My parking does not work, this has been going on for a while. My mechanic this past weekend replaced both rear calipers and pads but the parking brake still does not work. He said it might be the cable but as far as he can determine there is no adjustment to take up on the brake. Can anybody help us I looked through the treads and couldn't find any threads on parking brakes. Thanks a bunch.

 

In orderr to adjust the emergency brake you will need to pull the handle and release it about 15 to 20 times before you will begin to feel a response. The adjustment is in the caliper/piston assembly.
With new calipers the adjusters should be free and you shouldn't have a problem getting them adjusted.

 

But there is an adjustment bar to take up the slack also...
I know as mine is rusted up!

 

So by pulling the parking brake handle 15 or 20 times will take up the parking brake. Iownme mentioned an adjustment bar on the caliper that takes up the slack, where is that located. I hate to say it I am confused as to which one or both methods are needed to be done.

 

The park brake mechanism is located on the back of each caliper. You have to ratchet out to caliper piston until it will set. That is the actual park brake. In old calipers the mechanism gets corroded and sticks, that should not be a problem with new calipers. The slack adjustment is not for cable length it is to balance the cable so that calipers engage equally with the balance bar.
Since you had new calipers installed the pistons and emergency brake mechanism are not yet set. Try the handle method before exploring the cable.

 

To see how the adjustment works watch YouTube "Modeo Rear Brakes Part 2" from 8th minute onwards.

 

Adam , very simple test to find your problem

With the wheel off , undo the cable from the rear of caliper , pull the lever that the cable was attached to ....... ,

If the wheel locks your calipers are fine ,
If the wheel spins your calipers are the problem .

I can't see why your mechanic has not done this .

Oh by the way , pulling on the hand brake lever up to 20 times is incorrect , there is no adjustment in the caliper for the h/brake , and the hand brake operates from the piston depth

 

Mastersid, you are partially correct you can disconnect the cable at the caliper and check for actuation. The BUT is since the calipers are new the pistons will come retracted to the inner position. They will brake just dandy but the park brake won't work. The lever on the caliper is a ratcheting mechanism that turns the piston the proper direction to extend it until pulling on the park brake handle sets the caliper.
I have attached the details from the tech manual. NOTE you must pull up on the handle several times to set the self adjuster. Very few of the cars came with the manual adjusting park brakes ( which are the single cable with adjusting rod.

Adam just go give the handle a few strokes and see if everything gets better.

 

Does this procedure also take up the slack on the parking brake handle. My handle pulls up so high that it pulled the gaiter out of the console. In fact the information I get on the brake I think part of the problem may be the cable is stretched and needs to be taken up. How would that be done?

Thanks for the interesting read.

Adam

 

I downloaded the information. Going to show my mechanic the threads also. As I said I think the cable might be stretched.

 

Adam , steel is very hard to stretch , do you really think your cables have stretched to the point where the hand brake can't be activated .

If your going to show your mechanic the down load that avern1 posted , you and your mechanic are both wasting time .

There is nothing in that down load that explains how to set your piston depth .

I would suggest you seek a mechanic who understands how that type of hand brake works , clearly yours does not .

Have a good day ,

Sid

 

thank you so much for all the helpful information I going to hand it all off to my mechanic. I really don't want to go the the nearest Jaguar dealer which is about 30 miles away and waste a whole day.

 

A couple of threads ago I mentioned I pulled the parking handle so far up it pulled the gaiter away from the console. I noticed inside the console and attached to the parking brake handle there is a ratchet with a screw on top for turning the ratchet. Any ideas what this is for. As always thank you.

 

A picture is worth a thousand words. The tech manual doesn't give any indication of what you are seeing. Shoot a quick pic and we will have a look.

 

I hesitate to take the gaiter off, the last time it was off the bracket that connects to the console is very flimsy plastic and broke several tabs. I had to buy a new gaiter at a cost of $90 including shipping. I did try to take the present gaiter off, however I did so gingerly and could not disconnect it from the console, so that screw is a mystery I guess. My mechanic is going to work on it again this weekend, as I need to have inspection done and it won't pass without a parking brake.
What gets me this should be a simple repair. I watched all the videos on you tube on the Mondeo rear caliper replacement and adjustments and it does not look like rocket science, but then again it is a English car.

PS If he needs to take the gaiter off and brakes it he pays for a new one.

 

Check the cable retainers and clips at the handbrake lever to make sure they are holding the cable housing in place when the lever is operated.

Refer to JTIS for the correct handbrake mechanism operation and adjustments required.

 

I am at my wits end with this parking brake. It is the automatic adjusting brake and for some reason it will not adjust. Now my mechanic is thinking the the handle is a fault, as, I said before you can pull the handle all the way up and the brake will not catch. Any other ideas as I tried everything mentioned and nothing seems to work on my brake.

 

Why not take it to a Ford mechanic ? The same brake system is used in certain Ford Mondeos.

 

There are several TSBs for the early X400 Park Brake faults.
I was going to respond but since the exact make, model, year was not specified, I did not feel like wasting time.

Check the TSBs to see if they pertain!!!!!

I'll post them if they apply but I can't tell.

Look them up in the large file area.

bob