similar turn the adjuster to follow retract the brake shoes (which direction depends on which way round the adjuster was fitted – so just turn it till either the disc stops rotating freely then turn it all the way the other, or turn it until it stops and the disc still turns freely)

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Then with a few taps with a soft mallet to loosen the disc to hub contact, remove the disc

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Immediately, the ineffectiveness became apparent!

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Imagine if one of those fragments came loose and jammed the brake on at motorway speeds!!...Made me shudder that’s for sure!

Lever off the top return spring

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Using a 5mm allen key, quarter turn the shoe retaining pins and withdraw

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You can now pull the shoes apart and over the hub

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Remove the adjuster

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Further inspection of the old shoes – still shuddering about what could happen if these fragments had jammed the brake on solid on the M3 to work!!

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Undo the adjuster and clean it up

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Next is to remove the expander, as it is called, from the handbrake cable. It fits like a bike brake cable so is easy enough get it off.

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Time to refit the new shoes!

Apply some copper-slip to the adjuster screw thread and reassemble the adjuster.

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Assemble two shoes with the adjuster and a new lower return spring (upper and lower springs are different!)

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Clean up the expander and apply some copper-slip the expander hinge and reattach to the end of the handbrake cable

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Fit the shoes to the expander in place

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Fit new retaining pins to both shoes

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Fight and swear at the top return spring

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Apply some copper-slip grease the hub and refit the brake disc after cleaning it up. My rear discs are approaching minimum thickness so I will have to replace them for next years MOT as the pads are just over halfway through (almost 3 years old now) so all will be replaced next year.

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Fit a new retaining screw (no real need to do so, but sometimes they can be so tight to get out they get chewed up, so for the sake of a few pence I ordered new ones in anycase!)

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Fit the calliper bracket

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Refit the Calliper and Slide Pins

Fit the Calliper spring

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Repeat for the other side!!!

Now the real fun begins, adjusting the shoes!

According to RAVE, adjust the shoes till the disc doesn’t rotate then back off 8 notches. Apply the handbrake several times and repeat the process.

This I have found to be completely useless…!!!!!

The real bug bear comes from having to adjust, then put the wheels on, lower it down, test it, then raise the car, wheels off, adjust again, wheels on, lower, test, raise etc….

After doing this a few times, you get a bit fed up of it, so I have adjusted to only a couple notches off a locked disc and left it like that.

In this position, from a standstill, it will hold the car when put into drive and given a few revs, and from a 15mph rolling, will retard the car to a stop without throwing you through the windscreen, but is as good as I can get it!

Will let you know the MOT outcome next week!

Grab a coffee and you’re done!
 
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Nice write up ant. Is the drive shaft gaiter OK? Looks dodgy in one picture, but could just be crud.
 
Nice write up ant. Is the drive shaft gaiter OK? Looks dodgy in one picture, but could just be crud.

The bellows side looks OK (dusty but sound) the collar where it is clipped to the hub end is OK, although after the metal clip it is a tad frayed but doesn't affect the integrity of it as it is after the clip.

When I do the discs next year I will take another look at them and maybe replace in anycase. Good Spot!
 
Another excellent write up Saint with pictures, was beginning to miss them but PLEASE remove the bling before the next job, would hate for you to get a bad injury or worse lose a bloody HAND.
 
No mention of loctite in RAVE for the pins.....never used it before on the slide pines and considering they can lock themselves tight without using loctite and be a bugger to get off, not using it will be fine.

Agree maybe I was a bit over zealous with the copper spray, so I will whip them out and clean them up.
 
IMO, any threaded part on brakes should have a dab of Loctite. The parts would have had thread lock on them when new and new replacements come with a red thread locking blob on them I think you will find. All the new bits I just bought for the P38 brakes had thread lock on the bolts.
 
No mention of loctite in RAVE for the pins.....never used it before on the slide pines and considering they can lock themselves tight without using loctite and be a bugger to get off, not using it will be fine.

Agree maybe I was a bit over zealous with the copper spray, so I will whip them out and clean them up.

Bit of brake cleaner on the threads and the calliper bracket holes should do. Put a rag between the bracket and the disc, you don't was copper slipped discs. I always used Loctite and never lost a customer.;) :)
 
Ant

Brilliant write up, I did mine earlier this month, you are right the adjustment is a real PITA. You can't feel the adjustment due to the of the drivetrain, and the small diameter of the brake drum. Must confess I use an 18 inch screw drive to turn the hub, but what a pain.

I still feel I need to have another crack at the adjustment.

Alan
 
Ant

Brilliant write up, I did mine earlier this month, you are right the adjustment is a real PITA. You can't feel the adjustment due to the of the drivetrain, and the small diameter of the brake drum. Must confess I use an 18 inch screw drive to turn the hub, but what a pain.

I still feel I need to have another crack at the adjustment.

Alan

I put mine in neutral spun the hub till it griped and then backed it off three notches job done
 
Another great write up Ant, I love copper slip and use it on mostly everything I replace on my rusty old girl.
The shoe retainers on mine had pulled through the back plate and everything was just floating around inside the drum so much so the retaining pins started to find their way out between the disc and back plate which was my cue to change them and the complete hand brake mechanism and shoes.
I repaired the back plate using the old style shoe retaining washers.
 
Ant
nice right up.

Mine isn't much good either. The MOT man said yea, so long as I can feel its doing something, I pass it...!

What make shoes did you use?

Regards.
 
Admittedly they are Sh!tpart shoes, but I am letting this one slide as they are not the main braking system and thus don't directly affect the running and braking of the car - plus for the last 2 years I have used the parking pawl so anything additional will be a bonus!
 
Thanks.

I am contemplating doing a serious towing run next year to high highlands and think my hand brake should be really good but fear it I willnot be able to get it so.
As you, I simply use pawl in park at present. never bother with the hand brake unless its being used for the MOT man.

Anyone with some views on getting a really good strong handbrake on a L322?
 
Thanks.

I am contemplating doing a serious towing run next year to high highlands and think my hand brake should be really good but fear it I willnot be able to get it so.
As you, I simply use pawl in park at present. never bother with the hand brake unless its being used for the MOT man.

Anyone with some views on getting a really good strong handbrake on a L322?
Never a good idea to rely on the parking pawl, holding 2.5 tonnes on a little metal tang is asking for trouble. If the car rolls away when unattended you may have a problem with insurance.
Load should be taken by the handbrake before engaging P.
Funny how advances in engineering have produced handbrakes that don't work, the handbrake on the Xtrail of certain years is so bad it will not pass an MOT:eek: Does the UK MOT not have a handbrake efficiency test?
 
Never a good idea to rely on the parking pawl, holding 2.5 tonnes on a little metal tang is asking for trouble. If the car rolls away when unattended you may have a problem with insurance.
Load should be taken by the handbrake before engaging P.
Funny how advances in engineering have produced handbrakes that don't work, the handbrake on the Xtrail of certain years is so bad it will not pass an MOT:eek: Does the UK MOT not have a handbrake efficiency test?
It does, hence my efforts at trying to get it sorted to pass, as last year it just scraped through and that was with it adjusted to the point of binding, hence I got an advisory for the handbrake binding!

I think the efficiency figure is greater than 16% is a pass.
 
One of my next jobs is rear brake discs as the drum that the handbrake shoes work against is really pitted which probably doesn't help matters
 
MOT Done, all passed and no Advisories....Might have a Curry tonight!!
 

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