redben101 Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 My handbrake has decided to starting sticking on. When i park and put it on all is well but when i release the brake the the lever has no real feel to it ands flops down. I have been for the last few days using a lump hammer and hitting the drum to release it enough to move again. When i took the drum off all looked fine with good life in the shoes still and when i put the drum back on it would brake and then release happily, but as soon as the rear prop was fitted it went back to its old ways. I have tried loostening the adjuster nut so now the car wont hold on the brake but yet it still rubs. would it be the shoe expander on one side is a gonner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white90 Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 Is it the brake or the cable try changing the cable it may be sticking in the liner mine was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redben101 Posted February 15, 2007 Author Share Posted February 15, 2007 i would say its the cable as it seems very slack when trying to release the handbrake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgnas Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 i would say its the cable as it seems very slack when trying to release the handbrake. I'll lay good odds the expander is full of crappy old grease that has got sticky. If you have an older vehicle a rod sticks ot of the faceplate and the cable pulls on that, pulls a wedge that forces two "pistons" out forcing the shoes onto the drum. These can be serviced very easily, simple spannering. Not looked in one wher the cable passes through the plate but I guess the mechanism is similar and has a similar propensity to get sticky. I'm sure Ralph will be along soon with an exploded diagram or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redben101 Posted February 15, 2007 Author Share Posted February 15, 2007 is normal grease okay to use on the adjuster? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superduke Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 My hand brake had exactly the same problem. The outer plastic cover on the hand brake cable was damaged so it had corroded inside, I replaced with a Britpart and it was dead easy to change Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Litch Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 Sounds like either the cable has frayed and the stray wire is catching on the sheath or the expander unit is clogged up. Rather that taking it apart and then working out what is wrong I would get a new cable and when you fit it ,strip & clean the expander unit at the same time. Both are simple jobs and the expander unit needs to be clened now and again anyway. A new cable plus a couple of hours work and it should be working perfectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 Most likely a sticking expander, remove clean lightly grease with brake grease or copaslip & refit or fit one of these Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JST Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 Ben, it MAY have got a little bit of muck in it from the DRD........ expander prob goosed, if it was like it prior to DRD then as other suggest - cable. i have ahd several vehicles and the current one is the only one that the handbrake would fail everytime after off roading it, problem no overcome thanks to Si. some handbrakes though are fine what ever they seem to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redben101 Posted February 17, 2007 Author Share Posted February 17, 2007 thanks for the help, i greased the adjuster now and it seems to move much more easily, although it doesnt move far e.g when the handbrake is on you can see the hole in the bottom of the adjuster and when it is released it covers the hole in the adjuster but not much further. should it move all the way to the end of the housing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 I believe you mean the expander that the cable attaches to, the rod will only move as far as the cable will let it, if it's working ok it's fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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