Help! Rear brakes

Hello fellow Roverers. My first post on here but any advice would be much, much appreciated. I’m a total novice but willing to learn from my mistakes. I’m recommissioning a P6b that’s been laid up for yonks. And unsurprising the rear brakes are locked absolutely solid (even though the handbrake was left off). The car is simply immoveable. The car is stuck in the garage in a really awkward position making it very hard to get under it in any safe way. Is there any simple way I can release the rear brakes so that I can at least push the car to a better position?
 
If you can't get under the car as it is, it would be better to get a couple of those trolley pads that fit under the wheels. It would allow you move the car to a better place, and lift it safely so that you could get under the rear and work on the brakes. Depending on what you will find under there, you start by removing the outer brake pads. If this for some reason isn't possible, you could unbolt the halfshafts from the differential. Removing the rear wheels and reaching from the wheel arch with a couple of long extensions could help.
 
Last edited:
Thank you. In the end I managed to lift the rear wheels off the ground sufficiently with my engine hoist tied to the tow bar, enough to pull it away from the wall anyway. Now I’m stuck trying to dismantle the brakes. Tried undoing the half shafts, as recommended here - just snapped my long extension bar (3/8 drive) instead. Have ordered a 1/2 drive bar. The bolts seem welded in, and because I can’t turn the hubs, and have limited height, two of the bolts are very difficult to get at. God, at times I could just scrap the thing! Trying to get the outer pads out but just undoing the two half-inch bolts hasn’t achieved anything. Are they just rusted on, or is there a dowel or something holding them on?
 
If you remove the 2 bolts holding the outer pad in place you should be able to punch the outer pad free from the caliper, there's nothing else holding it. That's how I moved the last car I had with the same problem.
 
Moving them is easy when you know how. The brakes on my 64 are locked on at the moment, due to it being damp in the lockup.

Just jack under the rear jacking pad, then put some wheel dollys under the wheels, and pull out that way.
 
bought my car form a deal run London.car had been standing in a garage for 13 years . no idea hwo he managed to loosen brakes as when I checked them found matching erosion ( adhesion) areas for pads on discs to point I had to replace both discs and pads ( later replaced calipers too) funnily enough front pads /discs no adhesion or erosion issues ? assume in my case handbrake had been applied. as Harvey suggested a drift and good thump after reming pad reading bolts is probably best way . Won't solve shaft bolts situation but if we can lift car? and get a heavy whack or three on bolt ends before trying to remove we might be lucky as other than heat ? and penetrant fluid ( probably cant get in there) other alternatives start getting hard work eg cutting off heads . I have found that high impact drivers can be really useful where bolts seem seized in some situations. The impact I think is like whacking with a hammer but it same direction as torque movement thus combined torque application hammer action has been successful for me in some situations. good luck with project and a side effect I found off being a rover owner is when working on car you learn a new language with wife isn't keen on!
 
Okay, i'm at the stage now where I'm putting things back together (new calipers and pads, nice clean discs, etc). Anyone know the torque setting for the bolts that bolt the half shafts to the diff hubs? When I took them off the bolts on one side were unbelievably tight - I snapped my 3/8" drive extension bar - but on the other side not too bad; they yielded to a breaker bar and steady, but heavy, pressure.
 
FT it is! Thank you On another point, when I fitted the new pads, under the slipper of one of the calipers I found a wafer-thin shim exactly the same shape as the slipper. I've checked the WM but there is no hint of it. The inner pad slides up and down the caliper okay without it, and seems in no danger of dropping off. Is the shim perhaps some kind of anti-rattle device that should have been fitted on top of the slipper?
 
The shim goes on top of the slipper, on the front of the caliper, the rear has a spring on to the outer pad.
 
Back
Top