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Nissan Almera handbrake

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  • 05-10-2012 9:38pm
    #1
    ronwan
    Registered Users Posts: 12 ✭


    Hi, does anybody know how to adjust and balance the handbrake on a 2002 Almera. My car failed the National Car Scam because of an imbalance on it.
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    #2
    Nissan doctor
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,223 ✭✭✭Nissan doctor


    ronwan wrote: »
    Hi, does anybody know how to adjust and balance the handbrake on a 2002 Almera. My car failed the National Car Scam because of an imbalance on it.


    If your car has a fault with the brakes, why is it a scam that its failed?


    Anyway, has your model got disks or drums on the rear?


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    #3
    colm_mcm
    Registered Users Posts: 73,392 ✭✭✭✭colm_mcm


    I didn't know almeras had discs in the back


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    #4
    ronwan
    Registered Users Posts: 12 ✭ronwan


    Nissan Doctor, it has drums. The NCT is a scam, the handbrake does it's job, as in holds the car in place, it's just imbalanced. I had a car years ago that failed because there was no Irish on the reg plate. Anyway, back to the point, Is there anyway of adjusting the cable from the handle? Thanks, (sorry about the rant, the car is otherwise mint)


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    #5
    Wheelnut
    Registered Users Posts: 977 ✭✭✭Wheelnut


    colm_mcm wrote: »
    I didn't know almeras had discs in the back

    My '05 Almera has discs on the back. :cool:

    Re: the OP's problem. What were the readings for the service brake? Was there any imbalance there? (I know that if there was it would obviously be less because the service brake seems to have passed). I suspect that the problem is in the drum.


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    #6
    ronwan
    Registered Users Posts: 12 ✭ronwan


    The service break was OK, anything above 30% is fail. The handbrake was around 70% imbalanced. I was hoping to be able to get at the cable from the lever. I'll check the readings tomorrow, don't have it with me. Bastard drums!


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    #7
    George Dalton
    Registered Users Posts: 5,728 ✭✭✭George Dalton


    Typical Irish response OP, you need to look at the big picture here.

    70% imbalance on the parking brake indicates that there is something pretty major wrong. Even though it is not affecting the service brake at the moment the chances are it will begin to do so before long.

    In my opinion you should be grateful to the NCT for flagging up this issue early before it gets any worse. Even apart from the safety considerations the fact is that sorting out the problem now will probably be easier and cheaper than waiting for it to develop further.


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    #8
    Nissan doctor
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,223 ✭✭✭Nissan doctor


    colm_mcm wrote: »
    I didn't know almeras had discs in the back

    The first N16's had, then they changed back to drums and then back to disks again in 04ish.
    ronwan wrote: »
    Nissan Doctor, it has drums. The NCT is a scam, the handbrake does it's job, as in holds the car in place, it's just imbalanced. I had a car years ago that failed because there was no Irish on the reg plate. Anyway, back to the point, Is there anyway of adjusting the cable from the handle? Thanks, (sorry about the rant, the car is otherwise mint)


    I agree with George, the good ol Irish 'sure its grand' attitude.
    You say the handbrake does its job of holding the car in place but lets consider first that an imbalance as high a 70% means that strain and wear on the handbrake cables is going to be excess leading to premature wear/failure and second, that while most peoples understanding of the handbrake is that its for holding the car while parked it is, in fact, actually a mechanical back up for the cars hydraulic brake system and only in Ireland/UK is it called a handbrake, most other English speaking countries correctly refer to it as an emergency brake.

    If the worst happened and you had to use the handbrake to stop the car then a 70% imbalance would suddenly become very dangerous.


    To answer your question though, an imbalance can't be adjusted from the handbrake lever, it has to be adjusted from the drums. This may not be possible though depending on how long the imbalance has been there as the cables likely need replacing.


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    #9
    ronwan
    Registered Users Posts: 12 ✭ronwan


    Cheers Nissan Doctor, I had a gander at them today after a look around youtube and others, I never knew there were different pads for the handbrake on the Almera, (or is that all cars?) one of them is worn fairly well, which explains why the service brake was fine. Live and learn eh? Off to the motor factors tomorrow.


