A tip from me, if you have trouble with the "feel" of the clicks: when you have tightened the adjuster the correct amount, go to the inboard side of the hub and mark one of the teeth on the adjuster with Tippex (and take a picture) - it has TEN teeth, so you can loosen it to where the marked tooth comes back to the same place, and that's exactly ten clicks of loosening😁.
Heads up, someone did a wonky replacement on my car, and I had to move the right side towards the back of the car. It's worth paying attention to the direction of your adjuster.
This is just the perfect channel. Having had my E46 330ci for a year now, this had brought the kid out in me. I used to work on my cars years ago but time and age meant i just left it to the garage. Now after finding your channel i now do most myself. The satisfaction and not to mention the money saved from not having garage bills is immense. Thank you so much for all your work in sharing your knowledge. This is like the Bible to me. Keep it up
I did this fix successfully the day after your post. You mentioned all the important details. I was well overdue on this one. The wife trusted the parking brake about two weeks ago outside the store. She later found it leveraging in a nearby ditch.
Just EXCELLENT !!!! Thanks. Listening to your videos will save any BMW owner (E46 plus others models) a small fortune, and prevents giving a few paychecks to the local BMW Dealers and expensive repair garages. Owning a wonderful E46 can be expensive, but they are great cars, and we can minimize our basic maintenance costs by listening to videos like your. Thanks again...
You are a master at your craft even if this is a personal hobby. One of the best channels on TH-cam. I wish all informative youtubers are as thorough as you on their craft. God bless!!
I did exactly what is shown in the video, and i would trust it to hold the car uphill, but it won't lock the wheels even pulling the e-brake really hard at low speeds on tarmac. It just won't drift.
A good tip for finding the adjuster with the brake caliper on, is to sight it through the nut hole with a torch, and then make a line in white paint on the caliper aligned to the adjuster ring., so you'll always know where it is.
quick note: When doing the final adjustment make sure the transmission is in neutral otherwise, as you saw in the video, when you spin one wheel, the other wheel also spinns. This means that the first wheel you adjust will work but the second one will seem like its already in the perfect position because youre actually feeling the brake on the other side! Just remember to put in back in gear when lowering the car back down.
Another tip from me: if you've got access to a digital torque wrench and a 30 mm 12-point socket, you can get the braking action perfectly symmetrical across the wheels. According to the Bentley E46 manual, the handbrake lever on the FOURTH click should hold at least 550N (56 kg/124 lb) of force at the tyre - use this along with your wheel's rolling radius to find the torque at the hub; for me, on 205/55/R16 tyres, it was 165 Nm/122 lb-ft.
Thanks 50s Kid. Did this job today and should have watched your video first as I didn't put enough tension on the park brake cable on the second notch. It's holding a lot better but not good enough, so back onto the stands tomorrow. I would recommend having the park brake warning light adjusted to illuminate on the first notch. As brake drag can heat up your small park brake pads and cause them to expand and drag harder - wearing out the thin pads quite quickly.
Just finished this job. Fought the star for a little bit as it would not move more than 2 clicks. Disassembled the brake drum to find the star wheel rusty and seized. Cleaned it up and lubed w copper grease. Adjustment was a snap after that!
you is the man ever time my 2.8ci 2000 reg has a little problem you got a vid for it 9 times out of 10 with out you the e46 car world would be lost,big thanks to you please keep it up
Very helpful video as always! I was able to get my CCV system and OFHG replaced with the help of your awesome videos, this is next! Thank you for what you do!!
Great thanks, you answered my doubt in which way to turn...now i saw clearly that the adjuster is sort of a rocketshape that points in the air, and u have to them clockwise, on eather side to expand the break, thats my way to get it my brain...you explained it good in yr words, driverside away from the car, passengerside in the other direction, very clear display bro! Thx bob from belgium!
Great video! Thank you! I will say on my 2003 330ci the passenger side adjuster needed to be turned opposite from what you showed. I was having issue adjusting so I took off the disc and observed. Sure enough I was turning the wrong way. Wish my Jeep was this easy.
I do mention in the video that you need to turn the passenger side the opposite way from the driver side. I show both in this video. If yours was not like that, it's possible somebody put the adjuster in backward.
