Handbrake not working

[Welshy_Pete]

Hello to cut a long story short the car had a new brake servo, new rear calipers, discs, pads and handbrake cables. So the back all new now 4 or 5 months ago.

The front today have new discs and pads so there new now and work fine.

The big problem I'm still having the car seems to hold backwards better down hill then facing forward down hill.

I've tried slackening the handbrake right off and pumping the pedal while the engine off then a just handbrake centre console.

306 hdi with brake discs front and rear

[CitroJim]

Pete, if the rears are drums than I'd be very keen to have the drums off and check the automatic adjusters - they are known to be very 'iffy' as they age...

Often they get a bit sluggish due to being coated by a sticky mixture of brake dust and brake fluid that may have seeped out of a leaky wheel cylinder...

Indeed, it could be leaking slave cylinders contamination eh shoes and making for poor brake performance at the rear...

[xantia_v6]

I would suspect that the pads fitted might be too hard.

[Peter.N.]

If its anything like the 406 design which uses discs for the main brake and drums for the hand brake it pretty useless anyway, I have to adjust the handbrake immediately before the MOT for it to pass, pity because its about the only bit of bad design on the car, the drums are to small.

Peter

[Welshy_Pete]

Pete, if the rears are drums than I'd be very keen to have the drums off and check the automatic adjusters - they are known to be very 'iffy' as they age...

Often they get a bit sluggish due to being coated by a sticky mixture of brake dust and brake fluid that may have seeped out of a leaky wheel cylinder...

Indeed, it could be leaking slave cylinders contamination eh shoes and making for poor brake performance at the rear...

Hello there rear discs on the back everything all new as well.

[CitroJim]

Pete, if the rears are drums than I'd be very keen to have the drums off and check the automatic adjusters - they are known to be very 'iffy' as they age...

Often they get a bit sluggish due to being coated by a sticky mixture of brake dust and brake fluid that may have seeped out of a leaky wheel cylinder...

Indeed, it could be leaking slave cylinders contamination eh shoes and making for poor brake performance at the rear...

Hello there rear discs on the back everything all new as well.

No worries Pete, the info I posed may be useful to the drum fraternity

I'll go with Mikes thoughts on hard compound pads... Modern pads are a lot harder than those back when your car was new due to the absence of asbestos and other potentially nasty stuff in them... Hard pads need a lot more force and perhaps more than a handbrake pull can exert...

Hard pads are why discs wear so quickly these days...

[Welshy_Pete]

Pete, if the rears are drums than I'd be very keen to have the drums off and check the automatic adjusters - they are known to be very 'iffy' as they age...

Often they get a bit sluggish due to being coated by a sticky mixture of brake dust and brake fluid that may have seeped out of a leaky wheel cylinder...

Indeed, it could be leaking slave cylinders contamination eh shoes and making for poor brake performance at the rear...

Hello there rear discs on the back everything all new as well.

No worries Pete, the info I posed may be useful to the drum fraternity

I'll go with Mikes thoughts on hard compound pads... Modern pads are a lot harder than those back when your car was new due to the absence of asbestos and other potentially nasty stuff in them... Hard pads need a lot more force and perhaps more than a handbrake pull can exert...

Hard pads are why discs wear so quickly these days...

So what brand brake pads are softer that I could get or any better.

[xantia_v6]

I have found that Ferodo or Mintex pads have good friction characteristics. Genuine pads should also be OK. Check eBay for any bargains in those brands.