Freelander 1 Hippo Handbrake

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hovismon said:
Yeah he gave the handbrake a right tug, and it scored 15%, pass was 16%.

The thing worrying me is that I can't find any problems at all with the system. Cables are moving freely, no leaks, no gunge inside the drums, good shoes etc. Only a possible loose retaining pin is the worst fault I've found. I really really hope it's that because I am stumped to what else could be wrong. I'll get new pins and clips tomorrow and try putting everything back together using the steps above. If I still have a dodgy handbrake after all that then I'm gonna bate all round me... ;)
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Correctly adjusting the rear brakes as above should get the best out of them. If nothing else, scuffing the drum and shoe surfaces should bump you over the pass mark.

The wife's Peugeot failed on handbrake many years ago. The MoT man, being a good lad, popped the drums off for me and gave everything a good roughing. It passed with flying colours.

If you are still having no luck, look into the shoes you fitted - were they Britpart or other crappy aftermarket? Are your drums worn out of spec? There will be an answer somewhere, as the stock FL handbrake is pretty good (at engaging - not so good at releasing sometimes).
 
Drum.JPG
Having just recently had my Freelander fail on handbrake efficiency I decided to go balls out and replace the drums, cables, shoes and also put new rigid pipes from drums to flexi hose section. When I stripped down the old drums the handbrake mechanism on both sides was seized badly. Could this just be the problem with yours? The bar at the bottom that has a bit that moves at the end where the cable clips in.
 
I haven't gone away you know!
Shoryuken, yep, I've checked the operation of those levers, which part the shoes when the handbrake is pulled, and mine are fine and dandy.

This is the first attempt I've managed after a week of either heavy rain or being away for the day. I put the shoes back together, checking that everything was nice and clean and lubricated, and I loosened the handbrake lever also. So, everything back together, I couldn't get the shoes adjusted using a screwdriver in the back of the mounting plate, so I just pumped the brake pedal 30 or so times. Tightened handbrake lever but couldn't get the handbrake to hold the car. Took drums off again and watched whilst Mrs hovismon pressed the brakes and pulled handbrake. Handbrake seemed to work ok but the adjusters weren't adjusting with the pedal being pressed. You could see the ratchet trying to work but it wasn't turning.

Are the adjusters sided?

I even swapped the adjusters over just in case they were sided wrongly by the previous owner, no joy. I visually checked the adjusters and I'm confused. They both look the same, the ratchet teeth are aligned the same way but they turn in different directions in order to expand. Have I got the wrong teeth on one of them?

I either scream or I just go and attempt the n/s/f track rod end.
 
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hovismon said:
I haven't gone away you know!
Shoryuken, yep, I've checked the operation of those levers, which part the shoes when the handbrake is pulled, and mine are fine and dandy.

This is the first attempt I've managed after a week of either heavy rain or being away for the day. I put the shoes back together, checking that everything was nice and clean and lubricated, and I loosened the handbrake lever also. So, everything back together, I couldn't get the shoes adjusted using a screwdriver in the back of the mounting plate, so I just pumped the brake pedal 30 or so times. Tightened handbrake lever but couldn't get the handbrake to hold the car. Took drums off again and watched whilst Mrs hovis pressed the brakes and pulled handbrake. Handbrake seemed to work ok but the adjusters weren't adjusting with the pedal being pressed. You could see the ratchet trying to work but it wasn't turning.

Are the adjusters sided?

I even swapped the adjusters over just in case they were sided wrongly by the previous owner, no joy. I visually checked the adjusters and I'm confused. They both look the same, the ratchet teeth are aligned the same way but they turn in different directions in order to expand. Have I got the wrong teeth on one of them?

I either scream or I just go and attempt the n/s/f track rod end.
Click to expand...
Have another look - if you manually expand the shoes in place, you should see the pawl mechanism moving to engage and turn the adjuster nut. Note the direction - up, as far as I remember. Now try turning the adjuster nut yourself in the same direction and check it pushes the shoes apart.

I would remove the adjuster, spin the nut off and give the threads a go on the wire wheel. A thin coat of copper grease helps here, although it does trap the brake dust a bit. Check the pawl mechanism isn't worn where it contacts the nut, and that the spring is in good nick.

I can't quite work out why you can't adjust the shoes from the back, unless the adjuster threads are seized as above. Using a torch, locate the nut and turn it by pivoting a screwdriver downwards. The mechanism will go 'clonk' each time you click it. This will tighten the shoes.

Alternatively, you can turn the adjuster nut with a pair of grips with the drum off, then slip the drum over and check for a slight drag. You'll have to remove the rust/wear ridge on the inner lip of the drum with a grinder to do this.

If you must use the brake pedal 30 times method (it's never worked for me) then I think the engine should be running.
 
Maybe not correct but so long as you don't have a lip on the drums you could try and adjust the shoes until you can just get the drums on with them still able to spin freely and see how it goes. but you need to confirm they are fitted correctly.
 
Nodge68 said:
I think the handbrake cable adjusters being slack, helps the rear shoes adjust themselves better.
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I normally do have the cable slack, but I find that although the mechansim makes a lot of clonking sounds as I push the pedal, nothing really happens. My guess is that the procedure worked fine when the brakes were new, but rust and wear take their toll. I've tried it on five seperate Freelanders (02 to 05 models) and no joy.

With the wife's 04 model, I just give the rear brakes a tickle every six months or so. Drums off, shoes off (you don't need to disconnect any springs if you do it right), clean out, grease handbrake pivot and shoe bosses, reassemble, readjust. Keeps the brake pedal tight and stops the dreaded stuck handbrake.
 