I had to take off the brake disc so I could manipulate the adjuster. I just could not see it and adjust it with accuracy through the tiny hole. But thank you for the terrific instructional video. Much appreciation for your time and efforts!
I could not have found this video at a better time, I recently bought myself a 316ti and the handbrake is so bad that I nearly hit people rolling back down a hill
thank you, my handbrake is trash, I park my car on a slight hill and have to rely on the transmission and dont want to do that anymore, cant beleave the shop's quoted me $100 for this easy as hell adjustment, thanks
Many thanks! I know it's a while since you made this video, but thanks. I made a booboo and put the adjuster on upside down, so thought you'd got it wrong with the direction to turn it! Happy to say it was my mistake .. 😜 Incidentally, changed discs/Rotors, brake pads and handbrake shoes and cables all as one. The wheels don't turn absolutely freely when everything is new!! I'm taking it apart again next week for a wheel bearing change so will have more miles by then and I'll change the adjusters so they're to spec!!
10 clicks loose is more than necessary. The reason I say this is that when the star adjuster side is too loose and you pull the handbrake the shoes will make an egg shaped contact with the drum rather than making full circumference contact. I'd say about 2 or 3 clicks from tight is about right, just rotate the wheel/rotor after setting the star-adjuster and if its not dragging it's good (just a smidgen of drag isn't a problem). Don't mess with the cable adjusters at the handle unless absolutely necessary, there's no reason to assume that they weren't correct from the factory.
for that brake chatter you need the oem brake shoe/pad shims they are those metal retainers that come with the pads. I think that'll do it or look brake pads that come with good ones!
just adjusted mine today on my E30. parking brake works perfect again. great tutorial. saved myself $$$. thanks again for the informative vid @50skid !
50's Kid: Thank God you're not a lazy Gen X'er or Millennial cause if/when one of them would do this video, they wouldn't bother to remove the brake rotor to reveal the adjustment wheel/spring mechanism and now I don't need to 'visualize' it in my mind! Good stuff! Thanks Kid!
Thanks 1000 times, been watching your vids since i purchased my 02 e46 coupe, your advice, knowledge, recommendations have been phenomenal. Ive done countless repairs with the help of the videos you posts. Very thorough. Thanks a 1000 times. Boston, Ma, says Hi!
I had an hard time trying to do this, my adjustment mechanism isn´t like yours, mine is pointing upwards. I had to remove the rotor to see what was happening. Plus your cables are missing a ring that holds the other nut in place.
Great vid, many thanks just did mine the shoe material had completely came off the metal just swapped them and adjusted my handbrake thanks to this tutorial 👊👊👊
Truthfully they should never need adjusting because the shoes should never come into contact with the revolving discs. The reason why they need adjusting is that lazy mechanics over tighten the hand cables so causing the shoes to come into contact with the revolving discs. Through years of experience working on BMW’s I found it best to slacken the adjuster five clicks and I would then adjust the cables to six to seven clicks on the handbrake lever when you pull it up. I would check the cable balance side by side by allowing the car to roll backwards and pull the handbrake up slowly and make sure that both sides of the rear of the car rose at an identical rate. If one side rises more slacken the side that rises more.
Squeeking is made by brake pads. Just get a softer composite or just a different brand and you're good. If you got the right combination it won't make noises even when you put zero lube on it :)
I'll do this this weekend. I pull my brake lever all the way up and on a steep incline the car will slowly roll back if not in gear. Thanks for the info.
I just did this job on my e46 2 days ago, locks at 3 clicks , but I find it doesn’t hold as well as before clean and adjust ! I’m guessing they will bed in with time ???
Thank you so much for the informative videos , you explain everything in such great detail . If ever I need to know how do do something I often watch your videos . Great job thank you .
I used to have possibly the same problem with rear brake noise. Reason was shitty brake pads with short and weak springs which attaches to the piston on the inner brake pad. It also made the same dents as you have possibly during the rattle. It got fixed by changing brake pads (the were like new by the way) for more expensive ones. Also had once brake noise from one of the park brake pegs which got loose and kept spinning in the drum. It happened because the hole in splash guard where it attaches rotted away. Unfortunately replacing the splash guard is a big thing so I'm hoping my fix by using hammer only will do the job until I find the way to replace the splash guard without taking the bearing and everything off.
