Adjusting the handbrake

Guys, my handbrake needs adjusting as it only works if pulled right to it's max position, and on a steep incline it still rolls. Can this be adjusted at any recognised mechanics...or does it have to be done at a specialist? Cheers Taran :?:

Porsche handbrakes are notoriously loose. Mine took a couple of trips to the garage before it would hold the car in a stiff breeze. This is because the handbrake is independant of the main discs & calipers - like VWs its a spring loaded shoe affair - and certainly in my Tip it's not often used. You can either tighten the cable, roughen the contact pad on the shoe, or get a new one - I guess any mechanic could do it for you.

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Thanks guys. I'll give that a try. Also, I've noticed on one or two occasions that when i go to move the car in the morning it's almost as if the drums for the handbrake have binded to the hub overnight. Once the car has moved the there are no problems or noises after the inital graunch of the drum splitting from the hub. Common problem? Taran :?:

My Boxster used to suffer from something similar, but only after I'd washed it. I've since taken my cars for a quick drive after washing it and then park it in the garage with the handbrake off. I wonder if the wet weather is causing something similar to your car? My symptom was it would still feel like the handbrake was on and then would ping as it free'd itself as you drove off.

Cheers GD, I thought this may be the case actually. I washed the car on Sunday, took it for a quick sping to get rid of soap etc on the discs and then parked it in the garage overnight. Got the noise in the morning when pulling off. And then again, leaving the office last night after it had been raining all day. I've parked up just leaving the car in gear today, so will check it out. I thought it maybe to do with me having to yank the handbrake right up to get it to engage. Maybe it's a combo of the two. Taran :arrow:

The sticking is the pads sticking / rusting to the discs. It isn't the handbrake. As mentioned its much worse after washing it. You should then feel the rust on the discs when you drive off (graunching) . As you start braking hard you will wipe off the rust etc and they will be back to normal. Mine does this just leaving it outside in the rain for a week under a cover.....

Hmm, I thought this may orgianlly be the case Jeff, but as soon as it happend i got out the car and checked the discs, there was no sign of rust or bonding on the outer surface at all. This is why i take the car for a run after washing, get some heat in to the pads and get the soap/rust of the discs. Taran :?:

Might be a different issue then. I have heard comments about handbrakes sticking. Mine is definitely the discs as if it was the handbrake only I shouldn't feel it between the discs. I suppose it could be both. Dirty discs giving the graunching effect but actually the handbrake sticking giving the resistance / thud when you first move.

Yeh, mine feels more like the thud of the handbrake. I'll see if it occurs again tonight after work, and then again in the morning and let you guys know. Taran :?:

I get the same symptoms after washing - its nothing to worry about.

I think its the pads binding to the discs after being heated (or washed) isn't it? hence why after track time you should leave the car in gear whilst its cooling down rather than putting the handbrake on? (shouldn't you pump the brakes so they're not touching the discs in fact?) :? its slightly disconcerting applying the beans in the driveway and nothing happening followed by a lurch though :wink:

The recommendation is to take your car out for a quick spin after washing it as it clears the water out of the vented discs - this is one of the main reasons that discs corrode. As for adjustment I'm sorry to say that I don't agree with anyone else - adjusting the cables is rarely required. The situation is that the disc shoes need to be close enough to the drums so that you don't need to pull your handbrake up by so many notches, but not close enough that the brakes bind as you will get poor fuel consumption whilst the brake shoes wear down. The shoes are easy enough to adjust, like all things, if you know what you are doing. The design is very clever, the adjuster is reached with the rear wheels removed, and use a long flat bladed srewdriver through one of the wheel bolt holes. If you shine a bright torch through the holes you'll be able to see the adjuster. With the handbrake down adjust the adjuster untill the rear brake locks up - you'll need to adjust each rear wheel seperately. Then back of the adjuster about 5 clicks until the rear wheel frees up. Your handbrake should now have significantly less movement and the rear brakes should lock up nicely. If it doesn't your rear brake shoes, not pads, will need to be changed. Adjustment as above. If after adjusting the shoes you still have excessive movement of the handbrake then by all means adjust the cables - this however is unlikely unless your car's done over 150,000 miles. Any good mechanic can do this job - I did mine and I'm no mechanic.

The issue I described was definitely a "thud" when I first move the car, not the pad rusting to the disc, that's a different sensation and the noise comes from a different part. I've also had the pad rust to the disc and get the fear when I brake for the first time as it takes about a second for the rust to clear and the brakes to bite properly (and I live on a hill!!!). I am sure this is a wet/wash issue and leaving the handbrake off definitely fixed the problem for me and has ever since.

Ditto that...