Hand brake

So what's the deal with my hand brake, doesn't matter how much I tighten the adjustment nut in the cabin the hand brake doesn't feel like it has good bite (even when the height of the handbrake pull is quite short). Half of the adjustment is absolute slop aswell. Not that I've had a real look yet but what are my potential issues? Worn pads, stretched cables, seized calipers?

Worn pads, stretched cables, seized calipers?

How do the rotors look?

If they look as if the pads are working under normal braking then my guess is stretched cables.

Yeah rotors are fine, not that I've driven the car in a long time but the brakes seemed fine. The hand brake issue existed when I was driving the car regularly anyway.

Possible issue with adjuster mechanism in the caliper for setting & holding piston/pad gap to disc.
other issue is if the mechanism cam & parts are worn they don't throw the piston as far so you loose a lot of potential clamping load .
All other points you mentioned valid too but if all serviceable then a caliper overhual is way to go & to be honest worth doing anyway unless exceptional condition.
UK guys got this cheap by Big Red recon brake company, think price was about £45GBP a caliper (in useful links section)
If needed i'm sure Oz got similar recon specialist but if stuck or crazy price some UK guys might be able sort & ship perhaps.

Thanks B, caliper overhaul sounds like the way to go then. Honestly I've never touched them since buying the car so the condition would be unknown. So basically it's a process of elimination if it's not that? I hate brakes

Generally it mainly issue with caliper mechanisms as those types of combined hydraulic & mechanical all on same piston are troublesome & more so now nearing 25yrs old.
top condition rotor & decent pads make difference too, cables normally not much bother but certainly want check cables & handbrake lever assembly just to be sure & optimise anything that look less the ideal.
I really hate limp handbrakes & rebuilt mine some time back & difference is huge if rebuild really done well, got slightly larger diameter discs too which helps a tiny bit.
Not that expensive & upgrading front without refreshing rears is not good idea really as faulty piston adjustment on rears causes issues on brakes/pedal feel all round.

Thanks for the good info mate, looks like this will be getting added to my list of things to do. It might also motivate me to look at upgrading the fronts.

I had abit of a look today and pads and rotors are fine. When the hand brake is on, one side I can almost turn by hand and the other side I cant.

^ can you see, both sides lever arm moving correctly via cables !?
If so expect it the adjuster system in one side holding it off disc too far
Can also be cam & linkage worn so does not throw piston far, you should be able see feel piston move if have a helper operate hand-brake while you observing the mechanism & piston movement.
Best route is proper rebuild but you sometimes get away with winding caliper in & pump pedal so it resets itself but if caliper piston & seals look scabby worth proper rebuild really .

Rebuild both calipers for piece of mind its not a expensive job to do or have done by others. And as said check hand break cables

I'll get someone to help me check that B, but yeah I'll just get them rebuilt. Thanks guys

So I got the caliper's rebuilt, and the discs seem to lock nice and solid now (cant drive the car to test though)

Question: how solid should the hand brake feel? I have the adjustment nuts screwed pretty far in but it does feel kinda spongy. I never had the handbrake working in the R before. In my daily the handbrake kind of feels like its on or off if you know what I mean. The R doesnt feel that way....

Sure it should be set between 4 and 6 clicks of the handbreak

Ah yeah I haven't checked the number of clicks but at the moment this is where its sitting



Ps I need to new handbrake cover

Way too high, that's like fully extended.

As Bones said, 4-6 clicks, 4 being the optimum.

Mine was on 4, grab lever click, click click (tight), click (securely on). Could pull 5 clicks but it was hard.

True, that's with the adjustment nut screwed all the way in with a long socket. Cables fooked then.

So now we're getting into Autum I'm thinking of all the jobs i need to do over the Winter while my R is in hibernation.

Top of the list is the handbrake. It's really stiff and barely holds, God knows how it got through it's MOT.
So this what I'll do:
1. send rear calipers off to Bigred for refurb,
2. Fit 2x new rear cables,

Is there anything else i could do/replace while I'm at it?



Also, is this cable the correct one to replace item 13 on Nissan4u link
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291775589572?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://nissan4u.com/parts/sunny/el_n14/1992_4/type_50/brake/rear_brake_and_parking_brake_control/illustration_1/

Picture right but description wrong .

Have a read through, thread below as has all P/N incl BP ones .
Also check out woody's post (No33) as he used a BP front cable and although got it to fit it has slight difference on front thread bar.

If front cable not frayed or rotted you can either adjust pickup bar to reduce length or use a spacer to get more adjustment back .
Most issues link to worn cams & auto adjusters in rear calipers, checking rear cables run free once disconnected both ends, new LH RH cables would be best long term fix over freeing them off if they real stiff.
I think rears would be nissan oem parts as the BP ones seem discontinued or links show wrong part.
Jakoparts did list them but think they only listed one side when I looked into it .

http://www.gtir-motorsport-club.com/t6687-handbrake-cables

I'm guessing the stretch in the cables must be more common in the rears because they are longer? In my case rebuilding the calipers and replacing the front cable was no difference. Making a spacer is a very easy option.

Yeh I would go with spacer like you and keep original cables if good order & caliper rebuilt - working as should ...

I thought they were discontinued but I was able to get the front cable, one side rear cable and the other rear with a 6 week wait from Nissan Japan. So hopefully they come through.

You can get old cables rebuilt. They just swap out the inner cable.

Where does that mate?

http://www.atscables.com.au/about.html

http://www.cablerepairs.com.au

Interesting, I've got new ones coming but know for the next time