Rear nearside brake (only) locked on!

esray

esray

Member
Got rolling again after sorting (with much help from this site) my valve timing out and now my rear nearside brake is siezed and Roy the Rover (how very unoriginal) is stranded on waste ground at the bottom of a steep hill in my village.

I had to haul him unceremoniously astern off the road with my Disco!

I now have the back up on axle-stands and my offside rear spins nicely until the handbrake is applied (as it should), but my rear nearside is siezed. When the engine gave up on trying to pull me up the hill with one wheel locked, I pulled on the handbrake, which ratcheted up quite a bit higher than uaual - So probably brake not diff??

Could the handbrake linkage have jammed on the nearside, accounting for the locked nearside wheel and the increased handbrake lever travel?

Please, with temperatures in the mid 20's Celsius, I do not want to spend too much time underneath, so what can I do to free the wheel up so that I can get Roy back to base (and some shade) :?:
 
Rubythursday said:
more than likely a collapsed brake hose
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The one between the calipers. Back off the bleed nipple to see if it frees off, if not you'll have to look elsewhere.
 
Rubythursday said:
more than likely a collapsed brake hose
Click to expand...

Hello Rubythursday, thank you for your reply.

I have felt the flexible pipe linking the offside caliper to the nearside and I cannot feel any collapse - Can it be felt? There is a hell of a lot of oil and muck around there - Although the discs appear dry?

I fear I am going to have to remove and refurbish the calipers, replacing all the rubber seals etc - Assuming the hose IS collapsed, how do I free the siezed wheel (when I say siezed, I mean it is locked solid) so that I can get the car home, please?

Ray
 
Rubythursday said:
They cllapse internally so you won't feel anything. As Harvey says, undo the bleed nipple.
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Rubythursday, Harveyp6 - thank you both.

I opened the bleed nipple (nice and easy to get to isn't it!) and it bled, but no go - Wheel still locked.... could it be the Diff half shaft? Do I need to remove the caliper cover etc to get to the push rod? Can it be backed off?

This is my first time (and I suspect it will not be the last) looking at this braking system and I am clueless!
 
The only way forward now is to look and see if there's anything obvious that is causing it to lock, after that you will have to systematically dismantle until things start to move. If I couldn't see anything obvious after checking the pads and caliper, I'd start by removing the 4 driveshaft bolts to see whether the hub and driveshaft are free once those are removed. If it is then take out the disc and see whether the diff output shaft turns.
 
harveyp6 said:
The only way forward now is to look and see if there's anything obvious that is causing it to lock, after that you will have to systematically dismantle until things start to move. If I couldn't see anything obvious after checking the pads and caliper, I'd start by removing the 4 driveshaft bolts to see whether the hub and driveshaft are free once those are removed. If it is then take out the disc and see whether the diff output shaft turns.
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Thanks harveyp6.

Before I undo the 4 driveshaft bolts (think I'll spray them with penetrating oil and leave overnight) Should I try to get the pads out? I imagine that they are unlikely to budge if is they that are jammed on?
 
I'd look before I did anything, you should be able to tell if it's the pads locked on. With the handbrake off you should be able to feel some movement on the innner pad. If the other side is free, move that inner pad, and see if you can do the same on the locked side. Compare the two. Look at the position of the handbrake quadrant on the caliper to see if that's in the correct place. (ie, back on the stop with the handbrake off.)
 
harveyp6 said:
I'd look before I did anything, you should be able to tell if it's the pads locked on. With the handbrake off you should be able to feel some movement on the innner pad. If the other side is free, move that inner pad, and see if you can do the same on the locked side. Compare the two. Look at the position of the handbrake quadrant on the caliper to see if that's in the correct place. (ie, back on the stop with the handbrake off.)
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Harveyp6 - I have done as you suggested and sure enough, the rear offside pads (rear offside wheel is free) inner and outer both have some degree of movement in them, but those on the seized wheel side do not; they are jammed on. Please, should I start at the two bolts holding the caliper cover and keep digging until I get to the push rod?
 
