| I was just wondering if everyone had a really bad handbrake or is it just me? I realise that as it bites a disk rather than a drum it should be slightly less efficient, but mines just downright crap. Even if the weather is chucking it down and i'm doing like 5mph, if I yank it on the wheels won't lock. It doesn't even slow down at a fast rate, in fact I think 50% is down to air resistance!! :0) (12/99) |
| Adjust it! The handbrake adjustment is manual - there's an Allen screw under a plug (looks like a bolt) on the back of the calipers (rear). Wind in till the pads touch the discs, then back off 1/3 turn. (12/99) |
| No, mines crap too, the rear brakes work o.k. by the look of the toasted hammerite on the hubs after my recent thrash round Mallory Park. But I admit the handbrake is rubbish. Bear in mind that a handbrake on a rwd car has to slow the transmission down too so won't lock up like a fwd car (perhaps??) (12/99) |
| .. a 1.8 works fine ..either a 1.6 function or hand brake cables on the way out (unless it really is badly adjusted/seized) (12/99) |
| My hand brake is so crap that the nearside calipers have siezed and need new ones for my 1.8. currently I'm parking in gear cos if I put my hand brake on (which is now diconnected for the following purpose) it will not release - bit of a bummer in traffic. any ideas? (12/99) |
| Reading a bit about the common problem of the old handbrake jamming on (every morning and evening since the weather's turned)... Thought it was the rear caliper needing overhauled, so did a temporary dismantle/clean up there but with no joy. However, it is DEFINATELY the handbrake - possibly the cable needs greased? Can anyone give me a pointer as to where to squirt me oil or whatever....? (12/99) |
| Classical case. Sliding pins freeze, the handbrake mechanism does not move properly, and freezes, too. This can usually be resolved by cleaning and greasing pins and treating the handbrake lever mechanism at the caliper with very good rust penetrating oil. The caliper should be upside down to give the oil a chance to get into the critical areas (over night). (12/99) |
| Just had the rear brake pads changed by [a well known garage -ed] (I don't have a trolly jack :-( ) Jumped in the car after it was finished to find my handbrake button stuck in the "in" position. The handbrake will pull up and it will release (with a bit of right and left arm struggling) but the knob won't pop out (.cough). Any ideas? (12/99) |
| What did the garage say? They've broken it so they should fix it! (12/99) |
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They mumbled something like "uuhhh dats just 'coz we adjusted the play in the handle" I said "wha?" they said "ya know..... de brakes.... we adjusted dem....." Ya right pal! Adjustment may have been done, but that doesn't involve jamming the handbrake button in! Anyways, I managed to get it to pop out yesterday at lunch time by pushing it even farther in and letting it flick out (about 3 dozen times). (12/99) |
| I've just had a quote on a drivers side rear handbrake caliper from Mazda maindealer of 170squid. I have a 1.8iS roadster - does anyone know if there will be any differences in specification on this? The guy seemed to think they have seen 1.6s fitted with calipers for a 1.8 because the laws are different in Japan. Any ideas? I'm fed up with having to park in gear? (2/00) |
| I could be way off line here, but is there such a thing? I had to sort out my rear break caliper a while ago, but if you are breaking fine, then maybe you just need to wind the pads in to the discs? All the way until they touch, then back off about 1/2 a turn. (2/00) |
| I suspect at least some 1.6 Roadster have been upgraded to 1.8 brakes .. popular tuning modification .. there are bigger brakes and different rear calipers on the 1.8 (2/00) |
| AFAIK, the calipers (front AND rear) are the same for Mk1 1.6 and 1.8. The brackets are different or need to be mounted in a different way in the 1.8s. (2/00) |
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The car went through the MOT, and failed the severe N.I. Handbrake roller test. (tester got me to pull so hard up, something must have broke in the ratchet, because the button sometimes jams now, help...:(). Synopsis of the saga: my handbrake had been giving me continual problems since July (actually before IOM, so its not due to my little escapade on the island). Initially new pads and cables were fitted. Handbrake still slipped. Garage then announced the calipers were shot. I obtained used calipers. As the garage was busy, I arranged a friend, who has maintained his own brakes on his Roadster for quite some while, to give me a hand swapping them over. Well, we discovered the originals were fine, least when we set them up. No sticking pistons, sliders, wear, no play in the handbrake mechanism (nicely tightly sprung). So dismissing the garage as incompetants, we reset the handbrake ourselves. Test for handbrake, in the workshop, car jacked up, wheels off, wheel nuts on lugs, use big breaker bar to try and turn the disc. Handbrake set up fine, with no binding. Road tested it, and the handbrake held brilliantly on steep hills on 4 clicks (we set the number of clicks first, then adjusted the piston). NI MOT regs test handbrake at simulated 30mph (don't know if this differs from GB). 4 clicks, it wasn't holding, 5 clicks, still no good, then all the way (8 clicks or something).....Fail. Both wheels were weak. No rolling roads in Belfast to properly setup the handbrake. There are only 3 MOT stations within 30 miles of me (I think less than 10 across the Province). Anyone else had problems with handbrakes, MX5 or non-MX5. How's someone to set up his handbrake properly at home? I have 2 used calipers, but quite frankly, they seem worse than the originals. Help.... (12/00) |
