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The springs are pretty good but the retaining springs are very weak imo. Was wondering if that's why the handbrake is weak because not enough pressure to put on ratchet operating arm therefore not turning ratchet wheel? Hand brake was OK before removal and renewal of shoes and cylinders but self adjusting just doesn't seem to be working properly. Have stripped both sides out twice and reassembled using leyland book instructions but cannot get handbrake to engage any lower then fully up and even then it's not good enough.
Sounds to me you have too much slack in the handbrake cables.
I always wind the U shaped bracket on the end of the cable up so that I have to slightly pull the operating arm to get the clevis pin to drop in. This minimises the amount of handbrake lever travel before engaging.
My hand brake is fully on after only 3 or 4 clicks & works very well.
Just check the brakes are not binding when the handbrake is released, if they are you have taken up too much slack & will need to back off a bit.