car failed its mot on brakes

[ger040 3]

Sorry i have to start this again as i cant get back into my last post

 

I have got a new mot date for a retest on Saturday so have to get this sorted

 

i ordered new rear calipers and new handbrake cables (correct length 1015mm as stated on etka)

 

So this evening i got them all fitted bled etc but still a problem exists and i am afraid it will fail its mot again

the handbrake cables are still at slightly different lengths upon entering the handbrake tunnel - not as bad as previous

Adjusting the cables makes the problem worse the nearside requires more - about 6mm difference with the adjustment

and lock nuts fitted - surely these should pull up square?

At one click of the handbrake lever the handbrake begins to bite but there is a difference on the rear wheels i can rotate them with a bit

of force and the nearside wheel has less resistance easier to turn!

 

am i reading to much in to this and once this is on the rollers with the handbrake fully engaged all should be fine?

[fendervg 33]

I can't say much about the cable length - common sense would say that they should be the same length - unless one of the stub axles, calliper bracket/hub were damaged or out of alignment, or the rear beam itself was aligned incorrectly off to one side - but I'm not even sure how any of that is possible.

 

I'd say once the brake lever is fully up and engaged, both wheels should lock and it should pass. Over here in Ireland the NCT tolerance allowed for handbrake imbalance is much more generous than for the foot brake.

[ger040 3]

interesting thoughts Fendervg!

[James. 9]

Check the mounting/welding where the hand brake lever is mounted to the centre tunnel is in good shape. After years of being wrenched at their max, I’ve seen them become detatched before today.

[Simeon 0]

Doesn't matter if they don't pull up square, that's why the linkage bar is there, just adjust till there's even tightness on the wheels at 3 notches.

[vw rule 19]

I've looked on both websites VW Classic Parts and also VW Heritage, both say handbrake cable length 1613mm

 

Pattern cables vary in length from 1605mm, 1613mm, 1616mm, 1620mm, 1624mm and 1640mm for the Corrado, which is why I've never bought cheap pattern parts for my Corrado as they don't always fit correctly.

 

I was under the impression that the Corrado handbrake cable is the same length both sides, and for all variations ?

 

The early Corrado's were based on the A2 platform including front and rear brakes 1989 to roughly 1992

 

The slightly later Corrado's including the VR6 had possibly a slight change to the rear brakes more like the MK3 Golf rears 1993 to 1995

 

Like I say I thought all Corrado's had the same handbrake cable length 1613mm.

It's possible the early MK1 Corrado's may have had a very very slight difference in cable length compared to the later MK2 Corrado's, but I've never seen it myself.

 

ger040 are you sure you've typed the correct cable length of 1015mm and not 1615mm ??

 

Si

[vw rule 19]

I'd definitely check the welding as James has mentioned, also Simeon is correct that you won't get much of a bit from the handbrake with just one click, plus the biting point isn't always even on 1 click,

3 to 4 clicks is normally good standard operation for the handbrake with rear disks, and it's 2 to 4 clicks when the handbrake is really biting tight.

If your getting 5 to 7 clicks before the handbrake bits, then the cables are too slack or the brake calipers are not set up correctly.

 

Some people think you can just pump the brake pedal to pump out the caliper pistons on rear brakes, actually this works but not always, sometimes you have to use the piston winding tool, to wind the piston out so it's close to the brake pads, then you can adjust the handbrake cable.

It's rare but sometimes if you don't wind the piston out evenly on both rear brake calipers it can give problems when adjusting the handbrake.

 

Also double check that the cables are located correctly

where they pass through brackets and tubes.

 

Si

Edited August 8, 2019 by vw rule

[fendervg 33]

All Corrados use the A2 platform as a base, so the chassis dimensions didn't change over the length of the model run. The main difference was that the VR6 ran 5-stud wide-track "Plus" suspension, so the geometry there is different - maybe the rear callipers sit a few mm further out due to the wider rear beam? Hence there might be two lengths of cable - one for G60, 16v and 8V, exactly the same as the Mk2 Golf, and one slightly longer one for the wide track VR.

 

But the rear calliper and handbrake set-up would have been standard across all A2 platform cars and many other VWs of that vintage. ETKA lists 2 different part numbers and a chassis number break, but they are both shown as being the same length at 1613mm, so it's probably just a super-cession to a later revision part - the base part# is the same.

[Dox 23]

ReAr axles are the same, only the front went wide track, rear arches are the same as early and late.

 

Set the brakes with the handbrake disconnected using the pedal, short strokes are the best way for this not pedal to be floor - keep the master cylinder in its normal range of movement.

 

Then attach the cables making sure the brake levers on the callipers return to there stops. Adjust the handbrake so the brakes bind on two clicks, this should then hold firm on 4-5 clicks

[nelik 10]

To my knowlage there is two different cables.

All G60 and early Corrado models, my guess is before facelift, have shorter cables 1604mm.

And later Corrados have 1613mm.

I think there is a misstype in etka, would not be the first time.

 

1H0609721A short

1H0609721E long

 

Google the OEM part numbers and you'll see the lengths.

And you can adjust the cable a few mm at the caliper where the spring sits if needed but be careful it's easy to brake it and it could snap off. Would go for calipers from Golf MK4 instead as the original seems to lock up sometimes.

[fendervg 33]

Yes, I have Mk4 rear callipers with Corrado 1613mm OE length handbrake cable on mine for years. I think the advantage is that the later callipers don't seize and corrode as much and the handbrake mechanism is less liable to sticking, which was common problem on many '80s VWs.

[robrado974 1]

Another vote for MK4 callipers. I bought my cables from VW Heritage.

[TomB 0]

I just had this problem on my G60 when I replaced the cable as a ‘nice to do item’ when I did the rear callipers. One of the cables was too long (and my mounting was torn as well).

I got round the problem by using spacers (as I didn’t have much time left before my retest). I can confirm though that if you’re only just getting the rear wheels to bind towards the top of the reach, it will fail. My helpful MOT centre confirmed this....

[ger040 3]

Well this evening i removed the calipers adjusted the pistons just enough to pass over

the pads refitted the handbrake cables and no difference at all

 

The hand brake tunnel is perfect (where the tubes meet the welded upstand)

i cant see where the tubes pass through the floor with the rubber bungs due to the carpet

but i cant see this having any affect anyway as its not under stress

 

i will just see what happens on saturday

i will get everything back together tomorrow evening

[Keyo 47]

Best of luck with this Geri good on you for your patience .

 

I was wondering chap do you have a ECU rain scuttle trim for a mk2 golf chap in good nick for sale ? Also after a passenger side speaker parcel shelf fully intact in black .

 

Anything you need for your Rado ?

 

Cheers .

[dr_mat 0]

There pathetic rear brakes on all old VW's will barely meet MOT requirements at the best of times, so don't worry if you can essentially just drive the car along without noticing the handbrake being on. You will however be aware that the handbrake is on if the wheels are off the floor and you should not be able to turn them by hand. This will be after pulling the hand brake up hard, obvs, I wouldn't expect a single click to do diddly squat.

[ger040 3]

well it passed errr just

 

after several attempts on the rollers it showed an imbalance of 34%

inspector said it should be 30% max

 

he noticed it had new discs, calipers and pads and with a wink and a nod

he said there not bedded in yet! - decent mot inspector !!

 

After a quick chat he believed there may still be air stuck in the brake line

He loves hot hatches of the pug type

 

i will give the bleeding another go sometime shortly