After months of putting up with little to no handbrake and a rattling noise due to mechanics tightening my handbrake rather than fixing it I finally got told what is apparently wrong with it. It needs a new actuator. Does this sound right?

Symptoms are the lever coming through the dustcover on the inside of the wheel is really loose (side to side as well as in the direction it should be) compared to the other side and makes horrible rattling noises going over bumps. Also the handbrake after being tightened becomes completely flacid after a week. Am I better off trying to get a whole new handbrake shoe from a wreckers? I have read the AU IRS handbrakes are a pain in the a*** and I have a feeling new parts are going to bend me over without lube.

I need my handbrake working as going manual within the next few weeks.

Thanks Nick

Well that flapping of the lever in the backing plate sounds like it ain't adjusted right. It shouldn't be loose. Chances are the clip which holds the handbrake shoe onto the backing plate is loose causing the shoe to rattle around. This clip whilst been loose can cause the handbrake to not adjust up properly. An easy way to check this without taking the disc off is to push the caliper piston back slightly so it isn't touching the disc. I use a large flat blade screwdriver to lever the caliper back. Next turn the wheel backwards and forwards. If it turns easy one way and binds the other way, the clip is loose because the shoe is twisting.
To fix this, take the disc off, slide the handbrake shoe off the clip (You don't need to take the clip right out) and use a punuch or something similar and put a bit more preload on the clip. This will get ride of the rattle so you can adjust up the handbrake properly. Becaus if the clips are loose, the hand brake will never adjust up properly no matter how much adjusting you do.

The handbrake show shouldn't have any play. To adjust it, back off the handbrake "upstairs" at the hand brake lever. Adjust up the hand brake at the wheels until it locks up. Back it off about 4 or 5 clicks until it doesn't bind. Do this to both wheels and the then adjust the handbrake lever. Just make sure when you adjust the handbrake, the caliper piston isn't touching the disc otherwise you will get an inacurate adjustment.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, worth a shot before I fork out anything.

it cost me $150 recently to get a new handbrake shoe fitted.......old one was fair chewed up

Those falcon handbrake setups aren't really designed for handbrakies. Unless you wanna have to keep on repairing them. Their a real sh(t design.

That's not too bad, I was expecting worse.

Haha - not planning on doing handbrakies, I just want it functional for when it's manual Plus I hate the thought of spending money modifying my car when s**t needs repairing.

I just replaced both of my handbrake shoes on the BA (It has never worked since the day I got it)...

I got all my bits second hand out of a nice low kay BA, and the rear discs as well... As some nice person obviously just kept adjusting the cable chewing out the disc on mine.....

I did it myself and cost me $90 for everything I needed.....

if the inside of the disc is excessively worn you can spend all day adjusting it but it'll still be s**t. get new rear discs and handbrake shoes. also the little adjusters on those tend to seize up. but if yours has been adjusted alot lately they shouldn't be seized.

when you say they have been adjusting it have the been just tightening the little 10mm bolt on the cable or pulling the discs off and adjusting it at the shoes?

They adjusted it at the cable.....

I have the BA CD Manual... so did it properly.... adjusted the shoes, got them just right and then adjusted the cable, had to back it off heaps before I redid everything.......



was a heap of fun dismantling it all...... but it got there in the end

i was asking the OP. the cable should be backed of fully first

Thats correct back off the cable first....

Adjust the shoes, I adjusted them so I got 5mm (by hand) movement on the lever each side. Then I adjusted the cable.... no woosh woosh when the wheel turns and handbrake works perfect....
It takes a fair bit of time to get them right each side......

They have been adjusting the shoes.

It worked perfectly for a few days, then would rapidly get worse (proportional to rattling got worse). Only ever seemed to be on one side with the right hand side still working.

check the lever movement each side, specially on the left as you said right is working.... (make sure you have wheel chocks in place, handbrake off).. on the little levers there is a dimple that sits in the adjuster part and if its out no adjusting in the world will do anything.... Its the most stupidist system I have ever seen and possibly the reason they dont friggin work most of the time.....