I have opened up my rear drums to clean them up and free up my handbrake cable, but im wanting to look at the sensors cause i have the 3 amigos, how do i get the sensors out?? Do you get them out from behind drum cable is or do you have to drop the hole drum and go in from the inside?
caravan doctor
New Member
depending on the age of your hippo, it might be the brake light switch, theres a modified switch, if you aint got it already, its well covered on here if you search, its a known fault, if you aint got the modified switch, my money would be on it being this
my brake lights work fine, but i have a locked up rear drum and the car had been sitting for 6 months so all brakes were rusty, the hippo is a 2001 yreg. Cause the way the rear brakes are i think the fault will be the sensors at the brakes not the sensor up the brake pedal. But how do the come out???
hippolover
New Member
They don't usually survive being removed and new ones are needed. Best to free off brakes first and recheck whether lights go out. Most likely the handbrake pivot seized. Remove it, heat it, work the pivot, lubricate and rebuild.
To take the sensors out you may be lucky to slide a 17mm spanner behind the plastic end and lever it but you'll find the head will break off and you need to drill or burn out the rest. Sounds drastic and you have to be careful. Once it's loose you can slip a screwdriver in behind it and push but watch out for the reluctor ring as you can easily damage it. You'd be best all round getting the car plugged in to see which if any sensor is away before demolishing something which might not need changed in the first place! Dealer price is about £160 each for the sensors but they are available from ebay sellers for about £40 each.
Of course it could be a front sensor or ring away or the switch which is quite delicate (and cheap).
In any event my personal experience is that the Freelander doesn't like standing unused for any length of time - your problem is common even after a couple of months. The rust 'grows' in the hubs and knocks the face off the sensors when you move off.
To take the sensors out you may be lucky to slide a 17mm spanner behind the plastic end and lever it but you'll find the head will break off and you need to drill or burn out the rest. Sounds drastic and you have to be careful. Once it's loose you can slip a screwdriver in behind it and push but watch out for the reluctor ring as you can easily damage it. You'd be best all round getting the car plugged in to see which if any sensor is away before demolishing something which might not need changed in the first place! Dealer price is about £160 each for the sensors but they are available from ebay sellers for about £40 each.
Of course it could be a front sensor or ring away or the switch which is quite delicate (and cheap).
In any event my personal experience is that the Freelander doesn't like standing unused for any length of time - your problem is common even after a couple of months. The rust 'grows' in the hubs and knocks the face off the sensors when you move off.
