MGF Handbrake Adjustment

A fairly common problem with MGFs is with the handbrake lever springing up slightly, causing the warning light to come on – more an irritation rather than a serious problem, and one that is easily fixed.

Automatic adjustment of the brakes is maintained through normal operation of the brake pedal, acting on a piston and adjuster nut in each rear caliper. Manual adjustment is effected via an adjusting nut acting on a compensator, near to the handbrake lever.

Firstly park the car on level ground, and chock the wheels if needed.

Take the handbrake off.

• Firstly, gain access to the adjusting nut, by removing the cubby box. This simply gently levers out.
• This reveals the handbrake cables and compensator adjusting mechanism

Take off the handbrake and depress the brake pedal several times to ensure that automatic adjustment clearance is taken up.

• Using a 12 mm spanner, the adjusting nut (arrowed) can be gently tightened to take up just enough slack in the cable / lever assembly.

Depress the brake pedal several more times and check that the handbrake lever is now operating, as it should.

Replace the cubby box.

Remove Cubby box

Revealed

Adjust arrowed

Dave Smithson

Please Note that handbrake cable adjustment should not be done as a means to compensate for any problems within the auto adjusting mechanism in each rear caliper. Any problems within the caliper must be dealt with before finally attending to the cable adjustment.