Hi

I have bought a 6n2 1.4, the handbrake goes slightly above the normal point where it tightens. It still holds the brake but sits higher than normal. I have tried adjusting the cables nuts inder the centre console but its still the same after trying few adjustments. I can change the hand brake cable myself but I would like to know how to take the rear drum off and what is the procedure since i have not worked on 6n2's before but would like to try my hands on (self teach mechanic). I dont want to disturb the bearing side of things by removing the drum to get to the handbrake cable. I have noticed one small crossed screw held on the drum too. Do i need to remove the centre main bolt to get the drum off? I have torque wrench but I dont think it has any settings above 110NM. Please advice. Thanks in advance.

Remove the screw on the drum face then the drum should pull off the hub unit, if not you might need to slacken the cables off & release the self adjusters by pushing the adjuster wedge up through the bolt hole @ the 2 & 10 oclock position ( 2 oclock driver side, 10 passenger)

As above the adjuster is holding it on. Once you take it off and check the condition of everything, all it probably needs is cleaning and adjusting properly from the drum.

I would slacken the cables at the handbrake and then adjust them right up on the drums until they won't turn, then go off a bit. This means the shoes are right near the drums. Then adjust the handbrake to three clicks as per mot. Pedal feel will be a lot better too

okay thanks will try that, cheers

I have tried to undo the drum. At first it was tight but after few hours of wd40 and hammer, its loose but drum does not want to come out. Looks like something from the inside of the drum is holding on to the drum and doesnt want to release it. I have tried to undo the handbrake cable from under the console to free things up. Handbrake has been fully down all the time I have been trying to pull the drum out. Yes small cross screw is also removed. Gave up at the moment. Dont want to force the drum out in case I break and loose something from the inside.

Have you pushed the self adjuster wedges up ? if you don't and there is a wear ridge on the drum surface the drum won't want to come off

Have you pushed the self adjuster wedges up ? if you don't and there is a wear ridge on the drum surface the drum won't want to come off

i have tried to put a screw driver inside the bolt hole and tried to move that wedge but i dont think its moving in any direction and is stuck. i will give it a go in a day or two to see if it moves. May be i have not pushed it in right direction. do i need to push it up ? or downwards?

It's difficult to say where the adjuster is or what direction closes or opens it etc. If the drum is not stuck then push it back on and see what turning it either way does, if it's going open then the wheel will stop turning.

What I have always done at this point (wheel spins freely and handbrake cables are loose) is put the wheel on and bolt it down then pull the whole thing, but because it's the separate hub type, I would use a lever bar at different points to edge it out, once the ridge has got over one point the whole thing will come off.

Once it's off you can sand or file the ridge down so it will go back on easily.

If all else fails, then do as above with the wheel after you undo the centre nut, and take the whole hub off. Won't do any harm really. You can then put it straight back on and tighten the nut again.

Before you tackle it again cover your self and get some new shoes and fitting kit as you may damage the brake lining. Once off carefully with a angle grider remove the lip you will see and feel a thin black line as your grinding ideally need to remove it. With a steady hand try not to mark to much of the actual braking surface(the shiny part)

And when you put it back together have the adjustment in the drum loose as its a auto adjuster which will adjust correctly upon handbrake application

Edited 7 December, 201411 yr by theLEGENDofBURT

When I put the handbrake on, the driver side wheel is not moving but he passanger side rear is moving freely. I have also checked the wedge on the inside drum but looks like it remains in the same position wheather the handbrake is on or not. so it is stuck. What direction do I need to move the wedge? towards front or rear?

The wedge need to be pushed upwards

okay so the drum is removed. I had to apply foot brake and then move the wedge upwards and few twits and turns the drum came out. Can some one tell if the shoes need replacing due to the state of their meat. If you look down below pictures, you will notice the handbrake cable is actually rubbing with the bearing assembly (spline thing) while the handbrake is off. You will notice some wear on the splines as well. If I put the handbrake on, the cable moves below and sits below the splines. No wonder I was getting some whinne due to cable rubbing with the splines while handbrake was off.

So I can remove the shoes and change the cable but if it involves dealing with bleeding and loosing fluid then I rather take it to a garage as I dont want to mess around with bleeding business. If changing the cables and shoes doesnt involve bleeding then I might have a go at it.

The Shoes don't look too worn, but all that fluid on the backplate is a bit worrying! but it doesn't seem to be coming from the brake cylinders? So I would fit new shoes anyway, as they will be contaminated. You shouldn't need to do any bleeding, as long as the pistons don't come out ( with the shoes off, put a strong elastic band round the cutouts in the pistons to stop them accidently coming out) Remove the cap on the fluid reservoir before you push the pistons back

The handbrake cable is rubbing on the ABS sensor ring, so you'll need to ensure it is kept clear otherwise you'll end up with an ABS fault

all that fluid is actually WD40 spraying all over before removing the drums. Cheers for the advice.

okay new update:

I have changed the handbrake but still no difference. Upon close inspection and brain processing I have figured out why the rear drums still move freely even after getting the new hand brake on is because - The rotating wheel spline on the pictures above that you see has obviously has a wear on it due to handbrake cable spring running on it all the time. This means, the meat on the splines is reduced which further means the handbrake cable does not hold the spline wheel tight - which further means new shoes and new bearing etc needed. At this stage I think I am going to change the shoes and see if it makes any difference.

