Starlet - handbrake help

Me again

We started noticing towards the end of the Mondello MVAT that locking the right rear for left handbrake turns was becoming increasingly more difficult.

I put it down to shoes as they were fairly worn, but upon bedding in a new set and adjusting the handbrake, it's still reluctant to lock the right rear on dry tarmac. 40psi in 165 section 14's.

I've checked the piston / valve / cylinder and it seems to be moving freely enough in both directions. I've jacked up the rear of the car , put one click of handbrake on and tried to move the wheels - the right rear is that little bit easier to move than the left.

I've taken the drums off and watched the mechanism as someone pulls the handbrake, the front shoe moves more than the rear, but I think this is more to the design of the cylinder than a fault, as it's the same theme on the left rear - I think the fluid channel in the cylinder pushes forward first and then once that reaches resistance, it channels pressure to the rear shoe...

So, I'm thinking maybe the handbrake cable on the right may be stretched - is that something common on these starlets (EP82)?

Any help or suggestions is appreciated Wink

Common problem kingers, some Starlet handbrakes are fantastic and some are less than impressive. If you've a good one I suggest leaving it alone!

Don't know about a stretched cable being the cause but the only real solution is to adjust the shoes right against the drums and give a good sharp pull to lock. Try narrower tyres too, Starlets normally run 145 section 13's and some of us even use 135's on the rear, still up around 40/45 psi.

A good few Starlets out there now have hydraulic handbrakes, not a cheap option but for peace of mind and a perfect handbrake it's the only way, it'll lock fully with minimum effort, like a switch. Hope this helps!

Hi Kingers, You can get the standard handbrake to work well if you use OEM Toyota shoes and the brake drums are in good condition. Aftermarket shoes don't work well.

The left is locking no problem, its just the right that's not doing the business Maybe some new cables will sort it -

Do people go genuine Toyota or do spurious do the job well enough?

Hi Kingers, OEM for the shoes, but don't think that is necessary for the cables. Have you adjusted the brake shoes manually?

Piers, I'm a bit of a newb when it comes to drums (blood over-complicated and inefficient yokes they are!), but I have adjusted the spinning wheel enough so that I can just fit the hub back on - is that what you mean?

I fitted the two cables last night anyway and just have to plumb them into the drums and adjust things up again....

Hi Kingers, I think you need a little slack on the shoes to allow you slap the shoes onto the drums when you jerk the handbrake. There are others that may have more current information that me...

Not played with starlets but normally with drums and new cables - adjust drums until locked - adjust cables until two notches / clicks when lever pulled - slacken drums until wheels turns free
Maybe able to reduce to one notch with trial
Once done adjust by drums only in the future

Not sure if you can do that when you can't adjust drums without taking the hub off - there's no keyhole for the adjuster ....

Kingers there's a little rubber bung on the backplate that you pop out to access the adjuster with the drum on. You may need to use 2 screwdrivers through it, one to lift up the self adjuster mechanism and the other to wind the adjuster on or off. Practice without the drum on to get the hang of it !

Ah ha.... did't see it back there.

Right, new cables on and little wheel adjusters were adjusted up so that the drums just squeezed on. I think my adjuster nut on the handbrake has stripped its threads - I can't get it to thread up or thread down, it just keeps turning.

Anyway, went out for a test drive and initially it wouldn't lock up at all, then I just pumped the handbrake a few dozen times and then only the left would lock....

Then I pumped the handbrake another few dozen times, took it for a test drive and then only the right wheel would lock...?!?

So I'm getting uneven brake pressure. The cables are 100% so the problem must be in the drum?

Do I just need to adjust up the left one at the drum or just keep pumping the handbrake?

What you need to do is adjust each side with the adjuster till the wheel locks then back it off a touch-till it just turns. Cant rely on the self adjuster to pull them up the same for what we want to do ! I've often wondered it is worth bending the self adjuster link away from the wheel and just rely on manual adjustment.

I think most people remove the automatic adjuster and spring.. No more details than that I'm afraid...

Sorted lads, even though I could only barely squeeze on the left drum it was totally out of adjustment, so I adjusted it up and sure enough they are both locking with a decent tug of the handbrake. Not perfect or as good as other FWD cars but it'll do I think.

Thanks to all the help on here, really appreciated!