Handbrake adjustment

[crimson blades]

Does anyone know how to adjust the handbrake? It seems like I have to pull mine all the way back now to get it to hold the car well. I have no idea how to do this, so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Somedude]

take it to a local car repair shop, it is better to let the pros do it.

[MikeATL]

correct me if I am wrong, but the hand brake is an either all the way on thing, or all the way off, there is no kinda...

[hskrsolara]

If you have removed your rear rotors, you can see that the hand brake is actually 2 shoes that spread to make contact with the inside of the hub (rotor). The more distance you pull back the handle, the more pressure will be applied to the shoe, thus more static friction to overcome for the car to move.

[Lone Solara]

If you have removed your rear rotors, you can see that the hand brake is actually 2 shoes that spread to make contact with the inside of the hub (rotor). The more distance you pull back the handle, the more pressure will be applied to the shoe, thus more static friction to overcome for the car to move.

Right idea, wrong setup. The Gen2 Solara has discs all around

[hskrsolara]

This is how it is on my 99, which has discs all around. Have you looked at the gen 2's inside the rotor?

[Lone Solara]

This is how it is on my 99, which has discs all around. Have you looked at the gen 2's inside the rotor?

My bad. You are absolutely right ! I thought you were talking about a drum.

crimson blades, if you take the rear wheels off, you will see a hole in the rotor that may have a plug in it. Inside is a small gear that controls the parking brake shoes. The gear moves in an up-down direction (imagine a line from the middle of the rotor to the outside edge of the disc going through the gear).

[Deion]

I just did this on my car when I changed my rotors.

I think it depends on your confidence in changing the pressure to apply to your e-brake. But when you take your back wheels off, you'll see two holes. The bigger one is the one where you do the adjustment. I used a flathead screw driver and just move the gear up or down.

It did take about an hour for me to get it right because its a lot of change the setting, drive and test, change the setting.... you get the idea. You'll be able to tell if its too tight because you'll hear the scratching noise from the rear the second you move the car.

I did this with a mechanic's supervision so I was more confident in doing this myself. When I took my car to toyota for its regular maintenence I got them to check my ebrake pressure, they said it was perfect.

If there's any doubt, I would take it to a professional to get done. Brakes are something you don't want to screw up.