Rear Brakes Inoperative

tomrock

New Member
Hello All!

I have recently purchased my 2000sc and I have found that despite both front brakes being fine, the handbrake and both rear brakes are do not work at all. They do not cause any drag when the brake is pushed. I know the car was sat without being driven for at least 1 year before I bought it. It has the Girling type brakes.

I was wondering if there was anything I could try to fix the problem before I started removing drive shafts, calipers etc. I read on a dead thread on another forum something to do with pushing the calipers back in in situ in order to unstick the auto adjusting system, any ideas? I'm new to Rovers and am yet to figure out how the slightly confusing calipers and handbrake mechanism work!

Many thanks in advance,

Tom
 
If both the hand and foot brake are not working then it can only be a fault with the calipers. Without knowing any more history of the car then the chances are the calipers are going to have to be removed and dismantled. You can't prise back the pistons to free off the auto adjustment mechanism.

If you could post pics of the calipers, handbrake linkage and pads, that may give more of a clue.
 
Have had a good inspection under the car and have attached a couple of pics.

NS caliper looks like it has been replaced at some point
OS caliper looks much older and has some brake fluid drops on it
NS and OS pads show a strange wear and are much thinner towards the bottom
Discs have a fair bit of surface rust on showing as expected have not done any braking recently
The whole handbrake mechanism is free to move, and moves the full extent of its motion without doing any braking
Brake line looks fine condition. Mounting bracket doesn't appear to be pinching the line

I was wondering if you have any advice on what the problems might be. I imagine I will have to remove the calipers, and plan on doing so this weekend.

Cheers!
Rover NS Outer Pad (2).jpgRover OS Caliper.jpgRover Rear Brake Line.jpg
Rover OS Caliper Leak.jpg
 
Because of the leaks you will have to remove the calipers. The pads are supposed to be tapered like that. The pad slippers and springs and shims are all incorrectly fitted. If the pics were taken with the handbrake "OFF" then the cable is incorrectly adjusted. Not that it really matters but the clevis pins are in the wrong way around as well. If it has had a recent new caliper then the chances are that it hasn't been set up correctly at that time.
 
Thanks Harvey. Will get looking for a rebuild kit and get the calipers off. Thanks. If anybody has any recommendations for good suppliers for rebuild kits then advice would be much appreciated. I am on a limited budget and am currently eyeing up the kits on MGBD parts and ebay suppliers
 
MGBD do calipers with the bores sleeved in stainless, which means any reseals further down the line are just that, no more worries over pitted bores. Alternatively the likes of Past Parts will sleeve the caliper bodies for you to rebuild with a seal kit.
 
The tank sender unit looks wet, I cant be sure of the exact location above the caliper, but wonder if that is fuel dripping down and not a brake fluid leak ???
 
There is clearly a case for rebuilding those calipers, but is the outer pad on the o/s caliper (2nd picture) seated correctly? I can't see how only the very top would make contact with the disc if the pad was able to 'wiggle' freely on the locating bolts :confused:
 
I think the pad is touching over the whole surface in that shot, the depth of field of the shot and foreground being out of focus makes it hard to tell.

Yours
Vern
 
The tank sender unit looks wet, I cant be sure of the exact location above the caliper, but wonder if that is fuel dripping down and not a brake fluid leak ???

I think wet looking sender is just waxoyl type stuff reflecting, the liquid on the caliper is definitely brake fluid.

There is clearly a case for rebuilding those calipers, but is the outer pad on the o/s caliper (2nd picture) seated correctly? I can't see how only the very top would make contact with the disc if the pad was able to 'wiggle' freely on the locating bolts :confused:
I think the pad is touching over the whole surface in that shot, the depth of field of the shot and foreground being out of focus makes it hard to tell.

Yours
Vern

Am not 100% quite what you mean Phil. From what I have seen the pad touches all of the disk
 
I wondered if the pad was jammed somehow at such an angle that it only made contact with the top of the disc, but I suspect it's OK.
 
When the caliper operates the top of the outer pad & the bottom of the inner pad touch first, but then get clamped evenly. I'd suspect that that caliper barely works, just enough to touch off the pads but not enough to clamp them onto the rotor. That would explain the rust-free band at the top of the outside surface of the disk, and the suggestion of one at the bottom on the inside surface.

