Handbrake adjustment How to adjust the handbrake as it seems excessive

not 100% sure but think there is adjusting screw if you remove the rear ashtray

Check underneath the carriage (under the car). Follow the brake linkage to the hand brake lever. You will probably find a mechanism that you can adjust for the handbrake level.

no sweat just undo the big nut in the middle ,then when off wash out with a hose DO NOT BLOW WITH AIRLINE OR BRUSH then rub the lip down that forms on the end of the drum ,now i always use a nagle grinder here with one of them flexable type rubbing disks things and i dont know the correwct name for them ,then with no lip i then manually adjust the rear brakes on the auto adjuster ,make sure that before you do this that the handbrake arms are right the way back if out a bit then slacken off the cable ,after refitting and adjustment of the shoes if more than 3 clicks on the handbrake adjust the cabl ,what happens is that in the dealers where they employ young inexperianced young lads who are on bonus they just adjust the cable and charge the job sheet for a complete drum off job .When done properly the brake foot pedal will be hard with no excessive travel and the handbrake can be locked up`at 30mph ,its a ford remember and they always have good back brakes unlike these silly rear disks with the handbrake on the caliper .just like the old MKI 4 zodiac ,no handbrake turns on that car but a cortina ,now that was a right drifter or a really hairy drifter - a 3litre capri MK I.Sorry for nostalga showing my age here

If handbrake has excessive travel and the brake pedal is low then you havent set the rear brakes up properly ,if a drum then you clean the lip on the edge of the drum so it has a bevel then you manually adjust the auto adjuster till the drum just slides over then tap outer edge of drum wth a small hammer to level the shoes and then see if you can then adjust the auto adjuster up a bit more .Also when taking the drum off again make sure that the handbrake mechanism lever is right back ,Now if you adjust the brakes on the handbrake cable then it will be out of square and will not work on a brake roller tester ,and the footbrake will still feel spongey then you get a inspection failure for excessive pedal travel and low handbrake efficiency ,this model of car should be able to lock the rear brakes up at 30mph when jerking the handbrake up hard and it shouldnt have more than 3 clicks when done correctly

you dont its that simple ,if handbrake high and brake pedal low then the back drums need taking off and adjust the rear brakes manually by turning the little knurled wheel ,skim the outside of the drum with a small angle grinder to remove the lip and leave a bit of a bevel then adjust the the shoes till they catch when spinning the drum ,the cowboy way is to screw the adjuster up thats at the back of the handbrake behind the ashtray but if you do this vehicle will fail the yearly test for low handbrake readings and excessive pedal travel on the footbrake ,especially if it comes in front of me for its test

remove the back brake drums ,slacken handbrake cable then run a mini grinder around the lip on the edge of the drum .Then adjust the auto adjusters manully so when the drum is push on it just goes on ,tap with a hammer all around the drum to level the shoes and if need be adjust up a bit more ,then when finished re-adjust the cable so you have three notches on handbrake lever

You may need to get underneath and adjust the handbrake adjuster, but you could have done some damage to the transfer box/rear prop/diff as a result of your actions. Best to get it looked at by someone who knows what they're doing to assess any damage.

HANDBRAKE CABLE ADJUSTMENT

1. Raise the vehicle and release the handbrake.
2. De-adjust the handbrake cable.

• Remove the locking pin.
• Slacken the adjuster locknut.
• Slacken the adjuster until the levers on the callipers have returned to their stops.

3. Paint alignment lines on the lever and caliper
4. Tighten the adjuster until the caliper levers move from the alignment lines.
5. Apply the handbrake to equalise the cable.
6. Tighten the adjuster locknut to a minimum of three clicks and a maximum of six clicks.
7. Fit a new adjuster locking pin.
8. Lower the vehicle.

Check the rear brakes for excessive travel. Rear brake shoe adjustment is important to the park brake travel. Hope this helps.

there is only two real ways to tension your handbrake and one of them is just behind the acctual handbrake lever which is usually an ashtray or some kind of panel which will just remove and reveal a bolt with two secondary bolts comin out of other end. should only have to tighten the centre bolt though if the other two need tensioning you mite find there is excess on one side or the other. under the car also is a tensioning bar either side of the chasis.