Date:         Mon, 4 Jun 2007 00:07:04 -0400
Reply-To:     Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@MAC.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@MAC.COM>
Subject:      oh, brake I think I need thee
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed

So, today I pulled up on my parking brake handle and pulled it right
off. Grrr.

For such a simple mechanism, it sure was a pain to put it back
together properly.

It consists of 3 pins, each with a circlip (or supposedly they have
circlips, 2 of mine don't.) One pin connects the rod/cable that
actually is connected to your rear brakes. One pin is the pivot point
and holds the handle to the base. And the 3rd one was the real pain.
This one holds the ratchet that engages the teeth on the base and is
what gets moved when you push in the button at the end of the brake
handle.

The button itself is attached to a wire shaft, which has a hook at
the end. The hook engages a part of the ratchet. And the shaft itself
is carefully aligned within the handle by a couple of dimples punched
into the metal of the handle. The shaft also has a spring on it so
that 1) the button pops back out after you depress it and 2) so that
the ratchet re-engages the base's teeth after it as the handle is
lifted up. The shaft has some interesting (and necessary) bends in it
so that the hook properly engages the ratchet.

If things aren't aligned properly, the brake doesn't engage and hold.

When I pulled up off, I pulled the handle OVER the end of the teeth
on the base. This necessitated me removing the ratchet to get things
back on. And I couldn't get the ratchet on until I figured out how
the whole bloody thing worked. Which meant I had to take the plastic
handle off (breaking it because I was in a hurry, but I did have a
spare on hand as I had meant to replace the plastic handle anyway.)
With the handle off, there was nothing holding the shaft and spring
in place. So blooey. They were out and disassembled too.

If I had 3 hands the job would have taken about 5 minutes instead of
the 2 hours it ended up taking.

I would like to put in a petition that we be equipped with 4 arms in
the future...