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Handbrake Mechanism
Jeano - 6/5/22 at 10:35 AM

just bought my new MK indy and second drive out and my handbrake mechanism wont hold it on my driveway so i tried to adjust the bolt on the back of my mechanism.

Driving along and bang rattle rattle. Where the two cables join into the mechanism bolted to the handbrake it had dropped and was hitting the prop.

Can people show me how the part which links the cables to the lever is mounted. my seems to be held just by tension and i think the cable got loose so it dropped.


jps - 9/5/22 at 01:41 PM

Is it Sierra based? That’s all I have direct experience of, but in that there’s a ‘half moon’ shaped guide for the one piece cable cable which is then attached by a bar to the handbrake lever. It’s bolted horizontally into the lever with a vertical bolt for the ‘half moon’. Some Googling of ‘locost handbrake cable’ and similar searching on here will throw up loads of images.

Ultimately the cable is held in position by tension though. If it’s dropping too low in the tunnel I’d suggest you have too little tension in it and could afford to tighten it up.


Mr Whippy - 9/5/22 at 02:00 PM

In general to adjust handbrakes, you should lift the rear off the ground (chock the front wheels and use axle stands). Release the handbrake and turn the adjusters till the rear brakes start grabbing. Operate the handbrake a few times and slacken off the adjusters till both wheels are turning freely and the handbrake comes up about 3 clicks with both wheels fully locked.

Often cables get rusty inside so check that first just by pulling on them to make sure they are moving. If they are bit stiff to move, you can take them off and tape a little funnel to the end. Hang it up and fill the funnel with oil and leave it till oil comes out the bottom, it should move very freely after that. But if that fails then new cables are quite cheap.

Does sound like your car could do with a bit of a service.




[Edited on 9/5/22 by Mr Whippy]


Jeano - 9/5/22 at 05:04 PM

Just had a google, it looks like my setup is fairly standard, i just wanted something to stop it dropping onto the drop. Google images has give me some ideas.