Failed MOT .. the humiliation!!

Steve C · Post by **Steve C** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 12:02

1) Emissions, CO reading 3.85, max 3.5 ... easily fixed, quarter of a turn in on the mixture screws I guess? HC was good at 211 vs max 1200.

2) Headlight aim too low, again easily fixed .. but strange how it has moved so much in a year - I haven't touched them and the pods aren't loose. Also my TVR suddenly had the same report at it's last MOT .. I think someone has been sitting on their light alignment tester!

3) Handbrake efficiency 8%, minimum 14% ... oh dear! I did notice that the lever has a lot of travel in it, but it has always been a bit like that.

I'm hoping it's just a matter of clicking up the adjusters through the drum section of the disc and taking up any slack in the cable. It's only got to last until I get my rear brake upgrade sorted! Those handbrake shoes are expensive at £60+vat a set ..

I suppose not bad really, for a 16 year old car with 140k on the clock .. I'm just so used to her sailing straight through!

Ozzy_UK · Post by **Ozzy_UK** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 12:52

just changed my rear hand brake shoes... still got the old ones which arnt really that worn, just changed them as i was redoing all the brakes...

if your interested

chris knowles · Post by **chris knowles** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 13:14

The handbrake can also be adjusted at the handle end don't forget.... just lift the bit of trim out the way and there are a couple of adjustment screws. Of course, if your shoes are knackered it's a lost cause, and you don't want any binding either.

I found poking something through the whole in the drum to adjust the shoes was a pain in the backside, but achieved the right result. Being a younger man

I am not used to the clips and springs of drum brakes, and the frustration of reassembling them. At least my girlfriends Micra has self adjusters.....

Also, those pads are Toyota parts. Go to a motor factor and pretend to own an 80's supra, and pay about £25 for an axel set. That's what I did! I find the drum handbrake on the Lotus a vicious bugger because I am used to the disc handbrakes of modern cars, which usually have no bite at all in comparison.

Chris

Skeggy · Post by **Skeggy** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 13:36

Steve,

The secret to adjusting the handbrake is to slacken off the cable at the handbrake lever then adjust the shoes and then adjust the cable.

Not a bad job but I did find on mine that the click adjusters were fitted the wrong way round and very tight so ended up stripping the whole lot down.

Regards,

Steve

Steve C · Post by **Steve C** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 14:11

Thanks for the adjustment tips guys!

I changed the rear discs around 50k ago due to corrosion more than wear, from memory the shoes were in good condition at the time so I'm going to try the adjustment process first and see what happens!

The handbrake balance was even, but the lever was a long way up and still not giving enough bite ... it was pulling about 0.5 on the rollers (don't know the units), compared to 2.2 ish for rear footbrake and over 3 for the front footbrake.

It looks like I need to achieve 0.9 on the rollers to get a pass so I'm hoping for a big improvement!

I'll forgive it if I can get a zero-cost pass ...

Dr_G · Post by **Dr_G** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 23:33

Steve C:- Good luck with getting things sorted. Let us know how the handbrake issues go.

Personally, I always presume, rather pessimistically, that any of my cars will always fail their MOT on something or another.

Steve C · Post by **Steve C** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 10:45

All is forgiven ... well, apart from the MOT station charging me £22 for the re-test!

Everything fixed with a screwdriver and a couple of 10mm spanners!

I turned the mixture screws in about 1 1/2 turns ... CO went from 3.8 to 0.3 and HC from 200 to 800 ... passed with flying colours. I've since wound the mixture screws back out half a turn to get me back over 1% CO.

Headlights were two turns in on the two top screw on each light ..

Handbrake only needed adjustment - slackened off the adjuster at the handbrake, then clicked up the adjusters through the drum section of the disc until they locked, then backed of a couple of clicks. Then adjusted the handbrake lever adjuster until it pulled hard on the 5th click. Back on the rollers, the handbrake went from 0.5 and 0.5 to 3 and 2.75 ...

Now I'll have to treat her to a coat of paint!!!

Redexcel · Post by **Redexcel** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 10:39

Be wary, the shoes should suffer no wear at all, as in theory, they never come in contact with a moving brake drum unless you use the handbrake to slow down instead of just a parking brake.
When the handbrake lever on mine developed a longer travel, it was caused by the mechanism inside the drum partially seizing. This meant that when the handbrake was released, the shoe was still in contact with the drum (although not so hard as to have a noticeable effect on the car's performance). Consequently, the shoes wore down over a period of several months, the only sign being an increasing handbrake travel. When I eventually got around to adjusting the lever's travel, I found the shoes were worn down to the metal backing in places, which in turn had ruined the drums. The only cure was new shoes and discs of course.
So if you get increased handbrake travel in a relatively short time, its well worth checking the mechanism inside the drum. You could save yourself a lot of trouble and expense.

Paul.

PS My handbrake is now excellent.

Steve C · Post by **Steve C** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 18:39

Thanks for the warning, but mine hadn't been adjusted for 50k miles or so and there was no sudden change ..the adjusters were free (almost so super slick that perhaps they vibrated loose!) and the balance good side to side ...

Anyway, they'll all be in the bin once I get the 325mm front and 322mm rear brake upgrade sorted ..

mds666 · Post by **mds666** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 19:01

what handbrake soulition are you going for?

Steve C · Post by **Steve C** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 22:04

I've got a pair of the rear Brembo calipers as used on my Esprit V8 and also on Elises ... they have a handbrake mech on the caliper so it's just a matter of hooking up the cables - in theory at least!

Pete Boole · Post by **Pete Boole** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 23:26

Hi Steve

If you have to have new cables made up let me know who you use (if they make a good job of it!). Haven't made any investigations myself yet. Thanks.

Pete

Skeggy · Post by **Skeggy** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 00:48

Steve,
Esprit V8

I, many years ago, had the use of an Esprit turbo for 2 weeks

How much quicker/better is the V8?

Pete,
I used to get very good cables made up by chandleres (sp), the boating type people.
They would make to any length with any end fittings and if they are strong enough to hold up the daft masts they have I think they would be OK for car use.

Steve

Steve C · Post by **Steve C** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 11:03

Skeggy wrote:Steve,
Esprit V8
I, many years ago, had the use of an Esprit turbo for 2 weeks
How much quicker/better is the V8?

It's very fast! The only other Esprit I've driven is a GT3 which is a 2.0 chargecooled turbo (240bhp). The GT3 seemed very laggy but punched well as the boost came in. Mine is a Sport 350 so it has more boost enabled in lower gears comapred to a standard V8 which were limited to save the gearbox - it's also a bit lighter than a standard V8 SE. It uses two small T25 turbos so they spin up easily, and there's just a surge all the way to the 7400rpm red line!! Luckily it has AP racing 320mm discs all round to shed the speed afterwards - it can get to insane speeds very quickly!

I've only had it around 18 months and have no intention of selling it or the Excel!