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[ajsphead]

Left hand rear hub was getting a bit hot. I suspected a failure within the handbrake mechanism as the lever has developed some free play. Slackened everything off but could not shift the disc or find a shoe release lever. Resorted to 3 leg puller which I'm sure shouldn't be the case.

Found both shoe retaining springs were off so have bought handbrake rebuild kit - admittedly they may be off because of my method for removing the discs.

What's the preferred method for getting the discs off and how do you get to the rearmost retaining pin?

[Doctor Gollum]

Fully back off the star wheel inside the drum and it should fall off with a minimal slap or two from a hammer to free it from the hub face

See the handbrake adjustment guide for details...

Long needle nosed pliers and the patience of Mother Theresa should suffice

[ajsphead]

I probably didn't wind the star adjuster back far enough. It went tight so I assumed it had hit the end of its travel. I'm going to make a wedge as well to stop the pins from retracting out of the back plate. Also there was no groove on the inboard side of the drum but quite a deep one on the outboard side. Has it been machined that way by the car or the manufacturer ?

[terry paget]

I have learned to fully rewind the adjusters and release the cable before attempting to remove the drum. I suspect what you thought was a groove was a ring of rust built up on the edge of the drum not rubbed by the brake shoes. This obstructs drum removal.

[Diamond Black Geezer]

And sometimes that occurs as an appreciable lip a mm or two proud - making removal all but impossible. I'm currently struggling on a spare pair or rear wishbones, the disc just isn't budging in spite of all feeling free. However, with the above method, and some creative pounding you should get it.

Worst one I had took a couple of days, what happened is the shoes had pulled from the backing plate, sprung 'outward' at an angle if that makes sense, meaning that the more force was applied pulling the disc off, the harder the angled shoes wedged themselves into the disc. In the end pushing the shoes flat against the backplate through one of the wheelstud holes at the same time as belting the rear of the disc did the job.


For future reference all of this can be alleviated by a flapwheel on the inside of the disc/drum unit to remove any lip.

[ajsphead]

I think this is what happened to me. 3 1/2 hrs from wheel off to wheel on.

Only way I could shift the disc was to remove the hub centre cap, put a 40mm socket in with a 5mm thick steel disc on the back to protect it, rotate the brake disc to get three larger holes to line up, take the legs off the puller, insert them one at a time into the holes with a tap to make sure they were secure, reattach them and then start winding. For frustration it still wasn't a patch on trying to get the retaining springs back on, even using the method in the guide.

To cap it all, what little handbrake I had before has gone, so now I can't use the car at all.

[Diamond Black Geezer]

That sounds like you've got the handbrake adjusted way off, then - I'm assuming you mean literally pull the lever all the way up and no brake applied? That suggests stretched cable, and/or bad adjustment.

People get the handbrake wrong frequently. Make sure the lever is off fully. The star adjusters are there for adjusting where the shoe sits, so nip them until they just bite, then perhaps off a fraction for luck. The adjuster on the cable itself, hidden above the propshaft is intended for adjusting the travel of the lever only. This is around 3-5 clicks, depending on your preference/MoTer.

Aside from things getting jammed/seized (which theoretically you've emery'd smooth areas of friction and put dabs of grease in all the right places before reassembly) the system should work fine. And vastly superior to any of these all-in-one piston affairs with complex levers all lovingly constructed of seized rust, let alone ruddy electric handbrakes, eugh!! 

[Marks DTM Calib]

The maintenance guide gives full details of what to do 

[ajsphead]

Followed the maintenance guide, hence concluding that I probably did not back the adjusters off enough. Handbrake was MOT worthy, but hasn't been right for a little while. Since it came back from the mechanic the last time, I found free play in the lever and the hot hub that wasn't there before.

Had been there for a while, dealing with jobs that I do not have the kit or space to do and figured that a gorilla had got at it when moving the car about. Handbrake only stopped working properly after I'd taken everything to bits to discover the fault, cleaned and put back together knowing what I needed to buy, degreased the bits that needed degreasing and greased the bits that didn't. Turning the star adjusters and the cable adjuster would probably bring it all back in but everything is original and crusty so I'll do the job properly.

[Doctor Gollum]

Probably adjusted it at the lever end...

[terry paget]

You need to fully dismantle the brake. the scissor arrangement on the operating lever can rust solid; then pulling on the handbrake simply pulls the shoes in the direction of the cable, which does a little braking, but not much. The scissor arrangement gives a 4:1 mehanical advantage, with it working the handbrake works well. In the guide it recommends overhauling the handbrake every couple of years. Good dvice, but I doubt if many of us do it.

[Diamond Black Geezer]

And as Terry says, giving in a regular overhaul means that there can never be much of a buildup of that dreaded 'lip' that often makes discdrum removal next to impossible. Any other issues keep up updated 

[ajsphead]

Thanks

Bought replacement shoes, found they didn't have a full fitting kit so am waiting for that then I'll start the job.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Make absolutely sure that the hand brake cable is slack when setting them back up, absolutely key to the operation.

As a note, there should not be any great wear lip on the inside of the drums as the shoes do no breaking, its more a clamping action, when there is wear its usually a good indicator that the cable has been to tight and the handbrake applies lightly as you go over a bump