2000 v70 parking brake cable replacement

[polskamafia mjl]

If the wheel still spins with the parking brake applied you need to adjust the parking brake shoes. Tightening at the parking brake handle isn't going to accomplish much and most of your adjustment should be done at the shoes themselves. Use the allen bolt on the handle for a little fine tuning only.

[famfeld]

OK. I guess they're not self-adjusting.

Thanks,

-Feld

[j-dawg]

There are two different adjustments you can make:
1. Cable tension
2. Brake spacing adjustment

Turning the Torx screw in the console is not the same as turning the star adjuster in the wheel. You can turn that adjuster in the brake all you want, but it does not affect tension in the cable.

I make the distinction to make clear that you have to get tension in the cables by turning that Torx screw. You can have the pads scraping on the rotor, but if there's low or no tension in the cable, pulling the handbrake won't do much.

I don't mean that you've got this wrong, just that using the Torx adjuster in the console is a necessary part of adjusting the parking brake. You can't do it all with the brake adjusters alone.

[famfeld]

Thank you j-dawg. I get the distinction.


I started with both sides not doing anything and both cables cracked and rusty. When I pulled the lever the cables would move, but produce little effect at the wheels.

So far I have:
-put in a new cable (right side)
-adjusted out the pads somewhat (right side, maybe about 5mm)
-tensioned the handle (in gets tight on two or three clicks)

Right now when I pull up tight on the parking brake, I get SOME resistance in the right wheel but not at all enough. I plan to do the cable on the other side, which is seized just like the one that I replaced and also adjust the pads out more.
I will get to the bottom of this eventually, but I am a little puzzled why the pads aren't contacting more on the side I replaced. Is there something going on with the piece that transmits the movement from the cable to the pads?

Maybe the adjustment (at the wheel) is really critical, because from looking at it, it seems to not move much, so maybe it needs to be really closely adjusted.

I think I'm in pretty good shape. Writing this post has actually helped me to mentally sort through what most likely is going on.

-Thanks for your and everybody else's help!

-Feld

-Feld

[scot850]

Adjustment at the wheel is the most critical. The balance lever at the brake lever has only so much compensating it can do as it has limited range. Replace the other side, then as stated before, adjust the rear brakes as the rear hub until the hub won't turn, then back off 3 clicks. THEN adjust at the lever end of the cable to get it tight at 3-4 clicks.

When you had the rear rotor off, did you check the condition of the inside of the drum for the parking brake? Check for rust on the braking face, clean all the brake dust out, and rub the braking surface of the drum with a piece of emery paper to lightly score the surface as they can become 'glazed' with lack of use or if the cable has been dragging. Did you replace the brake shoes? If not, give then a light rub also on the friction surface to take any glazing off.

Neil.

[scot850]

Forgot to add, Volvo used to have a 'Parking brake cleaning' process involving running the car for a short distance at a slow speed with the parking brake on to clean the drum/shoe surfaces. Check you hand book.

Neil.

[famfeld]

Thanks Neil,

I have new shoes and I will follow your advice for the inside of the rotors.

-Feld

[famfeld]

The saga continues:

Replaced both cables, shoes and rotors. Adjusted the stars until they are tight then backed off just a bit so that they are still contacting but not providing much resistance. Handle is adjusted to it gets tight on two to four clicks. It still won't hold the car. Both sides provide some resistance, but not enough. I think that possibly the lever piece where the cable attaches to is worn out or has gotten bent. In the past I sometimes would forget and leave the e-brake on for a short time and would hear a loud clunk, before putting it down. I never noticed that this correlated with the e-brake becoming non-operational, but I also didn't check.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help so far. I would like to get this taken care of before the winter.

-Fel

[DrJammer]

Forgive me, I thought the volvo's e-brake was more or less designed to hold the car on a hill, not come to a screeching halt.

If it provides resistance and you can pass a state safety inspection, I would count that as a win, no?

What type of new shoes did you use?

[cuhfs]

Brake Shoe Adjuster Expander link