Had another attempt at beating my head off the brakes today. Thanks for all the replies above, unfortunately they're all redundant.

Shoes are only a year old, and a good brand, I don't do cheap brakes ever. Drums are not worn, clean, no lip and round. Cylinder is working freely as it should. Both adjusters were taken apart and cleaned and lubed and rotate fine. My suspicions are still with these adjusters though. When Mrs hovismon pressed the brake pedal for me, I could see the adjusters try to grab the ratchet teeth on the nut, but whilst one side was sort of adjusting, the other side was trying to turn the teeth the opposite way, i.e. the teeth are pointing the same direction. I think they're sided.

After a quick check I found part numbers SMN000040 & SMN000050 online, left and right hand adjusters. Both of my adjusters on inspection were identical, the ratchet teeth on both nuts were in the same direction.

Surely this must be the cause? Can I just flip the adjusting nut around on one side to have the teeth point in the correct direction?
 
hovismon said:
Had another attempt at beating my head off the brakes today. Thanks for all the replies above, unfortunately they're all redundant.

Shoes are only a year old, and a good brand, I don't do cheap brakes ever. Drums are not worn, clean, no lip and round. Cylinder is working freely as it should. Both adjusters were taken apart and cleaned and lubed and rotate fine. My suspicions are still with these adjusters though. When Mrs hovismon pressed the brake pedal for me, I could see the adjusters try to grab the ratchet teeth on the nut, but whilst one side was sort of adjusting, the other side was trying to turn the teeth the opposite way, i.e. the teeth are pointing the same direction. I think they're sided.

After a quick check I found part numbers SMN000040 & SMN000050 online, left and right hand adjusters. Both of my adjusters on inspection were identical, the ratchet teeth on both nuts were in the same direction.

Surely this must be the cause? Can I just flip the adjusting nut around on one side to have the teeth point in the correct direction?
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The left adjuster is left-hand thread, the other right. Even if you have one wrong adjuster, one wheel would adjust correctly. If the adjusters were swapped, you would have spotted it with this procedure:

guineafowl21 said:
Have another look - if you manually expand the shoes in place, you should see the pawl mechanism moving to engage and turn the adjuster nut. Note the direction - up, as far as I remember. Now try turning the adjuster nut yourself in the same direction and check it pushes the shoes apart.
Click to expand...

Now slow down, have a cuppa, go back to the car and note the threading of each side. You won't sort your brakes, and will continue to "beat your head off them" and find our advice "redundant" unless you approach this methodically and calmly. :):cool:
 
I've seen the same LH or RH adjuster on both sides of a Freelander before. Presumably the wrong replacement was fitted at some point in the past.
If you are unsure of what adjusters you have. Just replace both, using the handed part numbers. Then make sure that the correct part numbered part, goes into the correct side;)
 
Cheers Alibro, if all else fails I might just take you up on that offer!

Tomorrow, if it's dry enough, and the person who's coming to see if Mrs hovismon is fit for work doesn't hold us up, I'll take the suspect adjuster off and flip the nut about. I think that's the problem as I've seen lots of pics online of the nut in that reversed manner.

Wish me luck!
 
Alibro said:
The testers in NI use a split roller that rotates the wheels in opposite directions and they test one wheel at a time so they don't harm the 4wd. Not sure what would happen if you'd fitted a limited slip diff though. They also wrench pretty hard on the handbrake so yours must have been poor. Have you checked for leaky slaves or sticky cables?
As for the clips and springs there are kits available to replace them on eBay. Just make sure you order the correct ones unlike someone I know. :oops:
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Yep this is how they tested mine in the uk, they spin the rollers in opposite directions, no need for a 4 wheel rolling road they said.
 
Alibro said:
LOL, I think Grumpy might be eluding to the fact NI is in the UK (for now anyway :p). GB would be the correct term. ;)
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I'm surprised your still putting up with us, especially with the shambles happening at Westminster currently:(

Rear brakes can be a nightmare. Years back when mine played up after the wife drove the car 5 miles with the handbrake on!! "There's smoke coming from the rear wheels" she said!!!!
It took about 5 full strip downs to get them working properly. The worm drive self adjusters can be a right pain, especially if someone's messed with them before and put them back incorrectly.
I'd take @Alibro up on his offer to compare them side by side, the only way to be certain without us all taking pictures of our drums.
Mike
 
Skinny Mike said:
I'm surprised your still putting up with us, especially with the shambles happening at Westminster currently:(

Rear brakes can be a nightmare. Years back when mine played up after the wife drove the car 5 miles with the handbrake on!! "There's smoke coming from the rear wheels" she said!!!!
It took about 5 full strip downs to get them working properly. The worm drive self adjusters can be a right pain, especially if someone's messed with them before and put them back incorrectly.
I'd take @Alibro up on his offer to compare them side by side, the only way to be certain without us all taking pictures of our drums.
Mike
Click to expand...
I've never been into politics and despise the polarised nature of politics in NI so I agree 100% with your sentiment. Especially with the way the Republic is going at the minute. Their economy has recovered really well from the issues they had a few years back. Maybe if Mr Corbyn gets into number 10 and Scotland leave the UK then a few folk over here will have less reason to go around waving the Union Flag in the aggressive manner they do.
The first three minutes of this is very funny, the second three minutes is probably the funniest and most true thing I have ever watched.

 
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