MoNkEy MaGiC
Member
Registered: 12th Apr 03
Location: West - London Drives: Corsa GSi
User status: Offline
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each year gradually before my MOT i notice my handbrake and brakes in general fade!!!
the brake pedal travels further and the handbrake lever takes more clicks/comes up higher to fully lock the rear wheels!!!
how can i adjust this my self, as each year my MOT man charge's me to do it before the mot?? 
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JUGGA
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Registered: 7th Sep 03
Location: BEDFORDSHIRE
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tighten the handbrake from under the car at the rear little nut you turn..
+ get new brake pads.
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marklawton
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Registered: 24th Apr 05
Location: Pensby, Wirral Drives:Golf mk4 GTI
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what little nut is this as my handbrake needs doing?
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MoNkEy MaGiC
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Registered: 12th Apr 03
Location: West - London Drives: Corsa GSi
User status: Offline
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my brake disks and pads are fine not in need of changing at all and the performace from them is still spot on since new! but its just the pedal travels further down before the brake's starts to work now, especialy since i havent been driving the car for a while now???
could the brakes just need bleeding??
and were exactly is this Nut to tighten the handbrake??
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broster
Premium Member
Registered: 6th Dec 02
Location: Drives: E39
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brakes sound like they need bleeding. nut is on the handbrake cable on the rear beam.....i think
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MoNkEy MaGiC
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Registered: 12th Apr 03
Location: West - London Drives: Corsa GSi
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cheers buddy, can anyone else confirm this???
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Ant
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Registered: 12th May 02
Location: Hereford and Worcester
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The position of the pedal can be adjusted, to bring it further up but it looks an absoloute bitch to do!!!!
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Rob_Corsa
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Registered: 4th Apr 02
Location: Derbyshire
User status: Offline
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Yep, adjustment for handbrake is above the rear axel. Adjusting it up may have a slight effect on how far the brake pedal travels but I doubt it would be much.
If the brake pedal is traveling to far and feels spongy then your brakes need bleeding.
Otherwise your mastercylinder may need new seal's.
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TOMAS
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Registered: 7th Aug 02
Location: Nottinghamshire
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I know EXACTLY what this is as my car suffers the same. You have these self adjusters on the rear drums which are supposed to adjust the shoes as they wear but they never 'self-adjust'. You need to pop the drums off (give them a good clean out once off but DONT breath the dust) then adjust the self-adjusters by fingers/pliers.
Just keep trying the drum over them until is a nice tight fit with just 1-2 mm between drum & shoes - make sure they dont bind (its trial & error but wont take long). I recently did mine and the handbrake went from crap & eight clicks to just 3 clicks now - this is WITHOUT adjusting the actual handbrake cable. You'll prob find that your rear brakes are doing fook all at the minute.
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Rob_Corsa
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Registered: 4th Apr 02
Location: Derbyshire
User status: Offline
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If they aint adjusting up then there is something wrong with them.
Probably one of the following;
1) Spring broken
2)Something is bent
3)Someone has swapped one side for the other and now they both un-adjust.
4)They need cleaning and copper-slipping.
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TOMAS
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Registered: 7th Aug 02
Location: Nottinghamshire
User status: Offline
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No they are totally fine on mine, nothing broken or bent and sides are correct. Asked at the local Vaux Garage and its VERY common on Corsa B's, just a naff design really.
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Rob_Corsa
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Registered: 4th Apr 02
Location: Derbyshire
User status: Offline
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Granted they aint the best design but when serviced/set-up properly they do work fine. Ive replaced rear shoes on numerous novas/corsas and never had a problem with them.
Normally if you back-off the adjuster and re-fit the drub you can here the adjuster ticking when you pump the brake pedal as it adjusts itself up.
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TOMAS
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Registered: 7th Aug 02
Location: Nottinghamshire
User status: Offline
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Never works for me, so I just adjust by hand every year.
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MoNkEy MaGiC
Member
Registered: 12th Apr 03
Location: West - London Drives: Corsa GSi
User status: Offline
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ok cheers everyone for help
what order should i do this all in then, or does it not really matter??
1) adjust handbrake tightness/nut
2) bleed front brakes
3) check/clean/copper grease the shoes/mechanism inside the drums
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Rob_Corsa
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Registered: 4th Apr 02
Location: Derbyshire
User status: Offline
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as long as you do 3 before 1 you will be fine
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MoNkEy MaGiC
Member
Registered: 12th Apr 03
Location: West - London Drives: Corsa GSi
User status: Offline
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ok so..
1) check/clean/copper grease the shoes/mechanism inside the drums
2) Adjust handbrake tightness nut/cable
3) Bleed front brakes
any tips or advice for doing the Drums as ive never taken them apart before, and ive got my Haynes manual ready 
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Rob_Corsa
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Registered: 4th Apr 02
Location: Derbyshire
User status: Offline
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yeah, to get the drums off, make sure handbrake is fully down and insert two roadwheel bolts into oposite holes. Pull on them while tapping the sides of the drum to get it off.
Next, make a mental note of how everything sits cos there a a number of springs etc. Also not that things tend to fly off when you remove the two spring loaded pad retainers.
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MoNkEy MaGiC
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Registered: 12th Apr 03
Location: West - London Drives: Corsa GSi
User status: Offline
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i havnt a clue about these drums!! but will give it a go tomorrow, so all i gota do is take it all apart, clean it, copper grease it all, then reassemble it
ALSO how can i tell that the brake Shoes/Drums need replacing???
ive had the car over 3 years and never had them changed???
check this website, if they do need changing, will i need TWO axle sets of these:
https://sslrelay.com/buypartsby.co.uk/pads_details.php?recordID=6321
[Edited on 23-05-2005 by MoNkEy MaGiC]
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Rob_Corsa
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Registered: 4th Apr 02
Location: Derbyshire
User status: Offline
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you only need one axel set(does both sides). You will find that back brakes last for ages, I doubt very much your rear drums will need replacing unless your motors done close on 100k odd. Just check the thickness of the rear shoes, should be at least 4-5mm all way round.
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MoNkEy MaGiC
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Registered: 12th Apr 03
Location: West - London Drives: Corsa GSi
User status: Offline
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its done 90k miles now, and both rear drums are quite rusted up! 
think i will get some new ones and spray/colour code them??
so if i need new rear shoes: if there less then 4-5mm on them, all i gotta get is ONE of those rear shoe "axle sets", £10+VAT on that website is quite cheap for the set, and is that one ok for my car C16xe 1.6 16v ABS 1994??
thanks for your help
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Rob_Corsa
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Registered: 4th Apr 02
Location: Derbyshire
User status: Offline
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yeah sounds right to me, just give em all the info so they can check when your order. That place is cheap, had a few bits from their shop in the past"Sutton Auto Factors", not far from me.
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MoNkEy MaGiC
Member
Registered: 12th Apr 03
Location: West - London Drives: Corsa GSi
User status: Offline
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