Hanbrake jammed on and wont release

[jason1987]

tried to leave for work this morning and the handbrake is staying on when released, first time its happeened, anythng i can do?

[steve_earwig]

It depends why it's jammed, I think you're saying the lever itself is going down and there's slack in the cable but one of the wheels is jammed, which would mean something untoward has happened inside the brake disk/drum itself, so you should really investigate.

[Ares]

whats the weather there,could be frozen or something.
If not,than check drums and cables like Steve said.

[jasper5]

One or more of the brake linings has seperated from the shoe/s and jammed up.

[steve_earwig]

Either that or a cable outer has rusted to a cable inner. I used to have a mk2 Ahtray that did something similar, in damp weather after a few days not using the car, the shoes used to glue themselves to the insides of the drum with rust. I started off by taking them to bits, then it was a few belts with a big hammer and finally I was driving up the road with the tyre screaming bouncing it up and down kerbs until it released - obviously you won't be trying this until you know what's going on

[lozz]

The Mpv ihad (fraud galaxy) the rear handbrake used to lock on in the winter
ihad to throw abucket of hot water over the back wheels before itd move,

never had it happen on anyother cars,

[Welly]

Either that or a cable outer has rusted to a cable inner. I used to have a mk2 Ahtray that did something similar, in damp weather after a few days not using the car, the shoes used to glue themselves to the insides of the drum with rust. I started off by taking them to bits, then it was a few belts with a big hammer and finally I was driving up the road with the tyre screaming bouncing it up and down kerbs until it released - obviously you won't be trying this until you know what's going on

Reminds me of an Arsetray we had at work in 1994-ish - I used to look down at the car park watching one of the fitters drag that thing around like a stubborn dog until finally it would let go. Even when it did let go it would still sculk about all day (Normally Aspirated 1.7d *shudders*).

Jason - even if you free the wheel you should still have a look inside the drum to see what's what, you don't want them top suddenly lock up on you (be the only time the 406 would actually do anything remotely resembling a hand 'brake' ).

[jason1987]

managed to drive it, its not locking much now ie it rolls backwards etc but i still think it feels like theres a bit of resistance, but not really got time to take it all apart in the week, is a caliper off job

[jason1987]

handbrake has now locked up tottaly and the wheel is dragging, how am i going to get it to the garage to be fixed lol? never knew the 406 could lock the wheel up like this, even going backwards its locked!

[Welly]

If the shoes have detached they'll be jammed up and won't release.

You might need to think about getting a mobile mechanic out if you're not able to have a go at the repair yourself.

[gumby6371]

Have you been able to get the caliper off? just to confirm it's handbrake shoes and not a stuck piston.

If it comes off easy I'd undo the handbrake cable at the T joint and 'persuade' the disc off and take a look. Large mallet or block of wood and big hammer should do the trick.
Chances are the shoes will ping out when the disc comes off so you may need a pic for reference to re-assemble.

My D8 has a different setup to yours so can't help with that

[D9406]

My lads did this a couple of weeks back. His was a siezed handbrake cable. Undo the cable at the connector near the fuel tank then try rotating the wheel whilst on stands, if wheel rotates it will at least give you an idea of what is sticking, if no rotation it will be shoes or springs. If it is a cable it still needs discs off to replace

[jasper5]

If it is a seized cable the handbrake lever will have a very slack feeling for a large part of its travel.

When the shoes shed the lining you often get the handbrake feeling tighter than it was....eg, if it came up 6 notches before it will now be maybe 3 or something.

Whatever you do you will need to release the adjustment on the cables from both adjusters (inside the car and underneath.)

You might be able to release the shoe adjusters through a wheel bolt hole....get a torch and have a look to see if you can see them.

[jason1987]

yh handbrake now feels tighter and doesnt come up as much, so this means shoes have come apart and jammed?

[jason1987]

also where can i buy some replacement handbrake shoes from and which ones do i need? eurocarparts dont have any on their website for some reason, shame as the usually have everything