[Greeny]

Hi Guys,
I have just fitted new discs(rotors) and pads allround on my 1999 9-3se getting ready for the mot and then a driving holiday. I also fitted new handbrake shoes while everything was off.WHAT A PERFORMANCE fitting the shoe retaining springs. As a trucker my hands are like shovels and I had trouble holding/pushing/twisting/seating/seeing all at the same time.Is there a specialist tool for this job or has anyone any tips for the future? Its just as well I have a lot of patience otherwise I could see something being launched over the house.Thanx.
Greeny

 

[Slaab4life]

Its just as well I have a lot of patience otherwise I could see something being launched over the house.

Ha, I count myself among those who would be launching stuff, probably not over the house, but come up with some sort of catapult and take it down to the water and launch it half way to Nantucket before I could get them fit. I'm going to watch this thread, because at some point I'd like to replace mine.

How much of the braking material was left? Quite frankly I can't see these being worn down too much over time due to the fact that they are a static item, since you engage the handbrake after you stop, and the only forces acting on it is the weight of the car. Maybe thats why the shoes aren't that thick to begin with.
I did my rear rotors last fall, and since then I've been annoyed with a maladjusted handbreak. I just can't seem to adjust it quite right.

 

[Greeny]

They were only about 50% worn but I wanted to renew evertyhing while it was all stripped.Before I had one side holding on about the 7th click, but now both sides lock on the 4th click.

 

[Slaab4life]

I don't know if you are interested in getting it back to a later click, but their is a cable adjustment bolt/setup under the car. If you have the car up on ramps you can see cable come from the rear end, go over the fuel tank, and the it follows along the exhaust system (up above the heat shielding). The cable adjuster is located right around the middle of the car (maybe a little towards the back), partially hidden by a heat shield, just need to undo a couple of heat shield nuts and you have full access to it.

 

[PMI]

The shoes wear. Seems that the mechanism does not fully release, either because of a problem with the cable or the expander, not sure yet. I actually posted here that they don't wear. Well... I have one side completely worn out, one with moderate wear.

Using the adjuster in the wheel or the nuts on the equalizer bracket seems to fix the problem, but it can actually make it worse. It did on my car. The nuts should probably not be touched except to make the tension on the two cables even.

What seems to happen is that you adjust the brake to SET on one of the middle clicks, but it reduces the slack even more, so it does not fully RELEASE when the lever is down. The pads wear because they do not go back far enough. In a year you have to do it over again because the material wore off.

One side on my car is completely shot. The brake shoe came apart in my hands, the friction material detached from the shoe. The expander is stuck or rusted, and has to be cleaned or replaced. New shoes, goes w/o saying (about 1 mm left on the shoe that did not come apart). New cable, probably.

I am taking my car over to someone who actually understands the design of this mess to see if I can figure out what exactly happened, and not just throw parts at it. My hands are not exactly huge, but I am not looking to do this twice, either.

See related thread:

http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50053