Den Posted December 14, 2022 Share Posted December 14, 2022 Taking motorhome for its first Mot on Wednesday masked the garage to adjust the hand break first, but due to work can’t. many idea how it’s done. den Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted December 14, 2022 Share Posted December 14, 2022 There's a specific method for adjusting the handbrake on the Ducato. It is relevant to all versions, including the Alko chassis. The PDF on the fourth post in here (It's X250, but still valid) gives details: https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/fiat-ducato-hand-brake.19653 (The Ducato handbrake is notoriously poor, and generally worse on the Alko chassis, but I can vouch for the improvement possible if this method is followed). Whilst I haven't tried it myself, it is supposed to be possible to carry out the shoe adjustment by removing one wheel bolt (not the wheel) and working through the resulting hole. Adjusting the knurled adjuster is fiddly even with the wheel off, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted December 14, 2022 Share Posted December 14, 2022 ...and, just a hint. Even well-adjusted the effect of the handbrake can still be marginal at MOT. It needs to demonstrate a braking effect that is a %ge of the vehicle weight. For motorhomes, for which reference data is generally not available, that weight will be "as presented". Having your 'van tested as light as possible will increase the measured handbrake efficiency, and improve the chances of it being acceptable. (Basically, offload whatever you can before the test 😉 ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted December 14, 2022 Share Posted December 14, 2022 Put the MOT off till they can adjust the Handbrake before the test. If You need to ask how to do it Doing the adjustment yourself can be tricky cables often need a bit of slack taking up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted December 15, 2022 Share Posted December 15, 2022 19 hours ago, Robinhood said: There's a specific method for adjusting the handbrake on the Ducato. It is relevant to all versions, including the Alko chassis. The PDF on the fourth post in here (It's X250, but still valid) gives details: https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/fiat-ducato-hand-brake.19653 (The Ducato handbrake is notoriously poor, and generally worse on the Alko chassis, but I can vouch for the improvement possible if this method is followed). Whilst I haven't tried it myself, it is supposed to be possible to carry out the shoe adjustment by removing one wheel bolt (not the wheel) and working through the resulting hole. Adjusting the knurled adjuster is fiddly even with the wheel off, however. That is not correct Above. The Alko hand brake cable and adjustment is apart from the ducato part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted December 15, 2022 Share Posted December 15, 2022 Whilst the handbrake cable is likely to be a non-Fiat part (due to chassis geometyry), the remainder of the parts involved are as per a standard Fiat base (though the position of the levers/linkages are dependent on the Alko geometery). The instructions for, and order of, adjustment are the same for all standard Fiat versions, and (mutatis mutandis) apply also to those with an Alko chassis. Key to proper setup is to adjust the shoe clearance at the wheels first, not just the cable/linkage tension). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted December 15, 2022 Share Posted December 15, 2022 15 minutes ago, Robinhood said: Whilst the handbrake cable is likely to be a non-Fiat part (due to chassis geometyry), the remainder of the parts involved are as per a standard Fiat base (though the position of the levers/linkages are dependent on the Alko geometery). The instructions for, and order of, adjustment are the same for all standard Fiat versions, and (mutatis mutandis) apply also to those with an Alko chassis. Key to proper setup is to adjust the shoe clearance at the wheels first, not just the cable/linkage tension). And that is different. The wheel, brakes are fiat. And axle not fiat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Den Posted December 15, 2022 Author Share Posted December 15, 2022 Thank you for your replies. mum sure Saturday morning I’ll find out how straight forward it is. being, hopefully std Fiat hubs etc it should be straight forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted December 15, 2022 Share Posted December 15, 2022 20 minutes ago, Den said: Thank you for your replies. mum sure Saturday morning I’ll find out how straight forward it is. being, hopefully std Fiat hubs etc it should be straight forward. Only snag is if it fails You get stuck with retest fee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Den Posted December 15, 2022 Author Share Posted December 15, 2022 Garage offer a free retest. I’ve built 2 kit cars in the past, although I’m certainly no mechanic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted December 16, 2022 Share Posted December 16, 2022 It's a relatively simple DIY job for a competent and confident amateur mechanic with the appropriate tools. You'll have to make your own call on that 😉. I wouldn't attempt it without axle stands, for instance. The adjustment of the shoe clearances at the hub using the knurled adjuster is fiddly, though, as it is done mainly by feel (you can't see much, if anything, through the hole you're working in). At the first MOT on my 'van, the handbrake performance wasn't much above the required pass value (and subjectively was poor, as have been most of my Ducatos). Carefully following the instruction in the PDF I posted, I adjusted prior to this year's MOT. Subjectively, there was a significant improvement in performance. The braking force measured this time (in kgf) was nearly double that at the previous MOT. Same MOT station, same tester, same "rolling road". Whilst one might expect variance in testing conditions to give some differences, patently at that order of magnitude, the improvement was not just subjective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve928 Posted December 16, 2022 Share Posted December 16, 2022 It's also worth 'cleaning' the handbrake surfaces by gently engaging the handbrake while driving - on the way to the MOT if needs be - as the shoes and drum get no use while underway. You can feel the increase in efficiency as the braking surfaces come clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Den Posted December 21, 2022 Author Share Posted December 21, 2022 Quick update used independent ramps, garage new toy. checked hubs all fine and adjusters working nicely. Adjusted the cable, tested the breaks a rolling road ( not at an MOT station, just one suited more for coaches ) mall woked and tested perfectly. MOT’d today with no advisory’s thank you for the advice den Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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