handbrake Q

[bluemaumau]

hey all ive rebuilt my rear brakes (ae101)

but i havnt got my fluid yet, and i obviously havnt bleed them.

i think i can remember someone saying that you shouldnt apply your brake pedal whilst there is no fluid in the system, can anyone shed any light on handbrakes? i realise it used the same piston but its on a cable not fluid pressure?

i need to jack the car up to do the fuel lines and having a handbrake makes the job alot easier/safer

thanks

[bluemaumau]

anyone?

[Mr Revhead]

Can't imagine how it would be a problem.
I'd use chocks if I was jacking it up in a position where I was relying on the handbrake.

[Bling]

So the handbrake will work on cars even if you have no brake fluid in there? N00b question I know, but you don't always have to learn things the hard way, so for once i'm going to learn the easy way

Drums / discs make any difference?

[Mr Revhead]

They are cable operated

[loudstealthGT-Four]

Handbrake uses a cable. With discs handbrake will work with no fluid as it is a drum brake inside the disc. And im assuming its the same for drum brakes

[Bling]

They are cable operated

You think i've never been under a car before? I know they operate via a cable, but I just assumed it would still use the fluid in the caliper / drum to work. Does it depend on the car or what?

[rollaholic]

With discs handbrake will work with no fluid as it is a drum brake inside the disc.

this is not true, plenty of smaller cars, particularly early 90s models, use a caliper that has a screw type arrangement on the piston - when you pull the cable it tightens the screw in to push the pads onto the disc.

handbrakes on drum rears just pull the shoes on

bigger / more expensive cars tend to have the small drum style handbrakes you described on the inside of the disc.


to answer BZGs question,

handbrakes are sometimes described as emergency brakes, and they are supposed to operate independently of the footbrake so the car can still be stopped even if the normal brakes have a fluid leak etc. they are traditionally mechanical in their operation (rather than hydraulic) so dont rely on fluid to actuate the friction material.

off the top of my head i cant think of a standard vehicle that uses a hydraulic handbrake, though its quite possible there are some.

[Bling]

Cheers

[bluemaumau]

so i need fluid in there.

it is a screw in type piston. so i dont want to scour the bore with no fluid

[Mr Revhead]

No, you don't
You won't score the bore