Dave M UK

iTrader: (4)

After leaving my 2001 classic for a few days on the driveway the handbrake sticks the next time i come to use the car. Usually its just a case of reversing and braking the seal the back pads have made with the discs but the other day it would not budge and even when i tried to reverse the left rear wheel locked and was being dragged as i was nudging backwards and forwards. After a couple of hour trying to release the wheel i had to tie the rear wheel to the front wheel via my alloys with rope and brake the seal.

Is this normal? Anyone had this problem? Is there an easier way to break the seal that is made when rust sets in the discs ?

bikerthou

are you sure the hand brake dosnt need cleaning and adjusting

Gillp95

I have the same problem but reversing seems to free them everytime. I sometimes pump the brake pedal a couple of times before I release the hand brake and that seems to free them as well.

Turbotits

iTrader: (2)

The shoes probably want cleaning and lubricating of the moving parts.If im gonna leave my car(or any car) for more than three days i never put the handbrake on. I have to do loads of fixes with handbrakes stuck on during the holiday periods where motors have been sitting for a while.Its common on many cars.

CraigW

If you dont put the handbrake on and you have it on a drive somebody could push it off and leave it in the middle of the road, or if you leave it in the street on the road, somebody could push it not fare of course with steering lock on but you know were i'm coming from, what if you live on a hill/incline ? you have to put the handbrake on, I lock mine in a garage and still handbrake goes on.
All I can suggest is get the shoes cleaned and hopefully the problem will be solved.

s70rjw

iTrader: (2)

Leaving the car in gear will prevent it being pushed

RON

Dave,
The handbrake mechanism is a pair of shoes inside the rear disc, it is not the pads in the caliper...... it's down to the crap weather we have in our winters, and partly also due to the salt on the roads which corrodes the metal quicker than it used to..... there's not really a way of it not sticking without resorting to leaving the handbrake off, which as already stated may or may not be a good thing depending on the situation where you park..... in gear/a block in front of and behind a wheel may help though....

CraigW

Do'h, can I pretend i'm a learner driver and pretend i didnt know that
Yeah hes right put it in first or reverse gear depending on which way your pointing, wasnt thinking straight

Dave M UK

iTrader: (4)

Thanks people for the good advice, as i park on a level surface i will leave it in gear and chock the wheels, but i never knew the handbrake was another mechanisim, i thought it just applied the regular brake (disc and pads), how do i go about cleaning it then? is it a big job?

M1BJR

It runs inside the hub of the brake disk. Wheel off, caliper off, jack the disk off the studs and then your looking at something like the old drum brakes from the **** end of an escort....
Clean, lube, or relace shoes. Worn shoes / drums if pulled on hard may be almost impossible to free off again. Mine stick after a bath as the corrosion sticks the pad and shoes to the drum / rotors.
If the won't budge, jack up, chock, handbrake off, wheel off, prise pads away carefully from the rotor with a lever bar, and beat the face of the hub with a leather or copper hammer. When loose, refit wheel as normal. Mind those studs!

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Might not be anything to do with the handbrake.....

The discs/pads can sieze on quite badly if the car is left for a while - especially if its rained heavily or you have washed it, and the discs have rusted up.

GingerbreadMan

iTrader: (1)

.......good point. Mines doing the same, sticks like a b1tch if you leave it for a few days, makes a shocking noise when it finally frees-up.

I'm gonna leave the handbrake off for a few days to see what happens. It really does get stuck hard!!

(MY00 UK turbo btw)

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Mine does it every time if I wash it and put it straight into teh garage...And I don't use the handbrake, as the car often gets rolled back to get access to the freezer - and it still seizes up.

GingerbreadMan

iTrader: (1)

That's annoying to hear !!

I've only had mine for 3 months or so, so still getting to understand it's little quirks. It's always been wet when It's locked away, I take it you don't get the problem as much in the summer months??!

I also see a lot of people looking for new 4 pots coz one of theirs have seized!! which is also a bit of a worry.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Only hanppens when I wash it and put it straight into the garage and leave it overnight. If I take it for a drive after washing (or just up and down the road), it's never a problem.

M1BJR

Having just replaced pads I can see why they stick. The build up of crap is incredible on the fronts. It HAS to worth stripping them out and cleaning everything at every service.