i'm new to commodores, took the wheels off to see why the handbrake wasn't working, with handbrake lever in the on position the cables at each side were nice and taut, with lever in off position both cables slack, are these cars the kind with the mini brake shoes inside the disc/hub? i wouldn't have thought you'd wear out the handbrake shoes on a 7 year old car.

since both sides seem to have taut cables when brake on i would have thought the adjustment was ok?

and another thing, with the rear wheels in the air, in Park, i could rotate both wheels easily. dropped on the ground, tried to push the car, wouldn't go anywhere. lifted it back up, could turn the wheels.

WTF?

The reason the wheels turn in the air, is park only locks the tailshaft, and your diff will let you spin one wheel, and the other one turns in the opposite direction (open centre diff).

Put the other wheel down on the ground, and you can't turn the one left in the air, as the weight of the car will prevent it moving.

You need to adjust up the shoes a bit - yes they are inside the top-hat section of the brake rotor. I tighten them up enough so that you can only just get the rotor back on over them, then do the final tightening at the lever.

And for the record - Commodore handbrakes are crap - always have been.

Cheers,

Mick
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Judge a successful man not on how he treats his peers, but on how he treats those less fortunate.

as usual, a treasure trove of information. thanks heaps guys