Very interesting. I don't know if I want to take the chance of yet another set of brake pads because there is no guarantee there. I'd rather fix the caliper bracket itself, some how. But thanks for sharing your experience!
Hello - Got a question.... my hand brake light stays on and making a beeping noise when the car is running but the noise disappeared after 10 seconds but the hand brake light stays on. Any idea please.... I have e46 325i. Thank you.
Thanks man helped me do it on my 01’ 330i e46, I did one side perfect but had troubles its the other side when i change my breaks ill perfect the tricky side
Can you get the shoes out? If so, then you can see if you can take the adjuster apart some how--spray it with rust penetrant & use a wire wheel to clean up the corrosion if you get it apart. Otherwise replace.
Great video. It looks so easy and fun job. However when I do mine, 2004 X5, 3.0i, the ten clicks to loosen up just doesn't cut it, I have to go back around 25 clicks to make it somehow loose. Why is that I wonder. Would you comment on this 50skid please. Thanks.
Some help please! My parking brake is non-existent after my friend replaced my rotors for me. Not sure how that happened but… I have a wheel stud kit on my E60 so I can’t reach the cog through the hub. I’m going to have to take off the rotors to move the cog. It will still work right? I can do this adjustment without rotors actually on the car?
A tip from me, if you have trouble with the "feel" of the clicks:
when you have tightened the adjuster the correct amount, go to the inboard side of the hub and mark one of the teeth on the adjuster with Tippex (and take a picture) - it has TEN teeth, so you can loosen it to where the marked tooth comes back to the same place, and that's exactly ten clicks of loosening😁.
dude, any time i have any e46 question, i find a video of you explaining it thoroughly. cant thank you enough. great vids. i watch them often!
Thanks for watching!
I don't often comment on TH-cam but I feel compelled to thank you for having the best e46 instructional channel. Thanks from the UK!
thanks, man!
To tighten:
Left side-move towards back of the car
Right side-move towards front of the car
Heads up, someone did a wonky replacement on my car, and I had to move the right side towards the back of the car. It's worth paying attention to the direction of your adjuster.
I guess this is for left hand drive cars
8'46" "I think I am gonna leave my car on the jack stands and ride my bike to the auto part store... " LOL, gotta love this line
If you didn't have second car, ye, you need to go by foot or bike
@@random_cube5440 fr??
@@diegabe4166 nah man. I was joking
This is just the perfect channel. Having had my E46 330ci for a year now, this had brought the kid out in me. I used to work on my cars years ago but time and age meant i just left it to the garage. Now after finding your channel i now do most myself. The satisfaction and not to mention the money saved from not having garage bills is immense. Thank you so much for all your work in sharing your knowledge. This is like the Bible to me. Keep it up
God bless you for making this video, my e- brake is literally junk and I need to do this!
Mine does 10 damn clicks and still doesn't hold the car in an small uphill
I did this fix successfully the day after your post. You mentioned all the important details. I was well overdue on this one. The wife trusted the parking brake about two weeks ago outside the store. She later found it leveraging in a nearby ditch.
Oooph, that's a bad day. Glad I could help out!
Oh dear! I always leave my BMW in gear. I've owned 3, live in a hilly place and the handbrakes are poor in general.
Mongoose556 feel free and try giving my wife such instructions.
@@1riwa I know right? :) Good luck!
Just EXCELLENT !!!! Thanks. Listening to your videos will save any BMW owner (E46 plus others models) a small fortune, and prevents giving a few paychecks to the local BMW Dealers and expensive repair garages. Owning a wonderful E46 can be expensive, but they are great cars, and we can minimize our basic maintenance costs by listening to videos like your. Thanks again...
I'm a female and i work on my BMW 2003 325I and thanks to all your vids and the E46 fanatic forum for helping me..
Thank you, i have just adjusted my hand break after a very long time without a handbrake. You are a star 🌟🌟
You are a master at your craft even if this is a personal hobby. One of the best channels on TH-cam. I wish all informative youtubers are as thorough as you on their craft. God bless!!
