Rear caliper handbrake lever not returning to stop bar

[TdiBlacky140]

I noticed about a year ago that the handbrake lever on my rear passenger caliper wasn't returning fully to it's stop position. I could push it back by hand, I freed it up with some wd40 and a vice grips. Also, sometimes when the handbrake in the cabin was pulled up the car wouldn't hold as it should, I'm assuming the issue was this same passenger side. However, this only happened sometimes and for the last few months hasn't been an issue. Whilst servicing the car (Golf Mk5) the weekend I noticed once again the lever wasn't back to its fully stop position and also the pads were extremely worn, both inner + outer, couldn't see any pad material when caliper was fitted. The pads on this passenger side are completely gone after 30k miles exactly. Something is sticking somewhere.

So I fitted a new recon caliper and pads on the passenger side yesterday evening, (will fit new caliper + pads on the drivers side tomorrow evening) and when finished I noticed the lever on the new caliper still isn't returning to the fully stop position? What can cause this, handbrake cable? It seems in good condition at the caliper end at least.

My procedure to fit the pads and new caliper was I disconnected the handbrake cable at the caliper, fitted new pads, I wound the caliper piston out a bit to make it a tight fit over the pads, I then pumped the brake pedal with handbrake still disconnected, then reconnected handbrake cable and pulled handbrake lever up / down a few times in the cabin. Bled caliper, brought for spin and re-checked the lever and it was still sitting about 2/3mm away from the stop position.

Any ideas?

[Crasher]

Which make of caliper did you fit?

[TdiBlacky140]

I got ShaftTec recon, looked like an identical one to my original, I think TRW was stamped on the new and the old. I've had good experience with ShaftTec calipers before, have *2 on the front.

[willdudeuk]

I thought there was supposed to be some clearance between the "stop bar" and the handbrake lever.....workshop manual states maximum 1.5mm gap....guess it can be 0mm....

Handbrake Adjustment.JPG

[TdiBlacky140]

@willdudeuk - So it appears my new set-up is normal then. I'm taking it that it the gap can be anywhere between 0 - 1.5mm.
My old caliper lever was seizing, freed it up couple times so hopefully it seized again and caused sticking to wear the pads; and it looks like my new caliper is bahaving correctly. I just always thought the lever should return completely to the stop bar position like my previous cars.

Just goes to show you can't take anything for granted when working on cars nowadays, nothing is the same across the board, have to be constantly checking procedures and data for every little thing. The joys :P

Ps: Thanks very much for the data / pic. Fair play.

[willdudeuk]

No problem @TdiBlacky140 glad to be of help.....

I am struggling with my rear brakes at the moment....the handbrake isn't working like it used to....not securing the vehicle without pulling up beyond a few clicks.....

Thought it might be stretched handbrake cables or perhaps the rear pads haven't bedded in yet....or maybe I need to bleed brakes....or didn't follow the correct procedure....(I know you can wind the nut up under the centre console for adjustment of the

handbrake - workshop manual shows all of this....its actually where i got the above picture from....)


My rear calipers are also remanufactured ones from ECP....(think they have TRW stamped on them...can't remember now)....

Got some more genuine OEM cables so just need to fit them....but already spotted a problem....the ones on the car appear to have a different diameter sleeve....don't think the cable is thicker just the outer casing it is in...... appears the metal hangers

that hold them and guide them are different sizes to accommodate for the different diameters....ETKA shows none of this....just same part numbers..... The new cables are same diameter......maybe I can remove sleeve on originals and slide on?


Anyways should stop hijacking your thread now......lol

[TdiBlacky140]

@willdudeuk - feel free to hijack, it's all relevant.

If you fitted new calipers and the handbrake is still not holding properly, it's probably the cables. I can't help with the different diameter cable issue / sleeves, personally I'd return them for the ones you don't have to mess with.

When you pull the handbrake lever in the cabin up, do the caliper levers both move away from the stop position? Do they both move the same distance? Do both wheels lock at the same no. of clicks? When you release the handbrake lever do the caliper levers return to their rest position of between the 0-1.5mm?
If you disconnect the cables at the calipers and pull the handbrake up and down in the cabin, do the cables move back at the calipers?


Check all these things to determine if its the cables or the calipers?

To fit the pads / caliper handbrake feature correctly, with the handbrake cables disconnected at the calipers, you need to wind the piston in the new caliper out so that the caliper is a tight fit over the pads when assembling. Then get in the car and pump the pedal by foot a few times until it's hard and then get out and connect the handbrake cables to the calipers and only then pull the handbrake up / down in the cabin a few times. Did you fit them this way?

if you connected the handbrake cables to the calipers before pumping the foot pedal, or if you pulled the handbrake lever in the cabin before operating the brake pedal then the handbrake feature of the caliper won't be correct. Also, if you fit the pads and don't bring the piston out to meet them so the caliper is a tight fit over them and instead fit them with a gap between the pads and piston and instead pump the pedal to close the gap, this will also not be correct and the caliper handbrake lever won't be set right.

You could also check the adjustment at the handbrake lever itself which you speak of above but I'd make sure the procedure I describe was followed first.
If the procedure above is how you fitted them and the above checks check out ok, then I'd look at the adjustment at the handbrake in the cabin.

The handbrake won't have anything to do with bleeding, as long as you did bleed them and the pedal feels right, yeah, not sinking.

[willdudeuk]

@TdiBlacky140 great write up!! I do remember following the workshop manual procedure for this but I think I didn’t wind the piston out far enough like you mention...think I left gap and then pumped the brake pedal to close it up.

Doesn’t refer to any of this in the workshop manual???

You must of had plenty of experience doing this to know all of this.

I shall take a look and make sure to wind the rear calipers out to give a close fit and no gap.

Appreciate your help.

[TdiBlacky140]

I have a bit of experience doing brakes all right, but I've learned the hard way regarding making sure the pads/caliper is a tight fit before fitting to keep the integrated handbrake auto adjustment feature happy. The first cars I had were Honda's and the rear pads had a raised dimple and the piston had a cross in it, you had to wind the piston out so that the dimple sat in the centre of the pistons cross. This automatically meant the pads were a tight fit by default. Then, few years later, I was working on a Vw that didn't have this raised dimple so I assumed I didn't have to wind them out and I didn't realise that making them a tight fit by winding out the piston to meet the pads wasn't the same thing as leaving a gap and just pumping the pedal to close the gap. Afterwards, my handbrake was incorrect and then I found out about having them a tight fit at the start was key.

So, I always wind them out ever since.

The Shaftec instructions that came with my calipers state to wind the piston back out a half turn from fully in. They came fully in, if I fitted them like that there would of been a very big gap, I just wound them out til they were a snug fit from experience, (by coincidence this probably was about a 1/2 turn) I didn't actually read the instructions until after I fitted them, and seen that my handbrake lever wasn't sitting fully at the stopper bar. haha. :P I guess I should really start reading the instructions to stuff before starting as then I would have also seen the 0-1.5mm illustration that you posted up Lol.

[Crasher]

Genuine new and TRW new or exchange calipers come preset to match the gap of new pads and discs, if being fitted to old pads/discs you need to wind the pistons out to give a 1mm gap between piston and pad