| Had no end of trouble with mine ,I'd adjust the calipers seemed ok but a week later they'd need doing again, stripped and rebuit both calipers same story lasts a week or so then totally useless , seemed to make no sence. So I asked my local dealer if he wanted a look, all he said was loosen the handle end right off ,adjust calipers then adjust handle (somthing to do with the geometry for the mechanism) So I did that was 3 months ago and its still working! So basically start at the back and work forward. (12/00) |
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Oh, dear. You must feel like pushing it off a cliff.... In GB, handbrake only has to meet a (very low) efficiency test on a brake test roller, and be balanced side to side. AIR, the efficiency required of disc handbrakes is less than that required for drum ones, basically because disc handbrakes don't work very well. You need to check that something hasn't broken or stretched with pulling the lever with what sounds like excessive force - for example the short front cable. Does it always come up 8 notches now? Don't forget the front adjuster (under plastic cover, by handbrake lever). Assuming all is in order there, I would adjust the handbrake using the manual adjusters in the calipers so that the pads are touching the discs, then back them off just a touch (less than the usual 1/3 of a turn). After you pass, make sure they are not binding - back off a bit more if necessary. Also, run a file across the pad surfaces - they go hard and glazed, and this reduces friction. My neighbour got his wife's Polo through like this after failing a few weeks back because of this (admittedly, drum brakes). Basically they said she didn't use the brakes hard enough, so the linings just got polished rather than wearing down to expose new material. This can be a problem with 5's because the rears do so little work. You may need to replace the pads even if they're not apparently worn. You should end up with a travel of 5-7 notches. You shouldn't need to pull the handbrake with a force greater than 22 lbs - that's not all that much. (12/00) |
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Does it always come up 8 notches now? Don't forget the
front adjuster (under plastic cover, by handbrake lever).
Then back them off just a touch (less than the usual 1/3
of a turn). Also, run a file across the pad surfaces - they go hard
and glazed, and this reduces friction. You may need to replace the pads even if they're not apparently
worn. |
| How many clicks did you adjust to? (12/00) |
| 4-5 it really is that good now, I think the most effective part of the piston travel is in the first part of the calliper lever movement, so if the cables already tight you are adjusting the calliper with the handbrake already on, If you know what I mean? So start with the caliper lever as far back as it'l go. (12/00) |
| I have changed my rear pads today and am getting about 11 clicks on the hand brake until it holds on a very steep hill. Question: In the archive it says that you should close the caliper until the pads *touch* the disc and then back off 1/3 turn. What is the defination of touches? If I do it when it touches then hand brake is useless, do I take it to mean that when the disc stops rotating, then back off 1/3 turn? (5/01) |
| The workshop manual says "touching". In fact it should say "disc pretty much locked", IMHO. After you've backed off 1/3 turn, the pads will still be dragging a bit on the disc - that's OK. Just so long as it's not stopping the disc rotating with light force. (5/01) |
| That is exactly what I thought it should say. I can't understand why everywhere says *touching*.To have a base reading on something, surely you have to lock it up and then back it off. Otherwise it's a bit wishy washy. (5/01) |
| I changed my pads last night - front and back. I turned the alan bold back over half a turn because it worried me about the contact. I tightened it until I could not rattle the pads anymore before turning it back. The hand break came up a long way but since I have driven it today it has settles back down to the position before I changed the pads. I guess the auto adjust does just that over time. (5/01) |
| Wouldn't that leave the brakes still dragging though? Suppose a lot depends upon the definition of 'locked'. I use a small bar for leverage, when turning the disks, and stop adjusting when the resistance increases.....but if I were to adjust it until I couldn't move it, then back of 1/3, I'm pretty sure it'd still be dragging some... (5/01) |
| I agree it probably would, so I backed it off more than 1/3 turn, I would have thought it would be more sensible to say something like - when just locked then back off 1/2 turn ( or whatever ). Anyway tis done and I now have 7 clicks on the hand brake and the pads aren't dragging. (5/01) |