I did exactly what is shown in the video, and i would trust it to hold the car uphill, but it won't lock the wheels even pulling the e-brake really hard at low speeds on tarmac. It just won't drift.
Superb. Precise and to the point. Unlike others how really just talk nonsense. Well done Kid. ...
A good tip for finding the adjuster with the brake caliper on, is to sight it through the nut hole with a torch, and then make a line in white paint on the caliper aligned to the adjuster ring., so you'll always know where it is.
quick note: When doing the final adjustment make sure the transmission is in neutral otherwise, as you saw in the video, when you spin one wheel, the other wheel also spinns. This means that the first wheel you adjust will work but the second one will seem like its already in the perfect position because youre actually feeling the brake on the other side! Just remember to put in back in gear when lowering the car back down.
man, i love your videos, super informative and not a single step missed. also the camera angles and lighting are on point! keep doing you man!
Your videos on e46s are without doubt the best
Another tip from me: if you've got access to a digital torque wrench and a 30 mm 12-point socket, you can get the braking action perfectly symmetrical across the wheels.
According to the Bentley E46 manual, the handbrake lever on the FOURTH click should hold at least 550N (56 kg/124 lb) of force at the tyre - use this along with your wheel's rolling radius to find the torque at the hub; for me, on 205/55/R16 tyres, it was 165 Nm/122 lb-ft.
Thanks 50s Kid. Did this job today and should have watched your video first as I didn't put enough tension on the park brake cable on the second notch. It's holding a lot better but not good enough, so back onto the stands tomorrow. I would recommend having the park brake warning light adjusted to illuminate on the first notch. As brake drag can heat up your small park brake pads and cause them to expand and drag harder - wearing out the thin pads quite quickly.
Just finished this job. Fought the star for a little bit as it would not move more than 2 clicks. Disassembled the brake drum to find the star wheel rusty and seized. Cleaned it up and lubed w copper grease. Adjustment was a snap after that!
you is the man ever time my 2.8ci 2000 reg has a little problem you got a vid for it 9 times out of 10 with out you the e46 car world would be lost,big thanks to you please keep it up
I had two problems on my e46 and ended up finding both solutions on ur videos. Thank you so much
Very helpful video as always! I was able to get my CCV system and OFHG replaced with the help of your awesome videos, this is next! Thank you for what you do!!
Good bless your soul kid ! You save me over 900 dollars to change my cooling system as well my brakes! Your awesome.
Great thanks, you answered my doubt in which way to turn...now i saw clearly that the adjuster is sort of a rocketshape that points in the air, and u have to them clockwise, on eather side to expand the break, thats my way to get it my brain...you explained it good in yr words, driverside away from the car, passengerside in the other direction, very clear display bro! Thx bob from belgium!
Great video! Thank you! I will say on my 2003 330ci the passenger side adjuster needed to be turned opposite from what you showed. I was having issue adjusting so I took off the disc and observed. Sure enough I was turning the wrong way. Wish my Jeep was this easy.
I do mention in the video that you need to turn the passenger side the opposite way from the driver side. I show both in this video. If yours was not like that, it's possible somebody put the adjuster in backward.
Thank you for the video. It took me 1 and a half hours to complete this job, seems to work just fine.
I had to take off the brake disc so I could manipulate the adjuster. I just could not see it and adjust it with accuracy through the tiny hole. But thank you for the terrific instructional video. Much appreciation for your time and efforts!
I could not have found this video at a better time, I recently bought myself a 316ti and the handbrake is so bad that I nearly hit people rolling back down a hill
This video couldn't have been posted at a better time, I literally need to do this myself. Thanks!
Disk brake grease is good also a good anti-squeal compound on the pads help dampen vibrations.
This matches the BMW TIS instructions to a T. Great video!
You Sir are a legend this has to be the best explained video! Thank you.
thank you, my handbrake is trash, I park my car on a slight hill and have to rely on the transmission and dont want to do that anymore, cant beleave the shop's quoted me $100 for this easy as hell adjustment, thanks
Many thanks, nice and clear. This explains why my friendly garage only charged me $13 to adjust the parking brake.
