Handbrake -how hard to sort

[Onyx]

hi,
my handbrake now appears to be of no use whatsoever so i figure it's time to get it sorted  :roll:
question is - is this a job for a mechanic or could i do it myself?   :?

[graham2306]

Difficult one to answer Onyx, you can do it yourself if you know what you are doing, but if not you'll need a man who does.

You need to take the propsahft off to even get near the internals of the handbrake, getting to the cable is fiddly, but not difficult.  If you have the right tools it is all very easy.  whip off the rear prop, pop off the drum, clean it all out, put in new shoes, drum back on, adjust up and prop back on.

Things that can go wrong,
Prop bolts rounded, adjuster seized, drum knackered, cable stretched.....

Have you had a look in the Haynes/Land Rover manual yet?

graham

[thermidorthelobster]

I'm not a mechanic to write home about, but I did mine on the 101 without any hassle - replaced the shoes and the oil seal.  It's nothing to be frightened of if you have a decent set of tools.

IMHO Land Rover handbrakes are never very satisfactory;  out of the 4 Land Rovers I've had, the one on the 101 was the only decent one, until my friend Ben drove it around the yard with the handbrake on, and it was never the same after that.  If you're feeling flush, how about an X-Brake?

[TDi90]

i think the X Brake is one of the best things i have invested in.
they are a cracking bit of kit. can reccommend to anyone... brilliant.

[tonycougar]

If you follow the overhaul instructions in the Landrover workshop manual you can't go wrong. Instructions are very good

[Litch]

The standard LR handbrake is perfectly satisfactory if working correctly, they can reluctant to hold when worn or mis-adjusted but that is down to maintenance. Even after deep wading I have never had one fail to hold the vehicle. If you have filled it with a lot of gloop then it will act as grinding past and wear the shoes VERY quickly, also brake dust & muck can clog the expender unit but that is why it is necessary to carry out regular maintenance.

The Haynes is as good a place as any to start looking for guidence and unless you are really unlucky you should have it stripped, cleaned, re-assembled (with new shoes etc if necessary) and correctly adjusted in under 2-hours. If the cable is at the end of its life then just buy a new one, they are really cheap and easier to replace it while you have it apart.