FREELANDER HELP!! Handbreak problems

Guys and Gals,

Really need some advice.... Only days ago i finally purchased a freelander, i have covered a lot of miles in that time and apart from the odd knock i didnt have any concerns regarding 'the beast'

however, today, the handbrake would not hold 'the beast' stationary on an incline and im worried if this continues i could potentially cause an accident.

Lucky the road i was on wasnt busy so i avoided any collisions, however, i dont fancy the long drive back from bournemouth to gloucester with worries that if i end up on a hill, i need to make sure my footwork is second to none to avoid rolling back......

i went to a local garage and they didnt have any concerns and reckon it will right itself... im sure its a loose connection somewhere but any advice will be handy...

on inspection myself, the interior handbrake casing is loose and the handbrake itself doesnt require you to strain yourself to pull it up and its quite light and doesnt move too far .... not sure if this has something to d with it???

once i turned the engine off and put it in gear (i always park in gear) the car stopped rolling....

if you can think of anything i can do in the interim or advice and the like i would really appreciate it...

There are also no warning lights regarding breaks etc....

thanks,

Sounds like a broken or disconnected handbrake cable, or could be seized linkage in the hub, or seized adjusters

Thanks for this - do you have any idea how much this would cost to fix?!

Just behind the handbrake under the Cover/cubby box you could try adjusting the nut up.
I have a problem where I think my automatic adjusters slip back at times as the pedal goes soft and the hb is hopeless, try working the hb and see if it takes the slack or shoes could simply just need taking up

thequeenscheese said:

Just behind the handbrake under the Cover/cubby box you could try adjusting the nut up.
I have a problem where I think my automatic adjusters slip back at times as the pedal goes soft and the hb is hopeless, try working the hb and see if it takes the slack or shoes could simply just need taking up

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thanks for this, i am a little ignorant to all of this so i do apologise in advance... the cubby box bit is missing some screws and the back piece has now completely fallen away (this is something i hadnt noticed when i collected the vehicle) so im not sure if this falling away has dislodged a wire some place in the main bulk of it????.... i just went back out and drove round the block and again on any incline the car rolls back when the handbrake is applied until the engine is turned off and put in gear??? is this something breakdown cover covers you for??? i know - judge away ....

So it wouldn't pass an mot, so it's not fit for purpose so take it back to be fixed foc

Not sure about the Cover but if you bought from a dealer/garage etc take it back for them to fix or at least try.

But to take the slack if you have the cubby box it should come out if you remove the screws and there's a nut on a rod with the hb in off position it's will probably be finger loose and easy to tighten up if not some small pliers or a spanner will turn it, ont do too much at once tho..

ProbablyThe 12v socket wire

freelance said:

Sounds like a broken or disconnected handbrake cable, or could be seized linkage in the hub, or seized adjusters

Click to expand...

Take drums off and check the linkage inside the drums that connects the handbrake cable to the shoes, there's a pivot in the linkage that is known to seize, they can usually be freed of by removing, soaking pivot in penetrating oil and using a vice, pliers or grips etc work pivot back and forth until free.
The treads on the adjusters can also get covered in brake dust, etc and seize up, again they can usually be freed off once removed from car. A small amount of high temp. anti-seize grease on the freed off items will help keep them free.
I'd check/repair both these before trying to adjust the cables.

Rob Anybody said:

Take drums off and check the linkage inside the drums that connects the handbrake cable to the shoes, there's a pivot in the linkage that is known to seize, they can usually be freed of by removing, soaking pivot in penetrating oil and using a vice, pliers or grips etc work pivot back and forth until free.
The treads on the adjusters can also get covered in brake dust, etc and seize up, again they can usually be freed off once removed from car. A small amount of high temp. anti-seize grease on the freed off items will help keep them free.
I'd check/repair both these before trying to adjust the cables.

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thanks for this... any idea how big of a job this is???? not something i can do myself sadly, as i have no idea where to even begin.... not flying the flag for the female driver ay???? but i of course will be trying to get my hands dirty when i can ..... iv been trying to find someone to sort it since yesterday and mechanics down in bournemouth seem pretty slack .... one said he thought it would right itself and be fne to drive back to gloucester .... please help!!!

thequeenscheese said:

Not sure about the Cover but if you bought from a dealer/garage etc take it back for them to fix or at least try.

But to take the slack if you have the cubby box it should come out if you remove the screws and there's a nut on a rod with the hb in off position it's will probably be finger loose and easy to tighten up if not some small pliers or a spanner will turn it, ont do too much at once tho..

ProbablyThe 12v socket wire

Click to expand...

is this something i can tinkle with in the handbrake console in the car???? iv tried to get someone to look at it since yesterday afternoon and noone seems to be that concerned but me

freelance said:

So it wouldn't pass an mot, so it's not fit for purpose so take it back to be fixed foc

Click to expand...

sadly i bought the thing off ebay .... although it does state they accept returns.... iv tried contacting the garage that has done the last few years of MOT/servicing etc and not had much luck - joys of it being the weekend.... is this a big job??? i went to a garage yesterday and the guys didnt seem bothered and said id get it back to gloucester and it would be fine and right itself.... but im not happy to drive it especially if the traffic is bad.... iv no idea where to start with it

Land Rover Freelander handbrake problem (1997-2003 cars)
There was a problem with the handbrake on some Freelanders built between October 1997 and February 2001. The handbrake ratchet mechanism wasn't tight enough, meaning there was the possibility it could loosen the brakes and allow the car roll on uneven surfaces.

i found this - where is the rachet??? something i can check myself???

Its all about labour costs to sort your rear brakes although it probably needs new cables, if you search rear brakes, stretched cables on here there is plenty of info

once uve removed the cubby it's straight forward for take the slack up, it's also a maintenance part to help with this, if your unsure pick up a cheap Haynes manual from eBay..

Mmm. is the pedal also going a long way?...mine was doing this, and then I thought that the brakes might well be self adjusting, so I stopped, pumped them and stood on them, and hey presto, the pedal got 'shorter' and the handbrake worked better too - not that I hardly ever use it. It always sticks on, on hippos. And mines an auto.