Many thanks! I know it's a while since you made this video, but thanks. I made a booboo and put the adjuster on upside down, so thought you'd got it wrong with the direction to turn it! Happy to say it was my mistake .. 😜
Incidentally, changed discs/Rotors, brake pads and handbrake shoes and cables all as one. The wheels don't turn absolutely freely when everything is new!! I'm taking it apart again next week for a wheel bearing change so will have more miles by then and I'll change the adjusters so they're to spec!!
your explanations are absolutely great and I've been searching for this DIY for a long time (but omg you talk so much!)
Perfect video. Well explained, well shown absolutly no questions left.
10 clicks loose is more than necessary. The reason I say this is that when the star adjuster side is too loose and you pull the handbrake the shoes will make an egg shaped contact with the drum rather than making full circumference contact. I'd say about 2 or 3 clicks from tight is about right, just rotate the wheel/rotor after setting the star-adjuster and if its not dragging it's good (just a smidgen of drag isn't a problem). Don't mess with the cable adjusters at the handle unless absolutely necessary, there's no reason to assume that they weren't correct from the factory.
Jason, your instruction never gets old. Thanks buddy.
Thanks Sir. You have saved my day. Your way of explaining it is just perfect. Chapeau!
for that brake chatter you need the oem brake shoe/pad shims they are those metal retainers that come with the pads. I think that'll do it or look brake pads that come with good ones!
just adjusted mine today on my E30. parking brake works perfect again. great tutorial. saved myself $$$. thanks again for the informative vid @50skid !
Huge thanks from Bordeaux, France !
Thanks for making your e46 vids. Very useful information and I will be using this as reference for my adjustments this weekend. Thanks again 50s kid.
50's Kid: Thank God you're not a lazy Gen X'er or Millennial cause if/when one of them would do this video, they wouldn't bother to remove the brake rotor to reveal the adjustment wheel/spring mechanism and now I don't need to 'visualize' it in my mind! Good stuff! Thanks Kid!
Thanks 1000 times, been watching your vids since i purchased my 02 e46 coupe, your advice, knowledge, recommendations have been phenomenal. Ive done countless repairs with the help of the videos you posts. Very thorough. Thanks a 1000 times. Boston, Ma, says Hi!
Thanks 50s kids! I love your videos. I’ve fixed mine. Works well!
I had an hard time trying to do this, my adjustment mechanism isn´t like yours, mine is pointing upwards. I had to remove the rotor to see what was happening. Plus your cables are missing a ring that holds the other nut in place.
Great vid, many thanks just did mine the shoe material had completely came off the metal just swapped them and adjusted my handbrake thanks to this tutorial 👊👊👊
Thanks voor making this video. My handbrake has to go 4 or even 5 notches too stop the car from moving on a slope. Gonna do this DIY shortly.
Many thanks buddy!! Clear and concise. Top video!!
Best DIY I've seen on this Jason!
Thanks! ;-)
Truthfully they should never need adjusting because the shoes should never come into contact with the revolving discs. The reason why they need adjusting is that lazy mechanics over tighten the hand cables so causing the shoes to come into contact with the revolving discs. Through years of experience working on BMW’s I found it best to slacken the adjuster five clicks and I would then adjust the cables to six to seven clicks on the handbrake lever when you pull it up. I would check the cable balance side by side by allowing the car to roll backwards and pull the handbrake up slowly and make sure that both sides of the rear of the car rose at an identical rate. If one side rises more slacken the side that rises more.
One of my E46s needs exactly this! Thanks man!
I will definitely work on this tomorrow. Thanks for all the tips. Totally informative and helpful.
Squeeking is made by brake pads. Just get a softer composite or just a different brand and you're good. If you got the right combination it won't make noises even when you put zero lube on it :)
Well done! Thanks for showing how to properly do this with easy instructions!
I'll do this this weekend. I pull my brake lever all the way up and on a steep incline the car will slowly roll back if not in gear. Thanks for the info.
What an easy and well explained video. Thank you so much.
you could use copper grease for the noise on the parts where the metal was worn!
