My rear brakes only partial release . The shoes stay partially on at all times. Would i be right in thinking it is seized cylinders? If so how do i fix this. I hav had a look at the drums and shoes they look fine. Could it be seized handbrake cables ? if so how to check and fix ? Any help would be great.

Edited 10 January, 200818 yr by no1_original

Lift the seal on the cylinder & spray in some wd40. Make sure the piston will twist freely in the cylinder. Then you can push the cylinder in. Watch the fluid level in the master cylinder doesnt overflow or the opposite cylinder doesnt shoot out. If the piston goes in it should then spring out on its own. If it sticks in then you are better off replacing them. Depends how old they are.

might be sticking handbrake cables too. When you say partially release, how much do they stay on? They shouldn't move completely away from the drum, normally you can still feel them rubbing the drum when you turn the wheel by hand when jacked up. But if you mean you struggle to even turn the wheel by hand when jacked up then yeah, the cylinder or cable sounds like it's seized up.

hi there

i've got this problem on my car

just wondered if you got to the bottom of it

when i apply the habdbrake on the car the near side seems like it doesn't release properly?? thus binding the brake.

any help would be brill!

Can you push both the cylinder pistons right back in. If the shoes are worn the pistons dont retract into the cylinder as they take up the slack. They can stick a bit then only pushing out & not fully returning

Its always a good idea when doing a service to make sure that the pistons retract into the cylinder & are free enough to twist by hand

how much meat is meant to be on the shoes???

at the moment the pistons are not fully pushed back... they are out a bit.

Off the top of my head i think the minimum shoe lining thickness is 2.5mm. checked.

Does depend if the shoe lining is rivited or bonded

Can run the bonded linings to a thinner minimum but you will probably have run out of handbrake adjustment by then

Edited 4 January, 200917 yr by Red Indian Mk3

they are rivited mate

also the handbrake has run out of adjustment on the nearside (the side which is binding)

This might help you understand whats happening: looking at the handbrake with the cover off seeing the two cables. when i release the hand brake the off side cable retracks. the near side does not retract??? it is as if the handbrake returning system isn't working???

The cable could be seized then. If you slacken off the handbrake adjustment can you pull the cable through @ the drum

It might be that the cable is stretched & you may need new ones anyway

Also the handbrake lever can sieze on the shoe.