944 HANDBRAKE STILL CAUSING ANNOYING PROBLEMS !!

[Jinxy]

Hi Guys, ive had this problem with the handbrake for a while now & thought i had cured it yesterday, the main problem was a binding handbrake when reversing off my drive, the only way to cure it was to drive slowly forward & tug the handbrake sharply which would result in a "Clonk" from both rear brakes & it would be fine until i parked up again & used the handbrake. A post that i put on here a while ago suggested that i may have a broken return spring, so yesterday i decided to take a look at the rear brake set up. No broken springs were found on either side, but i did see that both bottom sliding links for the shoes & cables were a little stiff & gummed up, so armed with a tin of brake cleaner & WD40 we managed to get them working much smoother & they seemed to operate a lot better, i refitted the drums & all was ok, but this morning on reversing off the drive there was no binding, but as habit dictated i slowly lifted the handbrake again only to be met with the same clonk sound from the rear ! so my question is does anyone know what else i can try please ? cheers, Jinxy

 

[bmnelsc]

sounds like either the shoes are "sticking" to the internal drum (after spending the night engaged) so while is sounds like you cleaned everything up - perhaps the drum surface/brake shoe surface needs a light going over with cleaner and/or sandpaper. Otherwise I would look for the cable(s) to be hanging up - perhaps a little frayed where they enter a guide - I'd follow the cables back up and look for worn spots/binding. I say this because the handbrake is fairly easy to overcome in reverse even if it holds very well going forward so your brake might be dragging some until you free them by exercising the lever.

 

[Jinxy]

Thanks for the reply Bruce, the drum was cleaned before being refitted, so dont think its those, the cables are running freely, i checked these when the drums were off, its almost like the shoes move too much in the drum which allows them to straighten up & snap into place when the handbrake is applied, i may just bite the bullet & buy 2 new drums & a set of shoes when the weather gets better, at least they dont seem to be binding when i reverse off the drive now which was my main concern & irritating, thanks again, cheers, Tony