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First a little disclaimer. There are different opinions on how to adjust the handbrakes on a CX. The method I'm describing here is the one I've worked out myself and found it most successful. Of course there might be other ways to do it and those are for you to discover. Basically, use your head (not literally)...
So it's time again for the yearly test of your favourite car. Being a CX'er there is always one point that you know that the evil control man likes to fail your eyepiece on - the hand brake. The hand brake is a known weaknees on the CX. God knows what the design team were up to on the day they conceived it but the bouquet of some Rosé-wine must have laid like a heavy fog in the office. But do not despair my friend there is hope.
The construction isn't the simplest or the most effective but it does work. Properly adjusted it even does it quite well. The CX handbrake is incorporated in the front brake calipers/steering knuckle and uses separate brake pads from the main brakes. On each side there are three points of adjustment which makes it a grand total of six points that have to be adjusted in order to achieve acceptable effect. Adjustment is preferably done with both front wheels in the air... so off we go... and up she goes.
As usual we put the car securely on two axle stands. Remove the front wheels. Fully release the handbrake lever. Before you start the adjustment, inspect the handbrake cable for rust or other defects. If the sheath is damaged it will be compressed when the handbrake is applied and there is no use adjusting the handbrake until you've replaced the whole cable.
The brake discs are mainly held in place by the wheel bolts. When the wheel is removed the only thing holding the discs is one screw (two on older cars). When doing the adjustment we want the discs to be held firmly and perfectly centered in the caliper. To do this you can use one or two wheel bolts with a short spacer on to hold the disc to the hub.
On both sides:
Loosen and undo the lock nut from the end of the handbrake cable. Unscrew the adjustment nut to near the end of the threads.
Loosen the two locking bolts for the eccentric adjusters.
Make sure the whole mechanism moves freely. It has a habit of seizing up over the years. Use some WD40 if necessary (5-56 in Sweden). Give the mechanism a good exercise and a generous amount of oil and grease.
Push back the main brake pads away from the disc enough not to touch it by using a pair of pliers or other suitable tool. This will make it easier feeling/hearing when the handbrake pads touches the disc.
Now we can start adjusting...
First rotate the eccentric adjusters downwards* until the pads touches the disc. To feel when the pads start pinching the disc you can stick a big screwdriver in one the ventilation channels in the disc to rotate it. Keep adjusting the eccentrics till the pads are just touching the disc causing a very slight friction, just enough to be felt with the screwdriver, then back off ever so little. Tighten the eccentric lock bolt making sure the eccentric don't move. Feel movement friction again with the screwdriver. This is crucial to the result of the adjustment so make sure the pads are just about dragging along the disc surface. Repeat procedure on the other side.
If you pull the handbrake cable end first on one side the other you should be able to feel that it giving after and the opposite side cable is being pulled up. Pull on one side as far as you can. Then move over to the other side and pull it just halfway. Replace and tighten the handbrake cable nut alternatively on both sides until you feel friction on the brake discs increasing. Loosen till the discs moves freely again.
Test by pulling the handbrake lever. You should not be able to rotate the disc at all.
* There are different opinions whether the adjusters should be rotated downwards or upwards. Downwards has always worked fine for me. Others might say the opposite.
Quite frankly, it doesn't matter.
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