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    #10
    Nissan doctor
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,223 ✭✭✭Nissan doctor


    ronwan wrote: »
    Cheers Nissan Doctor, I had a gander at them today after a look around youtube and others, I never knew there were different pads for the handbrake on the Almera, (or is that all cars?) one of them is worn fairly well, which explains why the service brake was fine. Live and learn eh? Off to the motor factors tomorrow.

    :confused:Your car uses either brake shoes if its has drums or brake pads if it has disks. There are no seperate pads/shoes for service brake or handbrake.


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    #11
    Wheelnut
    Registered Users Posts: 977 ✭✭✭Wheelnut


    ronwan wrote: »
    ... I never knew there were different pads for the handbrake on the Almera, (or is that all cars?) one of them is worn fairly well, which explains why the service brake was fine...

    Now you've lost me! There are just two "brake shoes" in a drum brake and both are operated by the service brake and the hand brake.

    If you have one excessively worn shoe and the others are OK then it's likely that you have a seized wheel cylinder or a seized lever in the operating mechanism.

    A few cars such as BMW and Mercedes have separate hand brake shoes but that's not relevant here.


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    #12
    ronwan
    Registered Users Posts: 12 ✭ronwan


    Now I'm confused. When I put in a search into a motor factors website, it gave options for handbrake shoes or service break shoes....


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    #13
    ronwan
    Registered Users Posts: 12 ✭ronwan


    http://www.micksgarage.com/braking-parts/handbrake-shoes/nissan/almera/


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    #14
    sheehan12
    Closed Accounts Posts: 156 ✭✭sheehan12


    ronwan wrote: »
    Now I'm confused. When I put in a search into a motor factors website, it gave options for handbrake shoes or service break shoes....
    keep away from the brake you don t know what you are doing for the safety of all road user :)


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    #15
    ronwan
    Registered Users Posts: 12 ✭ronwan


    I'm staying well away from it, just looking at it from across the yard. I also got a parachute installed in the boot.


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    #16
    sheehan12
    Closed Accounts Posts: 156 ✭✭sheehan12


    ronwan wrote: »
    I'm staying well away from it, just looking at it from across the yard. I also got a parachute installed in the boot.
    you should have two parachute installed just in case the first one failed;)


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    #17
    ronwan
    Registered Users Posts: 12 ✭ronwan


    I have exterior airbags on the front bumper too just to be sure.


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    #18
    sheehan12
    Closed Accounts Posts: 156 ✭✭sheehan12


    ronwan wrote: »
    Cheers Nissan Doctor, I had a gander at them today after a look around youtube and others, I never knew there were different pads for the handbrake on the Almera, (or is that all cars?) one of them is worn fairly well, which explains why the service brake was fine. Live and learn eh? Off to the motor factors tomorrow.
    ok back to the handbrake if you have drum they are 2 shoe in drum they should wear the same. but as you said one is wear more. so the handbrake cable must got stuck wear the shoe faster. so this what i done when a corolla fail on a handbrake imbalance of 55 and fail is 50 so i got new shoe and had a look at brake and could see that the handbrake cable was seized on so i took off the handbrake cable off and use some wd40 to get it to move put it all back together then adjust the shoe up to drum use a flat head screwdriver on the adjust then put the two back wheel off the ground used a torque wrench on wheel nut see if can move the wheel and it did not move . i then took it for the nct and pass with just a imbalance of 16


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    #19
    Nissan doctor
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,223 ✭✭✭Nissan doctor


    ronwan wrote: »
    Now I'm confused. When I put in a search into a motor factors website, it gave options for handbrake shoes or service break shoes....


    Don't know why its listed like that but your car only has one set of rear brake shoes.


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    #20
    HellFireClub
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,912 ✭✭✭HellFireClub


    If you have a low service brake imbalance on the rear axle and a high parking brake imbalance, then, subject to inspection, you can provisionally eliminate the possibility of a hydraulic leak, a badly worn shoe/pad, or a seized wheel cylinder/caliper on one side of the vehicle.

    If the imbalance is just on the parking brake but not on the service brake and you have shoes on the rear axle, then the problem is most probably either a stretched or a partially seized handbrake cable, because if you had a brake lining oil contamination problem or a lining problem, then this would cause a high imbalance on both systems (service & parking brake)...


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