MOT question

Hi chap. Before a mod says it this post should be in the Question Section .

The CV boot being damaged enough or loose is now a failure these days. Balljoint boots are an instant failure when they are split.

Now for the handbrake. I have not come across 'impeded in its travel' for the handbrake but I have seen 'Parking Brake has no reverse travel'. On the basis they both seem to mean the same thing I would say that the handbrake has run out of travel (i.e It cannot be pulled up much or any further if the handbrake cables were disconnected) thus would say that you handbrake requeires adjustment. I would say to adjust it to 3 clicks but some handbrake mechanisms prefer to work on 4-5 clicks. What car do you have?

Oh and it's a 2002 Mondeo Ghia X, 2.5 v6

Ah. Now that is interesting.

The early Mondeos had an auto adjuster in the handbrake mechanism. If this is the case a pair of handbrake cables *may* sort you out but the chances are that the adjuster may have gone on the blink. If you go onto the Ford Wiki, it gives you information on how to convert an auto adjusting handbrake to a later manual type.

With the later manual type this is not a problem but there is an issue. Adjusting it is a pain. When my father first had his MkIII he actually gave the car to a garage to adjust and replace the cables with due to it being a pain. When I had my '07 1.8 I changed the first handbrake cable on the driveway. It was doable but not easy. The second time I hired a ramp in Coventry to do the job which made life alot easier IMHO.

Haynes says that you need to remove the exhaust system (you will have fun doing this on a V6) along with the heat shields. I cheated here on both occasions. I removed the hangers from the exhaust and supported the system (this is especially important on a V6 since the system is heavier and the flexi pipe tends to be part of the Y pipe making the replacement of it an awkward and potentially pricey exercise (until I gave my V6 to my sister I am still hunting around for a secondhand Y pipe due to botching the old one with a spare flexi ; Ford want over £300 for one with aftermarket items not existing).

After supporting the exhaust you can then loosen the heatshield. I have a special tool for undoing the heatshield which I made myself but you could make something yourself. Once the heatshield has been completely loosened carefully move it down. You should just about able to see the handbrake cable Y-junction over the intermediatte silencer.

If you are lucky there will be a 16mm nut (possibly a 15 or 17!) on the Y adjuster. Adjust this until the desired travel is reached. I used a 1/2" ratchet with a few extension bars along with a universal joint, otherwise I would have damaged something or had to do it as Haynes said.

Refitting is the reversal of removal but be wary of a few things:

• Ford heatshields tend to rot around their mounting points; I use chicken mesh/wire to reattach the heatshield and copper grease the fixings with new clips. Some garages laugh at my fix but I also do not wish to disturb things (exhausts) which could potentially break if disturbed (especially when pattern exhausts seem to barely last me a year...)
• It is generally accepted that you should not adjust the travel to be more than 4-5 clicks on a Mondeo due to the semi fragile brake calipers. Unlike many I have had many Mondeos with their original rear calipers beyond 200,000 miles.
• I have suggested a quicker way of adjusting the handbrake. However, the potential for injuring yourself (heatshield edges are bloody sharp) and breaking things (the exhaust and heatshield) is increased if you are not careful. You have been warned

Whatever you decide to do I wish you the best of luck.