If that's the case it's most likely a problem inside the caliper itself (providing the handbrake quadrant is right back on its stop) so you'll end up removing the caliper to fix it. In which case I'd remove the two bolts that retain the outer pad, and the two bolts that hold the inner pad sliders, and remove those, and then see if a combination of trying to turn the disc, at the same time as tapping the outer pad in the same direction, draws the pads round, and out of the caliper. If that happens you can remove the caliper in the normal way. If not remove the driveshaft and try to force the disc out from between the pads, excercising great caution to avoid the disc coming flying out and smashing you in the face. (H&S message)
If neither of those work you'll have to remove the caliper with it still clamped to the disc, which although do-able, is going to be a lot more awkward. You could dismantle from the other side by removing the cover, and all the mechanism in the hope that the pad operating piston backs off once everything else is removed, but the caliper will need to come off to rebuild it all anyway.
 
In pursuit of getting it off the street and home to be worked on properly. I think I'd do it this way. Just as a check, uncouple the handbrake cable from the affected caliper. Just possible that if the handbrake cable has been adjusted by someone who thinks that that tightens up the handbrake (wrong!) it might be jamming the handbrake mechanism on. If not, drop the driveshaft off the affected side and tow the car home gently with the driveshaft suspended by string or similar. This treatment is not suitable for any significant distance as the diff will be working overtime with one output stuck and the other rotating - never mind the free floating driveshaft!

Chris
 
chrisyork said:
In pursuit of getting it off the street and home to be worked on properly. I think I'd do it this way. Just as a check, uncouple the handbrake cable from the affected caliper. Just possible that if the handbrake cable has been adjusted by someone who thinks that that tightens up the handbrake (wrong!) it might be jamming the handbrake mechanism on. If not, drop the driveshaft off the affected side and tow the car home gently with the driveshaft suspended by string or similar. This treatment is not suitable for any significant distance as the diff will be working overtime with one output stuck and the other rotating - never mind the free floating driveshaft!

Chris
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Chris, thanks.

I had actually got round to that way of thinking myself (a first), prompted by harveyp6's earlier comment regarding undoing the driveshaft coupling. The car only has to travel a couple of hundred yards up an (albeit) steep and narrow mountain village road to home.

There is so much oily crap on and around the calipers and the Diff that I think I am going to have to drop the lot out (I really cannot tell what is oily, grimy brake fluid and what MAY be oily, grimy Diff oil) and check and replace the pads, rubbers etc in the calipers and the oil seals? and oil catchers? in the Diff (is that all that would need replacing in the Diff, please?) :?:

ATB and thanks again, Ray
 
Rubythursday, harveyp6 and chris,

Thank you all - I now have a free wheel; however, I don't think I should drive up the hill on one shaft - Do you? If no, then when my wife gets home from pulling babies out of Greek women, I shall get her to tow me home with the disco.

Thanks again for all of your help - What an excellent resource this site is - Particularly for an owner like me - Stranded 2,000 miles away from knowledge and parts!

Ray :D
 
The car won't drive with one drive shaft disconnected , if it does your diff is locked ,Get your wife to give you a tow
 
DaveHerns said:
The car won't drive with one drive shaft disconnected , if it does your diff is locked ,Get your wife to give you a tow
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It will drive if the halfshaft is disconnected, which it will be, and the brake is locked on, which it is.
 
Roy did drive the last 10 yards - Which is all he needed to be home!

I now look forward to learning some hard lessons about Rover inboard rear disc brakes and final drives!!

And I am also now (thanks to several members of this website) almost nearly an expert on valve and ignition timing insofar as an Ex is a has been and spurt is a drip under pressure :mrgreen:

Thanks to all my helpers.
 
I think if you commit yourself to taking the diff off, taking your time and understanding everything it should be doable?

Good luck anyway!
 
The problem with removing the diff is that once it's out and you try removing the caliper pivot pin bolts you'll be chasing the diff all over the place because you've got no way of holding it still. Do it all in the car, use diff removal only as the last resort.
 
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