Your videos are awsome.
Your the man, you make the best videos
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I am fixing many things in my 328 thanks to your videos... thank you very much for your good will to teach us
clean and quick job,,,awesome mechanic and helper you are👌
I just did this job on my e46 2 days ago, locks at 3 clicks , but I find it doesn’t hold as well as before clean and adjust ! I’m guessing they will bed in with time ???
Jason is a legend
Thanks alot for your detailed DIY .. that was really helpful
Thank you so much for the informative videos , you explain everything in such great detail . If ever I need to know how do do something I often watch your videos . Great job thank you .
Outstanding tutorial! What I wanna know is how does your wheels spin so easily?! Even with rotor off mine have resistance in neutral?
Thank you for such a good tutorial
I used to have possibly the same problem with rear brake noise. Reason was shitty brake pads with short and weak springs which attaches to the piston on the inner brake pad. It also made the same dents as you have possibly during the rattle. It got fixed by changing brake pads (the were like new by the way) for more expensive ones.
Also had once brake noise from one of the park brake pegs which got loose and kept spinning in the drum. It happened because the hole in splash guard where it attaches rotted away. Unfortunately replacing the splash guard is a big thing so I'm hoping my fix by using hammer only will do the job until I find the way to replace the splash guard without taking the bearing and everything off.
Very interesting. I don't know if I want to take the chance of yet another set of brake pads because there is no guarantee there. I'd rather fix the caliper bracket itself, some how. But thanks for sharing your experience!
What if my light stays on yellow when i let the park brake off??
abs fault
Great job! Going to do this over the weekend.
Hello - Got a question.... my hand brake light stays on and making a beeping noise when the car is running but the noise disappeared after 10 seconds but the hand brake light stays on. Any idea please.... I have e46 325i. Thank you.
It looks like you’re using a deep 10mm socket to loosen the cables on the lever. Any idea where I can get a deep socket that’s the right length?
Do you ever have to replace the cables because they are stretched out?
Thank you much 50skid thanks to you i was able to tackle this job today😬
Brilliant video.. very helpful as always. 👍
Thanks man helped me do it on my 01’ 330i e46, I did one side perfect but had troubles its the other side when i change my breaks ill perfect the tricky side
Is there something you can do if your shoe adjusters are totally seized, short of replacing the whole parking brake mechanism?
Can you get the shoes out? If so, then you can see if you can take the adjuster apart some how--spray it with rust penetrant & use a wire wheel to clean up the corrosion if you get it apart. Otherwise replace.
I have to replace my rear calipers, so I may try to do that while I'm in there. Thank you.
This kid needs to do this !! thanks uncle!!
50’s kid HERO!
Surprised at the number of shops that won't do this after changing your discs.
Great video. It looks so easy and fun job. However when I do mine, 2004 X5, 3.0i, the ten clicks to loosen up just doesn't cut it, I have to go back around 25 clicks to make it somehow loose. Why is that I wonder. Would you comment on this 50skid please. Thanks.
Thanks for this. Super clear stuff.
When I adjust it as you showed (2 resistance, 3 impossible to turn), the wheel doesn't rotate freely when the handbrake is off.
Bro just saved my life
Very well done, 50s
Some help please! My parking brake is non-existent after my friend replaced my rotors for me. Not sure how that happened but… I have a wheel stud kit on my E60 so I can’t reach the cog through the hub. I’m going to have to take off the rotors to move the cog. It will still work right? I can do this adjustment without rotors actually on the car?
Man, you are teaching me stuff.
When you are adjusting this is your transmission in neutral or in park?
Thank you!
Thank You for video! I was struglle 4 hours and no way to put back The spring😅
So it has brake shoes and brakes pads at the same time?
Do i have to release the handbrake before i do the adjustment?
Is this the procedure for a parking brake that is not working (zero tension when pulled) ? Or is this just for adjusting? Thanks
Love your videos, very detailed
When you do this adjustment. Was the parking brake handle on the down position?
I think he lossen the cables at the e brake handle so it shouldn't matter what position the handle is in since the cables are not engaged.
Is this the same for a 318i? I’ve had a look but can’t see the adjusters through the hole