car failed its mot on brakes

[ger040 3]

my car has failed its mot - nearside rear imbalance, parking brake insufficient.

 

this car has had a complete brake replacement - everything

 

last year it passed its mot but the inspector said the rear nearside is weak but this year the inspector put it down as a major defect

 

i changed the rear calipers to mk3 vr6 although used had seen very little use as the caliper paint was still intact

 

initially i thought i had fitted the wrong hand brake cables - mk2 golf but today i checked and they are correct - pagid 1603mm

 

checked the handbrake cables and the nearside i can adjust right up to its max and with a bit of force i can still turn the rear

nearside wheel with the handbrake on

 

do i still have air in this brake line? although i took my time doing this using the 2 man method

 

faulty caliper?

 

 

thanks

[seanl82 23]

Possibly caliper but also likely the rear bias valve. If you handbrake cable is at the max adjustment, probably worth replacing both of those too. Remember when bleeding the rear, you need to ensure the bias valve is open so either weight on the wheels, or cable tie it open whilst bleeding.

[Dox 23]

So it passed on the foot brake, failed on the handbrake?

 

I had the above and removed the disks and used a flap disc in an angle grinder to roughen the surface, then adjusted the cables to give similar drag on both sides on 2 or 3 clicks (4/5 locked them solid after).

 

Mine has OE callipers and had replacement disks and pads 2-3K prior to the fail

[ger040 3]

Possibly caliper but also likely the rear bias valve. If you handbrake cable is at the max adjustment, probably worth replacing both of those too. Remember when bleeding the rear, you need to ensure the bias valve is open so either weight on the wheels, or cable tie it open whilst bleeding.

 

Hello thanks for the reply, it has a new bias valve installed and i did have it open while bleeding the system, The brakes were spongy but after a few hours driving they firmed up - i will order a new caliper and try it

[ger040 3]

So it passed on the foot brake, failed on the handbrake?

 

I had the above and removed the disks and used a flap disc in an angle grinder to roughen the surface, then adjusted the cables to give similar drag on both sides on 2 or 3 clicks (4/5 locked them solid after).

 

Mine has OE callipers and had replacement disks and pads 2-3K prior to the fail

 

Fail sheet says brake system, foot brake left/right differential high , rear

brake system, parking brake effort low rear

brake system, parking brake defective nearside rear

 

As above i will replace the caliper and see what happens

[carrots 1]

did you know there are 3 different lengths of handbrake cable fitted to corrados.i had problems last year with mine

[fla 9]

Sorry to digress here but is there any way to adjust the lengths of the handbrake cables? One appears to be longer than the other in my car, underneath the handbrake.

[ger040 3]

right i got back to this this evening - fitted the new caliper to the nearside

 

Fed the hand brake cables through and now they are different lengths once entering the hand brake tunnel (10mm difference)

off side longer (previously it was the nearside)

 

now as i fitted the large chamfered nuts to the cables the the rear wheels are locked - i cant even fit the secondary lock nut

 

What the hell am i doing wrong

[Wullie 1]

Apologies if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs, but have you wound the pistons in the calipers fully back?

[ger040 3]

Apologies if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs, but have you wound the pistons in the calipers fully back?

 

yes my friend fully wound back!!

 

I have just ordered a new caliper to match the new one just fitted to the near side and i have ordered two new hand brake cables to the length as stated in etka 1615mm