Handbrake keeps slacking after re-adjustment

[billy638]

Hi guys a month ago or so, I found that I had no handbrake at all on Hyundai i30 FD. I tried even while I am driving I pulled it up and the car speed didn't change at all. So what I did is I re-adjusted the cable from inside the car - behind the handbrake near the cup compartment. Of course making sure the wheels are still rotating. And the hand-brake takes less time to travel upwards. And it works like brand-new
Now what I noticed is that the hand  brake is starting to take more time to travel upwards. So I put the car on a hill and pulled the handbrake and it holds the car.
My question is this behaviour normal for it travel more compared to when I re-adjusted it?
I have disc brakes on my rear tires, rather than drum brakes. Do you think there is an issue with the handbrake?
Many thanks

[sundiz]

Have/had same issue. It seems that the tensioner nut gets loose over time. Or the cables are getting longer... I just added one nyloc nut to the tensioner nut to make it tight. For few weeks the handbrake has remained the same. Hope it stays this way.

[billy638]

So you just have to get re-adjusting whenever the cable goes loose? Or go to your way of doing and add a nyloc nut

[sundiz]

I hope that the cause is bad tensioner. I've had the extra nut fix such a short time, so can't tell how it works in the long run. The tensioner nut has always been "too" loose when i've adjusted handbrake. I was able to turn the nut just by hand. If the nut is that loose, no wonder it gets slappy over time. I checked the handbrake pads few times, but always the case was loose tensioner between the seats. Brake pads were like they are supposed to be (3 clicks from contact to the brake drum). I30 has "dual" brake disc in the rear. Disc for normal brake and drum inside for handbrake.

There is a small change that the cables are poor guality and they are getting longer, but at this point I blame the loose tensioner nut.

[BrendanP]

On my 2011 i30, I found the actuator inside the brake drum on one side had seized solid, so the brake shoe wasn't pulling away from the drum. This was causing it to wear prematurely, requiring it to be re-tightened all the time. Have since replaced shoes, pads, discs, caliper slider pins, and freed up the seized actuator. Handbrake works like new now. The actuator is the linkage that pushes the top end of the handbrake shoes apart when you apply the handbrake.

[Dazzler]

On my 2011 i30, I found the actuator inside the brake drum on one side had seized solid, so the brake shoe wasn't pulling away from the drum. This was causing it to wear prematurely, requiring it to be re-tightened all the time. Have since replaced shoes, pads, discs, caliper slider pins, and freed up the seized actuator. Handbrake works like new now. The actuator is the linkage that pushes the top end of the handbrake shoes apart when you apply the handbrake.

Welcome Brendan. Appreciate your informative 1st post.  Just saw you have been a member for a long time!

[Umanist]

I had an issue with this on my 2011 i30 1.6 CRDi.

I got the rear pads and shoes replaced but the problem reappeared. Hand brake stuck on and after readjusting it wasn't long before it did so again.

You will note: adjustment (i) is by the rubber grommet almost at south on each wheel that you see after taking the wheels off - you will need a bright torch to shine through - at some point seeing cogs which you need a thin electricians screwdriver to lever down one click at a time. ( the cogs catch and hold against the spring that holds the shoes in place so it will hold every notch you lever downward). You may need to put the wheel back on with a couple of nuts to hand turn it if it is hard to turn to the correct position for adjusting - or even drive the car back or forth to get the wheels to the right spot to access those cog adjusters - which I had to di at different times).
adjustment (ii) is by taking the plastic base out of the centre console behind the handbrake. I used a long hook tip to get this up since it is simple but awkward to lift it. Now 2 nuts will be seen leading to 2 cables - one for each side at the rear. Adjusting these is slow since there isn't much turning space.

The actual PROBLEM was none of these things!

It was the lever arm inside the rear drums that was sticking fast. I would not expect this since its inside each drum so seems free from rain etc. However, during cold spells condensation will get to it just due the freezing air temperature. It must be this that cause it to bind in my opinion. I sprayed lots of lubricant to each side ( after removing the disc pistons out of the way and being careful not to get any on the shoes. Still no change!

I had to seriously heat up each pivot on that lever till red - using a Map gas torch I have - ten put on small blobs of high melting point grease that then melted into the joint clips. I did this 3 times on each side and checked the handbrake was now releasing and holding correctly ( You will feel it is much stiffer now a you pull up te handbrake since it is not being jammed in position by those seized clips on the lever arms and the strong springs are now doing their jobs of pulling it back) .

Probably the shoes never needed replacing in the first place since it was these seized joints that was causing al the issues?

This was the final solution - those metal levers connecting the handbrake cable to the shoe extender inside each drum - high heat and grease and it solved it completely!

 

[nzenigma]

 Thanks  This issue seems to arise with Northern Hem. owners, possibly ice and salt on roads. The i30 shoes don't do any work and are there for life. We never bother to check them when doing Road Worthy Certificates.
Good luck with your remedy.