W201 E-brake doesn't go up high and doesn't hold car well
 

The e-brake handle doesn't go up very high. I have replaced the brake shoes. I adjusted the e-brake by the adjusters at the rotors. It holds the car OK, but if you put it in drive and barely touch the gas it moves forward a bit. The state inspectors don't like this.

Is the handle not supposed to go very high on these cars? I've never messed with the cable adjuster more towards the front of the car, but it's possible somebody did before me.

If you adjust it by the book, it can only go up a click or two at most. Just pull harder, it will hold the car.

cables jammed perhaps

I believe some European countries have a spec of 3 clicks required to get registration/inspection/MOT what have you.

while getting an MOT inspection in London UK, the minimum requirement was 3 clicks and a max of 10 clicks and the car should hold itself steady on an incline.

But in this case his car is not holding. Its either the shoes on his car or the cables are jammed. Both my cars were this way (foot parking brake though) - but after cleaning out the brake assembly followed by buffing and lubricating it and finally adjusting it solved all issues - I can park on a hill and press the brake and it wont roll an inch.

A few years ago my 201 parking brake became ineffective at full extension of the lever (mounted between the seats), so I followed the service manual procedure - slackened the cable, adjusted the shoes per the book, then tightened the cable to yield five clicks (my choice) of the lever with a decent pull, six if I really yank it.

It now holds the car well.

I think the linings "glaze" over time, which reduces the cf. Every few years I would lightly "drag" the parking brake for a few seconds and effectiveness returned, but eventually it wore enough of the linings that it would not hold the car well with the lever pulled to the limit. So I knew it was time to perform the service manual adjustment procedure.

Duke

i'm not familiar with 201s but you can check to see if the cable linkage allows
for some adjustment which may be under the rear seat(ish), as is the case for my
210.

124/201adjustment is made under the car. Per the manual, the brake shoes need to be set up before the cable is adjusted.

My linings glaze if I forget to release the brake, dont ask how often that's happened!

I'll check everything out and clean up the cables.

It is holding strong on an incline. It holds when you put it in drive. It's when you give a small amount of throttle it will move forward a bit.

Thanks for the clarification. I think I was remembering something I saw on Wheeler Dealers or some such.

That post was intended to be a response to the OP's comment about the short handbrake travel in these cars, but I didn't complete the thought or even direct it effectively. I've noticed that German cars have less handbrake travel than Japanese cars which usually ratchet up quite a bit when you pull the lever.

It could probably use a little clean up. It is better than the first time I took it in for inspection. I'd call it safe unless you try to put it in drive with the e-brake on! I took it to a different inspection station and they passed it.

Car tagged and on the road again. And with plates from 1990. :)

Cool plate. I bought a '97 Maxima in '99 that had pretty much the same one. I was happy as hell to not have the ridiculous cowboy and space shuttle plate that had just started going into circulation at the time.