The handbrake

[FarmerPug]

I got my handbrake tightned up yesterday, there is new shoes, rear disks and cables but yet it needed tightned, and initially it was 5 clicks to full on, i got home and tested the handbrake, did a full spin handbrake turn on the gravel yard, and now its at 9 clicks to full on, will this get progressivley worse the more hanbrake turns i do, and is this just because all the stuff is new, do i just need to retighten it all again through that hole on the back wheels, my mechanic says not to tighten from the centre console.
And i dont really think handbrake turns should do any harm, im not doing it in public places firstly, but also ive had cars before like the 205 which did nothing but rally round a field handbrake turning and it did it for 2 years and didnt get any looser.
Is this weak handbrake just a 406 problem and exacly whats the cause?

[CountryPug]

I take it you have the silly little handbrake drums on the rear like me?? They are a shocking job, I had my wheels off to tighten them last week. At first it was a great job, I was able to lock both rear wheels at 3 clicks and manage a handbrake turn. Now, I have an okish handbrake but I cant lock the rear wheels for some handbrake hoonage It's not a great system.

[FarmerPug]

its hanbrake drums yes integrated into the rear disk brakes, is this just the rear shoes bedding in or something to do with them being new, and is there a solution? I still have a hanbrake but its now full on after 8 or 9 clicks

[HimBigChief]

I think it's just a 406 handbrake thing. If you are a bit partial to a spot of handbrake lunacy, then it may be worth investing in a hydraulic handbrake which WILL lock the rear wheels whenever you want. Not too sure where you'd stand on the MOT front with one of those though.

[rwb]

did a full spin handbrake turn on the gravel yard

50 Mpg is the Target

[gRoberts]

Why on earth would you want to do handbrake turns?

On a different note, 60.4mpg ;)



Typical though, since having my injectors replaced that's now more like 54mpg

[FarmerPug]

That looks like a ford focus gague, its a much lighter car so 60mpg isnt unusual.
i got 999mpg one day, and then 12 so i dont trust the trip computer at all, filling the car to the cap and driving until its back in the red is the only sure way of knowing.
Dont worry the handbrake turns are all done on private land so im not causing any one trouble, as for the why do them question well go somewhere safe and do one and you will understand, they can be quite addictive. I even did one once on a 135 when the yard was icy but its a bit too scary in a tractor.

Anyhow is it just a 406 thing this iffy handbrake, or will it just sort itself out after a bit more tightening, it works fine for the civilised parking function that most handbrakes are designed for.

[gRoberts]

It's a mondeo... and 100kg heavier than my old 2.1 tubby.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/specs/Det ... eriv=24749
http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/specs/Det ... eriv=12040

lol I wasn't saying you weren't doing them safely or not, it was more, just why? You can go on a skid pan or buy the gear to hook your car up and then, you'd at least save a fair amount on repairs to your car lol

It appears the 406 is well known for having a shody handbrake. I had my 406 for about 3 years and everytime it was serviced, it would last about a month and then it'd be back to sitting on the break and using the clutch instead of the handbrake.

Even when it's at it's worse, it passes it's MOT every time.

[FarmerPug]

Ah right, i knew it was a ford, im just not a good connisseur of ford clocks, the only one i know really well is the transit which makes me look at ford favourably, am i correct in saying that the mondeo in question is a mk2 mondeo. (someone should take random pictures of car components to see if the car can be guessed correctly)

Its much cheaper to do them here on the farm, i used to rally the 205 round the fields all the time and every corner got the hanbrake, it never in 2 years lost its grip, nor did the old 305 van that replaced it, handbrake turns in it were eventful to say the least, sometimes not all 4 wheels were on the ground. It becomes quite addictive and now i havent had any old banger for a bit of rallying i just wanted to enjoy a small hanbrake turn on the gravel and there is this issue stopping me from doing it, whats causing this when all the handbrake components are new, i cant understand why grip gets lost.

[gRoberts]

MK3 ;) Close...

I love the clocks, unfortunately the 406's interior is one of the major reasons why I went to Ford.

Like having an ugly wife. Sure she might be a great person, but if you have to look at her everyday, you kind of get sick. The Peugeot was a smashing car, great on fuel but was boring as hell to look at sometimes.

I bought my Mondeo and despite all the things that have gone wrong within 5 mins of owning it, she looks amazing. Go figure lol

I've done a few mini handbrake turns on ice/snow but not on the road. I'm too nervous about the money it'd cost if I hit a curb, or worse someone else.

[FarmerPug]

MK3 is that the newest one that james bond rented out in casino royale? NICE.
I agree that the 406 interior in standard form isnt very good, but spec it right and its ok, the exec has cream leather with the ambient lights its got a certain je ne se quois, but the dash is a bit drab if its got the standard black plastic, so i painted the bits silver and it looks much nicer, so does the white dials, its not too bad for a design from the 90s:


Externally and looks of a car are quite a subjective thing but a good discussion point. I think the exterior looks of the 406 are superb, a subtle elegance to it i could sit all day and look at it, in fact if i took up painting it would be a good starting point.
The nissan juke is definatley ugly.
Back on the hanbrake issue, its essential in the ice/snow the amount of times the hanbrake in previous cars has got me out of diffs when sliding on the ice really makes it a useful tool.