Parking brake (foot operated) question

[guygamps]

this is my first Merc, (a CLK320 W209) and I have only driven cars with conventional hand brakes before.

I have driven plenty of automatics, and even though they all lock the transmission in Park, I still like to (on occasions) put the car in Neutral with Handbrake on.. e.g when sitting stationary at traffic lights on a hill.

I could stay in Drive, with my foot on the brake, but a) this keeps your brake lights on and can dazzle drivers behind you at night, and b) if you do it a lot, you can warp your brake discs with a powerful car... so I still would sometimes put an auto in neutral plus handbrake.

I tried it today on my CLK. on a hill.

I put the car in Neutral, and operated the foot operated parking brake, but the car was rolling backwards still. So I gave up and just put the car in drive and kept my foot on the brake until I wanted to move off.

Now... if the Merc had a conventional handbrake I would go straight in to the garage and say the handbrake needs adjusting.. but is that the case here?

If the foot operated parking brake is not capable of stopping the car rolling when in Neutral does that mean it is faulty? or simply is it designed for some other user (what?).

Thanks


Guy

 

[colechelle]

all 3 off my mercs have had perfect handbrakes but then i always adjust them, easy to do, jack the rear up, remove one wheel bolt, get a bright touch, spin the wheel slowly, you should see a gear wheel through the hole about 10oclock on o/s about 2oclock on n/s, spin up the gear wheel about 5 clicks or if wheel gets tight to turn back off until free, takes 10 mins!!!

 

[rf065]

I'm sure the CLK has a plate under the rear seats that can be removed to adjust hand brake as well, try a search on the forum & all the info will be there somewhere.

Russ

 

[colechelle]

as RF065 says under rear seat in center is a plate you can remove, you can adjust cable there but as i said before, better to adjust on the rear shoes, unless cable has a lot of slack!!!!

 

[Xtractorfan]

The foot operated handbrake/parking brake should be every bit as good as any normal handbrake..otherwise no sense having it.. the problem with this type of brake is that ppl drive off with it on. and yes always adjust shoes first and then cable only to take up the slack in the cable..

 

[wireman]

Its very nice to hear from sensible person who uses the parking brake as part of their normal driving, some of the folks on our roads seem to think its not for any purpose at all.

As to the system proper, its just like a hand brake system but the pedal replaces the handle.

There is one cable from the front to a lever fixed to the floor near the diff which serves to split the cable into two, one for each wheel. The lever carries an adjuster bolt for the front cable.
Inside each handbrake drum there is an expander which should apply pressure the shoes when the cables are operated, I say should because the expanders within the drum can get rusty and sized up. also within the drum is an adjustment expander with notches on its side which are accessed through one wheel bolt hole, if the wheel is in the correct position. Use a large screwdriver to nudge the adjusters untill the hand brake starts to bind then release the adjustment by a few clicks (about 6-8 clicks) , do it equaly on each side.
Adjust if required the cable adjuster bolt untill the bite point is a few clicks from the rest position, and ensure that there is a little slack in the cable when the brake is released.

If after these adjustments have been confirmed the brake is still poor it is likley that the drum/shoes or expanders are duff and in need of repair.
The insides of the drum (within the disc) may well be rusted and will not provide any usefull braking or the cables and expanders may also be stuck up with rusting etc.

I suggest that you change the entire disc/pads shoes (and cables if stiff) in one go, that way with your habbit of actualy using the parking brake it will be kept free and last for longer between service intervals than one which is left unused by those pratts who sit at the lights (and would fail their driving test) with their foot on the service brake.
Dont worry about streching the cables due to regular use, this only occurs if the mechanism is all stiff and rusty due to being left unused.

Do not expect the parking brake to stop the car at anything like speed, if you do try this the shoes will wear drasticaly even for one application, you will then need to adjust the shoes again to get the pedal back up. And if you try hard at realy high speed the shoes will tend over heat and make a mess inside the drum.

I do not know the pricing for your model but it cost me less than 60 quid for discs, pads, shoes and spring kit for my ageing 124 at ECP, they aint merc parts but have worked well for the last 30K miles with little attention.

 

[MarkCL]

I use mine a fair bit too (slip in to N and pop the foot brake on) - hate sitting on the brakes in traffic unless absolutely necessary. Think mine needs a bit of adjustment too though it got through the MOT recently with no issues, it's just not quite as effective as I think it should be - needs too many clicks

Cheers,
Mark

 

[rf065]

I use mine a fair bit too (slip in to N and pop the foot brake on) - hate sitting on the brakes in traffic unless absolutely necessary. Think mine needs a bit of adjustment too though it got through the MOT recently with no issues, it's just not quite as effective as I think it should be - needs too many clicks

Cheers,
Mark

I thought shifting from drive to neutral & back stopping at lights could be detrimental to an automatic gearbox? Isn't it designed to sit in drive?

Russ

 

[wireman]

My owners handbook suggests leaving it in drive if the rest period is short, if the rest is of any great time (stuck in a que) selecting neutral is in order, they dont go into great depth about what or how long a short time is. Selecting neutral will reduce standing fuel consumption as well as reducing the cooling systems work load.
It must promote some wear and tear shifting from D to N and back, but the gear box is designed to change gears (mine does it several times per journey) and one more each time the vehicle is stopped can hardly cause significant wear to shorten the transmissions life appreciably.

 

[jberks]

Its very nice to hear from sensible person who uses the parking brake as part of their normal driving, some of the folks on our roads seem to think its not for any purpose at all.

