E46 318i Touring: Handbrake / parking-brake repair + adjustment

The handbrake (e-brake) wasn't working properly on the left side of the E46 Touring, which I assumed would either just need adjusting or at worst the spring mechanism had failed. BMWs of this era have a drum-brake mounted inside the hub of the disc-brake that is used only for the parking-brake. It turned out that the sprung stud that holds the lower brake-shoe in place had come loose, worked its way round the drum and partially jammed the mechanism, as in top picture.

The slot that the stud locks in to is part of the backing plate for the disc and it had bent outward and rounded off over time, no longer giving enough metal for the stud to hold on to. I managed to build the slot back up using a cole-chisel and there is just about enough metal left to hold the stud firmly. If it happens again in the near future then a new backing plate may be required, but this is a hub off job and a whole load more work, so lets hope it doesn't. 

Annoyingly, I had to crack open a new £13 handbrake spring assembly kit just to use the one sprung retaining stud, guess I have some spares at least. With the left side now working correctly, I gave both sides of the handbrake a quick tighten up using the rotating adjuster inside the drum.

Easy-E had an 8 Series! Get in!

Of course he did!

"Drivin' down tha street in my 840... checking the error codes... slappin' my forehead!" - as he probably sang a few times in his career! (Actually he had an 850, but it didn't suit the lyric. Let's hope he knew where to check for holes in the fuel-lines and had a loud stereo to cover up the valve-chatter. I jest; his was new when he had it.) R.I.P Easy-E!

Other celebrity BMWs:
Will Smith E28 5er
Elon Musk E21 320
Britney Spears E36 M3
Bob Marley Bavaria New Six