Yours
Vern
 
just back MOT took in early ( mistake as Sunday run with club for dinner using car no longer an option) failed on head light main beam not working ( checked and was loose connection) handbrake not meeting requirements ( normal but still failed) , near side brake unbalanced to off side on partial braking.. on full ( heavy braking) both balance at 200nm . rear. foot brakes OK . as all callipers exchanged under 2 years ago! ( and master cylinder. servo.all brake lines and Flexi's) at a loss at moment. suspect calliper near side may be sticking? ( corrosion) as do very low miles each year . ( under 300 since last MOT -pass) so 11 month down road with very little use and possible near side calliper needed again? no idea hwo to fix rear handbrake as had new discs .pads . exchange. callipers .cable .. checked handbrake itself with no cable ( free easy no sticking) then cable for inner cable /outer sleeve adhesion/sticking = ok .checked on backstop pins and pads were adjusted fully so no need winding in/out.. fairly sure 'slippers' are right way round. no excess slack in cable but enough to allow mechanism to sit back on both. backstop pins. at this point think a gallon of fuel and a box of matches might be a good idea .. will start work on near side 2moro then look at hand brake ..sigh
 
If your rear pads are pretty good & the handbrake ratchet is working, the handbrake should be around 30 deg up from the transmission tunnel when the handbrake is fully applied.

If it's at more of an angle when pulled on, and the brakes are set correctly (ie: quadrants on their stops with handbrake off) then the handbrake cable length needs adjusting / tightening under the tunnel. This will then give better purchase when the handbrake is applied.

Correct position 'at rest' (quadrant on the stop):

IMG_3679.JPG

Handbrake applied (after ratcheting the main piston outwards - large arrow):

IMG_3680.JPG
 
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I'd say you have far too much movement on the quadrant when the handbrake is applied, it's almost hitting the stop, so there should be much more adjustment you can make to bring the pads closer to the disc at rest.
 
just spent hour etc under car with a neighbour having a look. ended up removing handbrake cable and checking each part . cable inner and our sleeve work ok . handbrake itself though creaky works ok. both brakes are fully back on stops as shown in your Nice pic. ( thanks) though notice yours seem to go further over when applied .mine go about a third of way ( 3-4 ratchets up approx 30 -35 deg) yours look like around half way . despite several attempts to adjust cable removing. all slack = brakes rubbish ( off backstops) adding in minor slack ( on back stops) =rubbish and well slack ( even worse) . we cannot seem to get adequate braking effect as. with wheels in air and engine doing 900-1000 rpm in 'D' applying handbrake slows wheels but does not stop rotation unless fully applied as hard a possible ( shoulder wrenching stuff) then one side stops solid, near side slows to a stop. just wondering if the 'pins' operated by the 'cam' on spindle for callipers are fitted correctly ? aware they can fall 'flat ' in the machined. groove. though would expect no braking.effect whatsoever ! and both callipers. were exchange units 2 years ago. had car 5 years now and every year handbrake has flagged up as issue only just by skins breath passing last year. 300 miles later .... fail! ( a year nearly) so no point doing anything else as can't think what other than throw away callipers and get new ? did notice discs ( replaced 2 years ago) were very well polished like a mirror ! unlike front discs that are slightly polished but have some light grooving. wondering if pads themselves are a poor 'grip' material ? both front and rear new when callipers exchanged and fitted ( new discs at rear only) wondering if roughing up disc surface would increase friction and. barking ability . note passed on footbrake test though. sorry long diatribe but thoughts of scrapping car are coming to fore and wife and son seem to think local cliff has a nice spot at bottom it would look good in.
 
:D got through MOT at last but wasn't easy. handbrake was. comment don but efficiency was just Ok . near side calliper was sticking but managed to loosed. with lot of effort . pads out.. in/out etc . So possible exchange unit next time! ( its only done 900 miles ) have to see if I can talk wife into upgrading with fully new rather than exchange if these are going to be dodgy. handbrake itself was 'creaky' and felt stiff though when cable disengaged is easy to move and no apparent sticking points , just under load its not happy. roughing up and breaking the polished glaze on discs seemed to work. so next year before MOT have to climb under car and remember to do same! meanwhile happy motoring to all out there.
 
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