Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

ok...is it possible to replace the handbrake pads without removing the caliper from the car????/

Do you have an Angle Grinder !!!
If so anything is possible !!
But the answer is yes, it is just a little bit of a pain

.....and when you refit the clevis pins dont loose the small spacer bushes in the arms or you will have excess movement in the linkage.

peterexpart wrote:Do you have an Angle Grinder !!!
If so anything is possible !!
But the answer is yes, it is just a little bit of a pain

right then.....removed the cetralising arms/springy things, and I have the handbrake mechanism arms [or are they legs?] pulled as far apart as possible, and the pads are free to move, but the disc seems to be getting in the way of removal.
I've tried pushing, pulling, levering, wiggling. twisting, tapping.......stopped short of the heavy hammer treatment.....I've even tried swearing [most unlike me ] to no avail...so is there some sneaky technique which is escaping me?
help appreciated!!!
fred

Fred
The back of the pads have a slot and need to be pushed up to un-hook them (or if you have the operating arms pulled as far apart as possible-they need the pads pushing in )

John

thanks john...when you say 'pushed up' do you mean away from the disc, or parallel to the disc?
fred

They pivot at the top and so swing out,in the vertical position they should be pushed up,as you swing them out they should be pushed towards the pivot..

John

All will be obvious to you once you get one out, but UP means literally UP in a vertical direction, with the pad partly swung out.




Road crud tends to accumulte in the slot, so when you push up, you will be trying to push crud & mud out of the slot.

hello bill.....
thanks for that...haven't been able even to look at things today [cricked my da**ed back ]...
still a bit confused....so isn't pushing 'up' ie parallel to the disc which is vertical, a bit difficult, as the slot which engages on the pin is horiontal [or seems to be from the illustrations]?
fred

Oooops...

John

Elanconvert wrote:hello bill.....
thanks for that...haven't been able even to look at things today [cricked my da**ed back ]...
still a bit confused....so isn't pushing 'up' ie parallel to the disc which is vertical, a bit difficult, as the slot which engages on the pin is horiontal [or seems to be from the illustrations]?
fred

You have to swing the pads outwards before you can push up.

Disconnect the adjuster link that joins the 2 halves of the handbrake assembly
Swing the halves out and away from the disk as far as you can, you should get them to approximately a 45 degree angle.
Use a screwdriver to lever the hooked end of the brake pad up and away from the pins they hook on and then you can pull the pads down and out of the halves of the assembly with a rotating motion so the hooked end clears the pin as they are withdrawn

cheers
Rohan

ok...thanks chaps..I think I've got it now ! hope I haven't tried your patience! [and I'm only on the handbrake ]
don't know if my back will let me get under the car today.........
fred

Don't worry - we are all the same and we are all here to learn
Get yourself a "Max Jax" It sure makes working under a car easier on the back and it fits in a standard garage

cheers
Rohan

thanks rohan.....[can't get 'max jax' in....1.9m headroom]

anyway, before my back reminded me quite sharply that I shouldn't be crawling under cars at the moment, the outside pad came out easily, but the inside one is still there....do I need to take off the spring.....?
fred