| Last weekend I put new brake pads on the rear of my Roadster.I had been having problems with the handbrake for some time so thought it would be a good idea to do it all at once.I tried adjusting the piston Allan key adjuster but the only time I could get the handbrake to bite was if the brakes dragged and even then it was not very good.I have now come to the conclusion that the problem is the cables sticking (probably need lubricating)as the operating levers on the calipers are facing quite near the front and not near or on the backstops.How hard is it to get to the lever end of the cables and compensating lever with the car jacked up and held on axle stands and are there any covers etc that need to be removed .I presume there is no cover to get to them from inside the car.The car is too low to put on drive up ramps at the moment...Or am I better off getting a garage to have a look at this for me. (5/01) |
| Uh oh, sounds like the problems I had. One garage attempted, fitting new cables, but couldn't get the handbrake to hold at all. I tried myself, got it to hold I thought ok, but it failed the MOT. Another garage looked at it, and adjusted them enough to get through the MOT, but he said they were marginal, and probably next time I'll have to get the calipers changed. (5/01) |
| Try releasing the adjustment at the handbrake root first. Remove the plastic cover at the base of the handbrake lever (one screw) then turn the adjuster (driver's side of the handbrake) all the way anticlockwise (at least until the cables are well loose). In theory you need to remove a clip, but if you use enough welly with a big screwdriver you don't need to. Then adjust the pads at the caliper with the allen screw adjusters, until the pads are touching (discs nearly locked), then back off 1/3 turn. It's OK if the pads are just touching now - if more than that back off a bit more. Now turn the adjuster at the base of the lever until the wheels are locked with about 5-7 clicks on the handbrake ratchet. Check that the wheels are reasonably free with the handbrake off. The handbrake /should/ now hold - but it's never very efficient - not enough leverage on the pads really. (5/01) |
| I've done all that and it seems as if the cables are sticking and not letting the operating arms return properly after use,If I disconnect the arms from the cable they spring back on to the back stops OK.I will try letting off the handbrake cable as far as possible and trying to get the cables moving freely and see if this helps.Thanks for the tips everyone (5/01) |
| A well maintained handbrake/rear brake of an MX-5 is pretty efficient. Handbrake turns on very grippy asphalt with S02s at about 30 mph are no problem. If the handbrake does not work well, something is wrong. (5/01) |
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First of all, general maintenance/condition of the rear brakes is the most important thing for handbrake efficiency. What I did/do: Keep the sliding pins of the rear caliper in GREAT condition: Shiny and well greased with high temp tolerant silicon paste. Repeat every 5000 miles or so. Change brake fluid at least once a year. Keep the rear brakes adjusted relatively tight (adjuster accessible from the rear of the caliper under the 14 mm cover bolt). I do that everytime the rear wheels are off. If there are problems or as preventive maintenance: take the rear caliper off (no need to disconnect the hydraulic lines, put it upside down on the lower A-arm) and use thin, good acid free oil and let it trickle into the area where the handbrake actuator enters the caliper. Check it for free motion and move it by hand now and then while the oil slowly creeps into that area. I also spray some oil into the area where the metal part of the hanbrake cable disappears into its plastic "cover". If the above things are done now and then, you will be able to lock your rear wheels antime at any speed with the handbrake. Not that this is advisable. Another general tip: Use the handbrake all the time when you stop. Keeping the mechanism in motion helps to prevent seizing. And, make it a habit to use the normal brake HARD for a stop from rather high speed at least once a week. Everthing works better if it sees hard use now and then, the disks stay clean, and the pads are always well seated. (5/01) |
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It's silicone grease - small but important difference! Surprisingly, the stuff to use is Finish Line Premium Grease 100% synthetic - Halfords sell it as bicycle grease - you find it in a black tube or tub in the cycle dept. Trust me! Just use synthetic engine oil (thinner grade the better) for lubricating the pivot - but in fact the seal should keep all the oil (and water) out anyway. Failure of the seal is one reason for seizure - but you have to strip the whole caliper to change it. Don't use too much oil around the brakes. (5/01) |
| Can anyone advise on the procedure for replacing the standard handbrake sleeve with a lovely new aluminium one, bearing in mind that I have completed the first part of this task (i.e.. buying the lever!!) It looks as if the careful use of a Stanley knife will be needed to remove the standard handbrake sleeve. Could someone please let me know if this is right !! (8/01) |
| NO NO NO !!!! Just undo the small screw in the handbrake shroud behind... Remove shroud. Grap grip and twist and turn it to break the glue. Then Add a pulling motion - and a pillow to the dash board. Pillow to stap you hammering into dash when it free's (8/01) |
| The original handle is glued on. Mine got off easily, all it took was a little force. (8/01) |