Replacing handbrake plates.

[centaurandrew]

Hi all, next job on my list for this hunk of junk ive bought is that the rear handbrake plates are fooked. Now i havnt looked at them yet but can the plates (not the shoes or discs) be replaced or would they have to be repaired in situ?

Any ideas? How much is this going to sting me for?

[Leigh]

Hiya mate, when you say the 'plates but not shoes' , exactly which bit do you mean?.
I took my rear left disc off at the w/end to check mine (found one shoe pad cracked),
The handbrake shoes are inside the drum part of the brake disc, with the friction material bonded to them.
What you bought ? welcome back to Calibra ownership!
I didn't take a pic of the bits I took off unfortunately, and haven't got car back from garage/MOT as they pranged it 5 mins after telling me it was all done and ready to pickup!! arrggh
Now I've gotta wait for them to repair the damage.

[Animal]

Do you mean the backing plate? That the shoes fix to? If so they can be replaced.

[centaurandrew]

Yeah thats what i mean the backing plate. Any idea how much these cost.

Thanks for the welcome back although to be honest, I'm not sure what I've let myself in for (if you see my other thread about failing the MOT).

I always remember my last calibra having stuff wrong ALL the time, is this just cause I have old callys or are they generally always trouble?

[tommycon45]

i think its just vauxhalls in general, but even tho they do brake down they aren`t normaly too dear to fix and aslong as they are not brand new or V6s you can fix them at home, NORMALY. ha ha. which 1 is yours?
paul

[Red_Calibra]

I had the complete rear braking system replaced on my 8 valve about a month ago. Discs/drums, shoes, pads and back plates. I cant recall the exact prices, but I seem to remember the backplates were about £30'ish a side ( I might be a few quid out there ). A mate done them for me and from what he said, they were a complete pig to do. The little hole that usually wears and causes the biggest problems on the backplates were completely knackered on mine.

What a difference once everything was replaced though!!. Handbrake works perfectly now with only a few clicks needed.

[Doodley]

which little whole you talking about? the half slot? which holds the spring, when i changed my shoes, the wholes were nackered, had to drill them out, use a longer bolt and put a nut behind the back plate. was a bit fiddly to get the nut there but does the trick. might save the hassle and cost of replacing it!

[Red_Calibra]

Yeah, I've heard of some folk doing that. To be honest though, since I was replacing just about everything brake related on the rear, I decided I might as well do the backplates too and that would be them done and dusted while I had the rest dismantled.

Also, as well as the slot being knackered on mine, the rest of the plates were in a bit of a state. [img]/smile.gif[/img]

[centaurandrew]

mines a funny one because its an 8 valver with a 16 valver engine in (redtop).

What problems is this gonna cause me for spares? Or are the 16 valvers and 8 valvers more or less the same? How do i know if its the coscast head or the other one?

Think I will get the new plates though I wonder why they were such a pig to do? Are they weld on? i hope not, mind you i cant see them being weld on if u can get them from vauxhall

[johnny_adidas]

i just put some washers in there also as i couldnt see an easy way to get them off