We've been here before. (and clearly I'm not sensible).
I have an Auto with SBC Hold. Consequently I almost NEVER use my handbrake. It is of no use and is merely a throwback to the days of horse and cart. Useful on a manual perhaps but then I can't see the point of shifting gears manually on a convetional road car either. Technically it is archaic. You have powered, computer controlled vented disk brakes to slow you until you stop and then you apply a cable and ratchet operated drum arrangement to stop your 2 tonne motor rolling back down the hill. Cables stretch and snap and the efficiency of a drum brake of that size is hopelessly inadequate. It certainly wouldn't provide any assistance in a rear shunt (as against the powered brakes which would) and could (and do) easily fail without warning when you're sitting there. The argument about blinding the driver behind is clutching at straws really, given that he's just spent 10 mins, crawling in traffic behind you starting at ... what exactly?

No - SBC Hold or foot on the brake, unless you're going to be there a long time (> 3-5 mins) in which case, pop it into P and gently ease off the pedal and then only if there are at least 2-3 cars directly behind me.

Sorry, but I get quite irritated with handbrake officionados. I was in a very nasty collision on the M1 many years ago when one such person stopped at the end of a stop-start traffic queue, calmly placed their car in neutral and popped on the handbrake. To me, sitting in my transit van at 60mph 3/4 of a mile behind with a low lying sun in my eyes, he looked to have finished slowing and be moving off again, as he had done a dozen times before. Perhaps still a little slower than me but moving all the same. When I realised he was stationary it was too late.
A little dazzling from his brake lights would have been very welcome and we'd have all got home a lot quicker.

 

[TomTanderson]

I'm new to automatics but have found the SBC Hold function fantastic, a perfect answer to the dilemma of whether to switch to P. It also makes moving off a much more responsive process. I did find the manual rather confusing though (and I don't consider myself particularly stupid) and only got it nailed when another MB driver told me how to use it (not that it is hard!)

Jberks - I gotta love the way you turned running into the back of a stationary vehicle into his fault - I bet your insurance company didn't see it that way. ;-) That said, if I stop somewhere that people won't expect a queue, I do keep an eye on my rear view mirror to give a warning dab on the brakes if someone appears to be approaching too quickly.

 

[jberks]

Jberks - I gotta love the way you turned running into the back of a stationary vehicle into his fault - I bet your insurance company didn't see it that way. ;-) That said, if I stop somewhere that people won't expect a queue, I do keep an eye on my rear view mirror to give a warning dab on the brakes if someone appears to be approaching too quickly.

Oddly no they didn't. As I also wiped out 2 other vehicles in my attempt to avoid the idiot, they didn't seem to want to talk to me for a year or two after either ;-)

If it had been you at the end of the queue, my van would have seen another day!

In my defence, I was 17 at the time and as most of my driving had been Leeds/Manchester/Leicester, I wasn't that experienced in insane London driving styles
. The 90mph 6" off each other's bumpers and constant standing on the brakes had spooked me, which is why I was sitting safely 3/4 mile back. Sadly with no warning, an unladen transit (no abs in those days) and a damp road, stopping wasn't going to be that easy :-(

 

[TomTanderson]

Not a fun experience at any age but at 17 it must have really shaken your confidence - still, the main thing was that you were left to fight another day

.....apologies for wandering OT

 

[DougCLK320]

Which models have this "SBC Hold function"??? My (five speed auto) CLK would roll backwards on a reasonable hill, whereas our old Previa (old shape) doesn't. Is this a new function that came with the seven speed slushbox? Seems like a really good idea.
Doug

 

[Blobcat]

Which models have this "SBC Hold function"??? My (five speed auto) CLK would roll backwards on a reasonable hill, whereas our old Previa (old shape) doesn't. Is this a new function that came with the seven speed slushbox? Seems like a really good idea.
Doug

Started on the W211 E CLass and whilst they have dropped the SBC brakes they still have the HOLD function in the new E class. I believe the S & SL also have it although I don't know about the C or CLK

 

[JEZ.S320L]

Started on the W211 E CLass and whilst they have dropped the SBC brakes they still have the HOLD function in the new E class. I believe the S & SL also have it although I don't know about the C or CLK

I'm one of those who are 'not sensible' either In my S-Class (1998) and working in hilly Brighton - I've noticed a 'hold' function too - or is it my imagination? Was 'hold' around in 1998?

p.s. I haven't been 'sensible' in my ML either - nor my Jags - nor my Volvo - nor Range Rovers. In fact,I haven't been 'sensible' for as long as I can remember , when it comes to using a 'handbrake', that is. I must have worn my auto tranmissions out all the time. Funny I never noticed

 

[stevebike]

please could you help me how do i remove the rear seats out of my clk320 1998. I need to
adjust the hand brake.I worked all day on the car to get the seats out but no go. please help me thanks steve

 

[television]

Just pull the seat up sharply, it is clipped in

 

[Juddian]

I notice how nonchalantly the OP has been advised he may need to change rear brake shoes and discs/drums.
Good advice indeed, but if its anything like changing the 124 rear shoes a horrible frustrating job to release and reattach the holding springs/clips for the shoes themselves working through the hole so placed for access in the rear hub.

My fingers have only just healed and i'm not sure if my neighbours are at all happy about the cussing bad tempered old fella that lives in the bungalow at the end..

 

[television]

please could you help me how do i remove the rear seats out of my clk320 1998. I need to
adjust the hand brake.I worked all day on the car to get the seats out but no go. please help me thanks steve

I have sent you a PM as I do not think that you can find your post