Noisy Handbrake

[FGII-XR6]

replace the rear rotors. with the new drum the noise goes or it did in mine

[poolkeeper]

I have a solution for this!!


nar I dont lol, Im in the same boat as everyone else

[SirHenry]

I think the best solution is to replace handbrake with genuine Ford Wheel Chocks. I think they should come as standard with all falcons.

[waggaclint]

the solution is remove the rear rotors so you can access the h/brake shoes....remove shoes and put a shamfer all the way around the shoe and scuff up shoe with sandpaper....reinstall with good quality high temp grease on the back of were it contacts the backing plate and were it clips in....back adjuster off right of inside cab and reinstall rotor making sure it is ok (machine or replace if worn) adjust h/barake up at rear wheels (adjust until you cant turn rotor and then back/off two or three clicks....then readajust in cab lever should come up 6 clicks....all done...this is what ford do....

[T3rminator]

Is the Ford method a permanent fix, or will it eventually come back?

[Papa Smurf]

I was told by a mechanic at work that all you can really do is to make sure the handbrake is properly adjusted ?? and to also adjust the handbrake lever?? I can't argue against this as I haven't been able to get a hoist to raise it properly. I will soon cause I can't afford to have work do it... $100.00 a the least :O

[GK]

Originally Posted by waggaclint

the solution is remove the rear rotors so you can access the h/brake shoes....remove shoes and put a shamfer all the way around the shoe and scuff up shoe with sandpaper....reinstall with good quality high temp grease on the back of were it contacts the backing plate and were it clips in....back adjuster off right of inside cab and reinstall rotor making sure it is ok (machine or replace if worn) adjust h/barake up at rear wheels (adjust until you cant turn rotor and then back/off two or three clicks....then readajust in cab lever should come up 6 clicks....all done...this is what ford do....

A few blokes in the past have had the best success with this sort of method. One bloke (can't remember name) said that he jacked up the rear, took the rotors off, did the adjustment like you said, put the rotors back on and put the car in drive to actually test if they would rub with the rears spinning. Great if you have a hoist I reckon, but I wouldn't be confident in trying it.

The shamfer all the way round the edge of the shoe sounds like a good idea.

Maybe later in the holidays, I could give it a try with JC? LOL!

GK

[Mark One]

My handbrake was making a really loud squeal like noise. All I had to do was adjust it at the drum, and ta-da squeal free for me.

[waggaclint]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

Is the Ford method a permanent fix, or will it eventually come back?

it will eventually come back there is no permenant fix.....its a design fault magna,s are the same....but if your car is serviced correctly and the h/brake is adjusted properly you should have any problems...i did this fix to my car when i bought & have done 30odd thousand km without any noise.....they are basically just a drum brake so they need to be cleaned and adjusted every service really....its pretty easy to ( but i have access to a hoist)....

[iwannaford]

I just get in, turn on ac make sure windows up, music playing, then release handbrake and proceed to reverse. No squeal for me.

[mik]

i had this problem on mine i took the shoes off and ground a bit off the edges off lining and friction material and it has never squeeked again

[sly]

Originally Posted by au3xr6

replace the rear rotors. with the new drum the noise goes or it did in mine

This works sometimes. Camel Gas did this for me at around 200,000km and I had over 100,000km of squeak-free motoring. They were starting to squeak again just before I put new slotted BA rotors and BA calipers on... now they announce my presence 5 blocks away!

Both Kennedy Greentree in Singleton and Camel Gas reckon the drums go out of round causing the squeaking, surely a pair of DBA slotted rotors wouldn't come from the factory with ovoid drums????

When I had the rotors off I slackened off the cable at the handbrake lever and adjusted up the mechanism in the drum as I had no handbrake by then. I'll give Clint's fix a try sometime when I have to get under the back end.

[JC]

The issue with the brakes is common to all cars that run the same design - obviously AU and BA falcons, but also plenty of Magnas and commondores etc. Chamfering the edges can work (but not in all cases), and is worth a try as it's something you can do yourself.

[sly]

You'd think they'd have it sorted by now... I recall the VB Commodore's "top hat" disc/drum rear brake design was big news in 1978. Or is it to do with the brake linings being on a single band rather than 2 separate shoes like drum brakes used to have?

[FGII-XR6]

Originally Posted by sly

This works sometimes. Camel Gas did this for me at around 200,000km and I had over 100,000km of squeak-free motoring. They were starting to squeak again just before I put new slotted BA rotors and BA calipers on... now they announce my presence 5 blocks away!

Both Kennedy Greentree in Singleton and Camel Gas reckon the drums go out of round causing the squeaking, surely a pair of DBA slotted rotors wouldn't come from the factory with ovoid drums????

When I had the rotors off I slackened off the cable at the handbrake lever and adjusted up the mechanism in the drum as I had no handbrake by then. I'll give Clint's fix a try sometime when I have to get under the back end.

By 200k I'd say you would need to do the shoes at the same time

[waggaclint]

Originally Posted by sly

You'd think they'd have it sorted by now...

you'd think hey..just look at the shudder problems ford and holden have had over the last 10yrs and the new ones still do it....and i bet the new falcon will do it too....

[sly]

Originally Posted by au3xr6

By 200k I'd say you would need to do the shoes at the same time

Maybe that's why I had a good run out of the change at 200K, though not a lot of wear on the shoes I'd think, I only put the handbrake on after putting the stick in "P"... I've grown out of doing handbrake turns