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W163 Parking Brake Adjustment

E55BOF

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I need to adjust the parking brake shoes on my W163. I assume that both adjusters are standard right-hand thread, pushing down against the end of the internally-threaded rod, and therefore as I look through the wheel bolt holes, screwdriver in hand, the teeth on the adjuster wheels need to move from right to left as I look at them in order to take up the slack?
 
The adjusters are the same on almost every manufacturer that has rear brake shoes, normally the action of applying the handbrake self adjusts them, I have attached a pic of my CL500 w216 rear handbrake shoes, I recommend taking the drum/disc off and checking the condition of the handbrake shoes and the drum, removing the lip/rust on the drum edge and lubricating the adjuster wheel, before adjusting it
 

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  • CL500 rearbrakes1.jpg
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Best way to adjust is turn the cog until the disc/drum brake won't turn then back it off till it's free moving.
 
Thank you for that, but my question was, which way do I turn the cog?
 
I struggled doing this on my W204 with finding the adjuster through the bolt hole.
I found that a small LED torch with a very tight beam is the answer as there is no scattered light off the hub.
I can never remember the direction but it is pretty coarse and you will find it quickly.
The parking brakes are not self-adjusting as there are no wedges in there like on other self-adjustiing drums.
I think the wear is minimal so it is not really an issue.
 
Thank you for that, but my question was, which way do I turn the cog?
It should be up, Normally it would be outward from the wheel centre, most adjusters are somewhere between 10 and 2 o'clock position.
 
I struggled doing this on my W204 with finding the adjuster through the bolt hole.
I found that a small LED torch with a very tight beam is the answer as there is no scattered light off the hub.
I can never remember the direction but it is pretty coarse and you will find it quickly.
The parking brakes are not self-adjusting as there are no wedges in there like on other self-adjustiing drums.
I think the wear is minimal so it is not really an issue.

I'll be selling the car very soon, and want to put a new MoT on it. The parking brake is very weak; that's my issue. If the cables have stretched, adjusting the shoes may firm things up enough that it will pass MoT.

It should be up, Normally it would be outward from the wheel centre, most adjusters are somewhere between 10 and 2 o'clock position.

The adjusters are at about 10 and 2 o'clock on the W163, so there's no significant 'up' to adjusting them; it's nearly all side-to-side. If both were adjusted outward from the wheel centre, that would mean one adjuster would be a left-hand thread, which seems unlikely.

If the drum will come off easily, I'll just take one off, then I should have my answer...
 
Sorry I was clear as mud about the direction of the adjustment wheel, I have done so many that it just happens without thinking.
As said it is best to remove the disc/drum and check the condition of the drum and brake shoe linings as these are often neglected, and are probably in a bad state, if still intact, these can be revived with some rough sandpaper, I have seen linings detached and loose in the drum, but also the mechanism rusted solid, so a MOT fail is inevitable.
 
I'm glad you've done lots; I've not done any. So then, to answer my question, is the adjustment outward from the wheel hub, or different on the two sides? Go on, give me a clue...
 
I'm glad you've done lots; I've not done any. So then, to answer my question, is the adjustment outward from the wheel hub, or different on the two sides? Go on, give me a clue...
Quite some time later....:) - View the adjuster from above, turning it clockwise increases the length of the adjuster, therefore reducing the gap between the working surface of the brake shoe and the braking surface of the drum. The spring pulling the shoes together also serves to hold the adjuster in place, creating the clicks you feel when you turn it. This works for LH and RH.
 
Have you checked if your particular model has a centre adjuster ? Bit like this , it's the place to start . 'Stretching ' of cables is unlikely. As someone who has very recently overhauled the complete parking brake I can say with confidence that it is a poorly though out piece of $hit.

Unit.JPG trap door 2.JPG
 
. As someone who has very recently overhauled the complete parking brake I can say with confidence that it is a poorly though out piece of $hit.
I'm now having a second go at adjusting the parking brake on the W213 C200.
I'm glad it's not just me who thinks the above.
 
I wonder how many owners of MB's of a certain age (car) have failed MOT due to weak handbrake and thought " No Sweat , ill adjust it up and pop it back in tomorrow" ...only to find out they are in a whole world of hurt. No amount of adjusting is going to sort this out.

Ask me how I know :banana:

PS this passed the MOT (just) 8 months before these pictures were taken.

Spring 2.JPG plate rot.jpg

broken shoe.jpg
 
Yep ... What a mess !
It needs to warm up a few degrees before I have another go at mine on the C200.
I'm hoping it won't be so bad as the above.
 
Buy the WHOLE kit even before you take a wheel off . MB Newcastle have the whole lot for sale very reasonably priced on their Ebay shop. The drum will not be worn to any extent but their may be a bit of a lip on it making it a bugger to get the disc off .

I just bought new discs and a kit before I even looked at it (discs are cheap) I also replaced the dust shields as they are critical to the way this stupid parking brake works . They can be fitted without removing the hubs if cut in the correct manner.

cut seal.jpg adjuster.JPG
 
I'm hoping it won't be so bad as the above.
Today I did the parking brake on the C200.
It wasn't anything like as bad as I feared.
I already knew that the cable adjuster under the back seat was working OK, as I had an unsuccessful try to adjust it once before.
This time I did the adjustment in the correct order .... Shoe position then cable adjuster.
The shoes and the drums were in good order - like new.
It's clear that whoever fitted them did not adjust the shoe position but just popped them in and put the drums on without proper adjustment.
The adjusters were not seized, and I was able to adjust the shoes to the optimum position
I dressed the inner surface of the drums with emery cloth.
There was not much of a lip.
I took up the slack with the cable adjuster.
Pedal position and brake efficiency is now good.
Magic.
The only difficult bit was getting one the R/Hand disc off the hub.
I've never known one stuck so hard.
A drop of Unilease and half an hour for a cup of tea fixed that.

The car's due its MOT in a few days time.
 

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