Is a better hand-brake upgrade possible or available ?

[cuppie]

Not everyone uses this design.... drums are actually better for parking than discs. However, that car should have no trouble holding itself (and a trailer full of fat chicks hooked behind it) on a hill with a properly working parking brake.

OK, I'll spot you that - BMW never did (we went from mini-drums, to electric calipers), I don't think that M-B, Jag, or Rover did either.
But, the point still stands that, well, the rest of the planet has been using this setup for decades.

I, too, am wondering what kind of a**hole shop charged someone $1000US to replace a pair of parking brake cables, and somehow couldn't even get the adjustment correct......

 

[TurboABA]

A very successful shop I'm guessing.... it doesn't sound like they are struggling.

 

[zimbodel]

The best advice I ever received about figuring out and fixing anything is "You just have to be smarter than it is"

True but I expect the shops I take my car to to be "Smarter than the error they try to fix", which unfortunately does not seem to be the case. Else I would not DIY.

 

[zimbodel]

"A very successful shop I'm guessing.... it doesn't sound like they are struggling."

They are in the Culpepper VA area.
Records shows for same shop, wrong oil for a VW diesel engine, attempts to push a timing belt change on owner after only 50k miles on the previous belt, lots of unnecessary work pushed onto previous owner etc etc. The Prev owner kept accurate invoiced records and you can clearly see the snakes operate. Can also clearly see the one single shop used that was honest about service.

 

[Stupendous60]

You can fix it yourself, it's not that complicated.
One of my cars ebrakes did not hold at all. Researched, found out how to adjust, adjusted them with marginal improvement.
Researched how the ebrake works, it's in the rear calipers. Two salvage calipers later, the brakes hold like they should.

 

[zimbodel]

About right. thanks. Will do. It will be a while until I can take it all apart again.

 

[ToxicDoc]

check the type of pads used. some don't have great friction when cold (race pads are pretty bad for example)

 

[zimbodel]

Any idea if there are rear pads that are gripping better than the OEM stuff ?

 

[TurboABA]

No pads will grip if the hardware\mechanism doesn't work as per design.

 

[zimbodel]

Sure but the point is it doesnt hurt to use something that grips better. I'll probabl;y get more aggressive metallic versions and rather change rotors more often on the rear. Better than the car rolling away on you. Anyway, it will be a month before I can take it aprt on the lift. I am just asking questions to get ideas in advance.