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Re: Hand Brake Linkage

To: Dean Rayner <deanr@saville.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Hand Brake Linkage
From: Andrew Mace <amace@unix2.nysed.gov>
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 15:35:54 -0500 ()
On Wed, 15 Mar 2000, Dean Rayner wrote:

> My hand/parking/emergency brake is very inefficient.  It can hardly hold the
> car on a slope.  Now this doesn't worry me much, but the MOT tester would
> like to see a little more efficiency!
> 
> I have checked the brake cylinders at each side and they are free to slide
> on the back plates. The back plates are clean and the spring clips which
> hold the cylinders are almost new.  The adjusters are correctly set.
> 
> The MOT inspector said that the clevis pins on the quadrant arm were seized.
> How much of a job is it to get at this?  Am I correct in thinking that I
> will have to remove both the exhaust and the prop shaft?

I don't think so.

> Does the quadrant fasten to the top of the chassis? If so, how accessible is
> it?

If by quadrant arm you mean what Triumph calls the "relay lever," then you
should be able to get at it without too much difficulty. What often
happens is that the large, specialized bolt on which this pivots gets a
bit dry and corroded. As I recall (haven't done this in about four years
now), that bolt a: has a locking tab on the head that needs to be bent out
of the way temporarily; and b: threads into a "blind nut" on the
driveshaft tunnel stamping of the body.

Again, it can be gotten at without removing exhaust or driveshaft. With
the handbrake lever at "full off" remove the bolt, clean it up, lubricate
it with "Coppaslip" (sp?), or white lithium grease or whatever, and
reinstall it. While you're in there, try to get some grease as well on the
cable where it passes through this relay lever, and also grease up the
chassis guides and the ends that meet up with the levers on the wheel
cylinders.

That should do it!

--Andy

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Andrew Mace, President and                *
*   10/Herald/Vitesse (Sports 6) Consultant *
* Vintage Triumph Register <www.vtr.org>    *
* amace@unix2.nysed.gov                     *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *




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