Help!

September 15, 2004

it's failed today, because the handbrake is only working on one wheel (only thing it failed on).

ive tried just tightening it, but it only seems to have one adjustment point at the lever (which incidentaly adjusts both sides at once). with this tightened a lot, the wheel has a light brake applied to it, but it leaves the other one slightly on, even when the handbrake is off. so obviously, its not just a question of adjustment (or is it - did i miss something?)

this points to the caliper (really common fault on AE82s). if this is the case, does anyone know how much it's gonna be for either a new one, an exchange one, or to get the one on it refurbed?? or are there any other ways round the problem? i need to try to get it done before next wed, otherwise i need to pay for a re-test as well.

help!! :crybaby: :help:

September 16, 2004

you may find your cable has been stretched over the years, a new cable will solve that, but first you can remove the caliper and strip it down and just give it a general clean up, use some copper grease on the moving parts and bung it all back together, this will cost you nothing and my just solve the problem, but my money is on the cable.

get some one to help you, then jack the rear end up in the center of the crossmember and spin one of the rear wheels with a decent amount of force and get your friend to pull the handbrake up (sensibly - not yank the hell out of it) and see how quickly the wheel stops. The compare that to the other side that isnt working so well, if this wheel slurrs to a stop then you may be able to adjust the cable up enough. Only adjust the side thats faulty, until it stops in a similar fashion to the good side, then adjust it up (screw the cable out) another 2 turns if you can.

dont make the mistake of turning the cable end by the screwdriver slot !, thats only to hold the cable still whilst you wind the nut down.

If the peice that holds the cable ends on the lever is getting really unbalanced (wonky) its time to look at a new cable.

September 16, 2004

I'm glad someone else has admitted they have problems with their rear calipers!

Rear calipers is a big problem with AE 82 GT's and AE 92 GTi's (Not to sure about AE 86 or Mk1 MR2). Along with the other 'big problem'...that of rusting sunroofs, but that as we all know is another story.

Also it is not a problem associated with 'old age' of a vehicle for I had a 'sticking' caliper when my AE 92 GTi was 4 years old.

Main requirement is to externaly clean the caliper every 6 months and make sure it 'slides' freely(if necessary remove pads and clean all surfaces).

Other prolems can be that one of the handbrake cables is slightly seized; a sticking caliper (especially if has been stuck for a long time) will help seize up a handbrake cable.

Also what condition are your rear brake discs in? heavy corrosion around the edges (inside and out) can cause 'binding' against the pad and thus effeciancy of brake is down. Pads that are worn below half of material dont help bacause there isn't enough material to 'grab' the disk when handbrake mechanism is applied.

I read you tried adjusting at the handbrake end? ...this does very little good at all as it only adjusts movement/number of 'clicks' of handbrake lever.

Exchange calipers are available at most motorfactors for a few years ago used to be about £90 each (i think...). But by now should be lower in price, would be interested to know for myself.

September 16, 2004

im thinking its the cable myself now. when i had it jacked up last night, the handbrake didn't work at all on that wheel, unless i adjusted the lever so it was stupidly tight, and even then i could still turn it. but, the footbrake worked fine, so surely if it was the caliper, there'd be a problem with the footbrake as well.

also, i had a look underneath, and the way it looks to work (to me) is that the handbrake lever pulls on a cable attatched to a bar. from this bar are a cable at each end ehich operates the handbrake on each wheel. when the handbrake is applied, the bar "twists" in the favour of the wheel that's working, so its not pulling as tight on the other wheel. so im presuming its this cable that's gonna need replacing.

the discs and pads are only 3 months old, so are fine. i looked into the cost of replacement calipers last night, and found i can get a new one for £129. fensport only seem to list refurbed ones for the mk1 mr2 (im presuming the caliper is the same?). this cost £95 with £65 refundable if you send them your old caliper.

September 17, 2004

Don't forget AE101 (Levin), AE102 (GXi), and AE111 (G6R) rear brakes... they use the same calipers, just larger discs (266 mm instead of 242 on AE92/AE82, I believe). I did the rear disc conversion on my '93 AE102 saloon, and immediately had problems with a seized caliper on one side. I purchased a pair of replacement calipers for US$160, one of which started leaking about 4 months later, and the pair was replaced under the lifetime warranty of the parts (stupid on their part, great for me!). Since I did the conversion, one side of the parking brake has never worked. I've tried a lot of things, and nothing has worked... never thought to replace the parking brake cables! I'll have to give that a try. Of course, I still need to get the right proportioning valve... My car's brakes were poorly proportioned from the beginning, now, they're that much worse. Still seems to stop better though.