Hand brake jammed on?
- Thread starter shifty_uk
- Start date
Just an update for some advice:
Mechanic just came out there, he tried and tried but the drum(?) will not budge, apparently he needs to take it to the workshop and grind it off.
He can't do it until Thursday so it looks like I'll have to organise a truck to stick the car on....No idea how much that'll cost? Garage is 5 miles away. Or, I could play dumb and try the RAC, begging them to help me out. Only problem being, as I said, I'm literally just up the road from my house, 0.1 miles according to google maps.
Incredibly gutted, it looks like I'm stuck in the house until Thursday. I don't even want to think about the cost of all this!
Mechanic just came out there, he tried and tried but the drum(?) will not budge, apparently he needs to take it to the workshop and grind it off.
He can't do it until Thursday so it looks like I'll have to organise a truck to stick the car on....No idea how much that'll cost? Garage is 5 miles away. Or, I could play dumb and try the RAC, begging them to help me out. Only problem being, as I said, I'm literally just up the road from my house, 0.1 miles according to google maps.
Incredibly gutted, it looks like I'm stuck in the house until Thursday. I don't even want to think about the cost of all this!
Soldato
Jack it up onto mcdonalds trays and drag /tow it
Man of Honour
Sounds like whatever has broken inside the drum (handbrake mechanism or the shoe I expect) is now jamming against the drum. Net result, the drum won't come off so he can't get inside to see what's broken and jamming against the drum without cutting the drum off.
Don't the garage have a recovery vehicle to take your car in?
Don't the garage have a recovery vehicle to take your car in?
Soldato
This can happen with brake disks also, if left on for too long they rust up.
I think a hammer would work there.
Surely a drum can be taken apart and a new one fitted. You just need someone to bring round a big blowtorch in back of a van
Taxi drivers are good people ask about this, mini cab guys who do over 100k a year dont go to main dealers they get it done as cheap as possible. Ask one of them for who does work on the cars
I think a hammer would work there.
Surely a drum can be taken apart and a new one fitted. You just need someone to bring round a big blowtorch in back of a van
Taxi drivers are good people ask about this, mini cab guys who do over 100k a year dont go to main dealers they get it done as cheap as possible. Ask one of them for who does work on the cars
Man of Honour
Occasionally a drum will jam on - you can't lever it off because whatever has jammed inside is only being forced harder against the drum by you trying to force it off - so in those situations, you have to cut the old drum off (usual way is to cut slits in it with a grinder and then hammer and chisel until it splits open) - which of course means you then have to buy a new drum.
Sounds like lopez is right to me. Same thing happened to my GF's car a month or so ago. Brake material came away from the backing plate and wedged itself in, locking the brake on.
No need for grinding, hammering, blowtorching(!) or cutting though. A disk/gear puller will have it off in 2 minutes.
http://www.timguydesigns.co.uk/tim/pics/disk-puller.jpg
About £20 from Halfords.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_172526_langId_-1_categoryId_165469
No need for grinding, hammering, blowtorching(!) or cutting though. A disk/gear puller will have it off in 2 minutes.
http://www.timguydesigns.co.uk/tim/pics/disk-puller.jpg
About £20 from Halfords.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_172526_langId_-1_categoryId_165469
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I don't understand, the car was absolutely fine last night. I heard the clunk noise as I was leaving work. Came home, parked the car up, all was fine. Jumped back in the car to head out later last night and it reversed out and parked up without any issues.
How much is a new drum likely to cost? I saw Renault Kangoo ones online there for £150
Don't think that'll hold up too well on the dual carriageway.
Apparently they've never needed to use one.
How much is a new drum likely to cost? I saw Renault Kangoo ones online there for £150
Mechanic had a tool which looked relatively similar to that. Long bar type thing with a level he pulled back and forth.
You dont need a new drum. Just new brake shoes that go in the drum.
Its a fairly common problem. New shoes are £20 tops.
EDIT. All you do with that tool is hook the hook bits over the edge of the disk and wind the centre bit in with a spanner/ratchet.
As is rotates it'll pull the disk/hub back.
Its a fairly common problem. New shoes are £20 tops.