Also, the wedge seems to be a bit stuck. Is it suppose to return to its normal position (upwards) when brake pedal is released? Or is the wedge just suppose to sit downwards regardless? Whats the functionof the wedge? Because the wedge was stuck and i was not aware of it, i pushed the pedal thinking its all okay and out came fluid from the pistons as the end of the shoes not properly sitting on the cylinders. So now I have a bit of spongy pedal.

Although I dont mind the mess as I like to learn and if push came to shove garage is always the last resort but atleast I want to try it before (garage) and attempt to put it rite and learn at the same time.

So what is the function of the wedge? I am looking at ebay for bleeding kit, I have found this which sounds good to me

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/311133326090?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Plus brake shoes kit

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-Polo-Hatchback-1-4-99-02-Brake-Shoes-GSK1501-331698100-TRW-/231419047505?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&fits=Model%3APolo|Plat_Gen%3A6N2&hash=item35e1a66e51

The handbrake cable should not be touching that serrated bit on the stub axle!! it is there for the ABS sensor to detect the wheel speed, it has nothing to do with the handbrake operation!! The cable pulls on the operating lever which pushes the shoes out onto the surface of the drum, The adjuster wedge is spring loaded to pull it downwards to take up the slack in the position of the shoes so that they are just free of the drum surface, when the shoes are new the wedge should be towards the top with the thinnest end in contact with the shoes, as they wear the spring pulls down to compensate, so you need to ensure it's clean of any surface rust and when you refit it use copperslip grease on it to ensure it can move

That is a good brake bleeding unit, but you can buy a simpler one from Halfords & those are not the correct shoes, yours should be 200mm drums (measure use to be sure) and they say they are 180mm also unless the bleed nipples are seized you don't need the wheel cylinders

okay thanks for pointing that out. The old cable was not sitting properly inside the drum and thats why it was rubbing with the inner wheel and put some wear the wheel inside.

What do I do to rectify the spongy pedal?

okay so far to check the movement of brake shoes and pistons, I start the car, then press the brake pedal very gently and slowly and as I do that, the brake shoes are pushed outward as they are suppose to be, but they dont return back to the cylinders both ends and as a result the piston goes out too far and spits brake fluid out.

May I suggest that yo ask Santa for a copy of the Haynes Manual for YOUR model. Inside it, you would find an explanation of how everything works and how to repair it.

It is NEVER a good idea to press the brake pedal whilst the brake drum(s) are off - otherwise the hydraulic pistons will be pushed out of the cylinder(s), you will then (a) get air in the hydraulic system, giving you that spongy feeling pedal, and (b) you risk contaminating the brake linings with brake fluid, necessitating new brake shoes, regardless of whether the linings are worn or not.

All that you need to do to check that the shoes and the pistons are free to move, is to use something like a screwdriver to lever the shoes in each direction - If they move a small amount, they are OK - providing that there is NO signs of fluid leak from the cylinders.

Whatever method you use to bleed the air from the hydraulic system, you DO NOT need the engine running - By law, the brakes must be capable of working without engine assistance.

As the pistons have now come out of the cylinders, you need to examine the rubber seals, if there is ANY signs of scoring on the seals, they need to be replaced.

There is plenty of guidance on this Forum to help you with bleeding the brakes, but if there is anything that you are not happy in doing on the braking system, I would advise that you get a good garage to do the work for you.

Regards

all sorted, i put the drum back, few pedal presses, start the car, few pedal press, brake pedal is good as before even though it leaked a bit from wheel cylinder, handbrake is much better than before. Going to do a bit of bleeding from the wheel cylinder where it leaked fluid when my brake bleeding kit arrives in post to tighten the brakes a bit.

Now I am doing suspension changes. Coilovers are going to be binned as they all have leaked over the period of time. Putting 35mm springs on standard shocks front and rear. Could some one tell if I need to get spring compressor while putting the shock assembly back. I have not removed the three bolts on the engine bay though. Just removed the middle fat bolt that was holding the strut.

Tried to put the spring and strut assembly back but needs too much force due to not room or pressure enough to get the two bottom holes on the disc align with the 2 holes on the shock assembly in order to put the nuts and bolts together.

Edited 13 December, 201411 yr by performancevw

I strongly advise in future you get either a competent friend or a mechanic to do your work for you especially when you start changing springs the way you are.

I do majority of the work myself without the help of anyone or even haynes. Its my first time i am working on a 6n2. Changing suspension is no big deal for me but a spring compressor does help which now is in post!

I forgot to mention that I love your heading. Unfortunately, most people these days would say that it is dogs that are for life!

Happy Christmas ( I also hate Xmas!!!)

Regards

I forgot to mention that I love your heading. Unfortunately, most people these days would say that it is dogs that are for life!

Happy Christmas ( I also hate Xmas!!!)

Regards

Haha.. cheers for that. Happy Christmas dude!