Hi All! I've searched and looked for additional info on this topic but did not see a definitive answer (or I inadvertently overlooked it). Last night, I completely rebuilt the rear brakes on my '06 HHR 2.4L auto. Last year, I just replaced the shoes & turned the drums. This time, I replaced EVERYTHING including the wheel cylinders, springs, dust caps, drums, etc. I adjusted the self-adjusters as recommended on this forum; however, now the parking brake is less effective than it was before I started this job. I followed the cable along the underside of the vehicle and did not see any additional adjustments. Tried several reverse stops applying the brakes hard (on level and sloped terrain) to activate the self-adjusters too. Is there another adjustment for the cable buried somewhere near the brake handle itself within the console (or elsewhere)? My teenage son is about to begin driving lessons with dear old dad here and this hand brake is got to work in case of the need to make an emergency stop!

 

If they were working good before you did the brake work, then I would suggest that maybe you have a parts installation error.
Just replacing all the parts shouldn't have changed the ebrake adjustment.
I would pull the drums and recheck your work.

 

X2 double check the e-brake cable attachment to the lever on the shoe, it may have dislodged during assembly.

 

Thanks guys for your replies. Yes, I have checked and double checked my work at the wheels and everything is as it should be. Although the parking brake was working before I started last night's rebuild job, it has never worked as well as I would like or expect from a parking brake (perhaps, this is a design flaw in the HHR?). Equally annoying is that the handle has excessive or too much travel it in (i.e. in order to release it every time, I have to move the arm rests up & out of the way). I've often wondered if the hand brake cable is worn/stretched and possibly in need of replacement. Therefore, the $1.98 question remains: Is there a separate adjustment for the cable besides those found at each rear wheel adjuster? Somebody out there must know definitively the answer... Thanks again for reading and providing suggestions. - Ted

 

I can't tell you exactly what they did, but my GM dealer recently manually adjusted the rear brakes for me on a 2011 used 1LT I had just purchased.

When they finished I picked the car up and found that the e brake handle was still not at 3 clicks but about 6 clicks so I went back and questioned the Tech on how he did the adjustment.
He told me he did a rear brake linning complete check w/drums off and everything was right at GM specs so he did not make any adjustments.

I took him out to the car a showed him where the e brake handle was stopping.
They took it back in and adjusted the cable to where now it is exactly at 3 clicks.
I do not know how they did it but it can be done.

The whole thing did cost me $80 though so it took a little time to do it all.

Next time I re adjust the rears the e brake handle should be right at 3 clicks.

Hope this helps.

SF

 

Thanks Silverfox. It is sounding like the only adjustments to be made are located at each rear wheel adjuster.

 

There is an adjustment, if you pop the rear console by the rear cup holder, you can access it. (Note: too late now, but if you loosen the Ebrake adjustment before you do the brakes, it's way easier)

 

I had the same problem. When I TRIPLE checked my work, I found that one of the cables was not attached to the shoe correctly. I was swearing the first 2 checks that everything was right.

 

1) adjust rears properly, if that fails to give you a 3 click E-Brake setting.
2) adjust cables under the console.

 

The correct answer is... YES - there is a separate adjustment nut located underneath the rear console trim/cup holder. One must CAREFULLY remove the trim by pulling up (hint: there is about 6 or 8 metal locking clips holding the part on and it will feel like you are about to break something when pulling it apart). I was at my favorite GMC dealer yesterday getting the brake system properly flushed and re-filled when some of the latter posts came in. While there, I inquired about additional necessary adjustments or special procedures for the parking handbrake. My Service Tech was kind enough to print out the instructions. The order of steps was different than I expected so I will post them here in this thread for everyone's benefit once I figure out how-to...