EDIT. All you do with that tool is hook the hook bits over the edge of the disk and wind the centre bit in with a spanner/ratchet.
As is rotates it'll pull the disk/hub back.
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Associate
I've had a similar problem 4 weeks ago.
One of the rear drums would not budge at all, nothing worked other than tapping to the back plate of the drum with a hammer - not the drum itself. I've since changed the shoes and cleaned the insides and it's worked fine ever since.
One of the rear drums would not budge at all, nothing worked other than tapping to the back plate of the drum with a hammer - not the drum itself. I've since changed the shoes and cleaned the insides and it's worked fine ever since.
Well, the mechanic had a tool which looked pretty well suited to the job but it really does make you wonder how far they're willing to go, and how much effort they're NOT prepared to put in, in an attempt to get more business.
I'm really not clued up mechanically so I'm not sure.
I'm really not clued up mechanically so I'm not sure.
Soldato
As you say - you're not clued up mechanically. Even if you got the drum off, what lies underneath would be meaningless to you.
If the professional mechanic has already tried a drum puller and it didn't work, I would be very surprised if you could do any better. If you fancy trying it youself, your £20 might be better spend on a grinder and eye protection.
Best to just let the mechanics do their stuff. You'll need a new drum and possibly a brake shoe kit, depending on what's broken. If you have ABS it'll be more expensive.
If you didnt live so far away i'd come and have a go myself! 
If you've no mechanical experience or dont fancy giving it a go i'd be inclined to get a second opinion from a different mechanic. Assuming we're correct about the problem, it shouldn't be any more than an hours labour and £20 or so in parts.
Just for reference, the rear driver side wheel on the GFs was jammed enough to lock the wheel completely when moving forward and back. Which was fun when I had to move it into some space to work on it, half expecting to leave the entire rear axel behind. Apparently it happened the week before too, but the GF never mentioned it because it free'd itself up and was 'fine' after.
EDIT. Here's a guide on how to do it on a pug 106. Should be pretty similar to the clio set-up. Only things different will be the fact you'd need a disk puller to get the drum off (after the bolts and circlips are removed). And i didnt bother clamping the brake hose either.
http://www.106owners.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=24770
If you've no mechanical experience or dont fancy giving it a go i'd be inclined to get a second opinion from a different mechanic. Assuming we're correct about the problem, it shouldn't be any more than an hours labour and £20 or so in parts.
Just for reference, the rear driver side wheel on the GFs was jammed enough to lock the wheel completely when moving forward and back. Which was fun when I had to move it into some space to work on it, half expecting to leave the entire rear axel behind. Apparently it happened the week before too, but the GF never mentioned it because it free'd itself up and was 'fine' after.
EDIT. Here's a guide on how to do it on a pug 106. Should be pretty similar to the clio set-up. Only things different will be the fact you'd need a disk puller to get the drum off (after the bolts and circlips are removed). And i didnt bother clamping the brake hose either.
http://www.106owners.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=24770
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Soldato
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- 23 Nov 2004
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I have two different sized gear pullers(those laser ones) and big enough sockets for a hub nut if you wanted to mess about with it yourself.
Last time I took a drum off it just popped off using a screwdriver between the gap, had a hub puller but it wouldn't quite fit properly.
Last time I took a drum off it just popped off using a screwdriver between the gap, had a hub puller but it wouldn't quite fit properly.
The lining will have come off the shoe, spun round and jammed between teh brake cylinder or the other shoe and the drum.
slacken the handbrake cable as far as it'll go and set about it with a couple of levers and rotate it if you can. I've never had to grind a drum off, thats just ignorant. Patience and technique will get it off.
Can the hub be unbolted from the axle? May be easier to remove the whole assembly and get it on a bench.
slacken the handbrake cable as far as it'll go and set about it with a couple of levers and rotate it if you can. I've never had to grind a drum off, thats just ignorant. Patience and technique will get it off.
Can the hub be unbolted from the axle? May be easier to remove the whole assembly and get it on a bench.
This, I slackened the handbrake all the way off (to the point it pretty much didnt work) and that really helped getting the drum off when I had a similar problem (see ealier post).