Sunday 28 January 2018

Seized Rear Brake.

So I'm out for jaunt out in the Landy and as I'm coming off the throttle, I can feel it dragging and slowing down. Then, as it gets slower, I can hear the squealing coming from the wheel. It was on the drivers' side and with the window open, I just knew it was that side. So I stop and get out and feel around the wheel where the drum makes contact and sure enough, it's very hot to the touch. Just to check, I feel the other wheels and they are all cold. 
So, it's now a slow trip home and stopping every now and then to check and make sure everything is okay and nothing has fallen off or caught fire. 
Once home, I left it for a day to cool right off in my freezing cold garage. I jack it up the next day and take the wheel off and then spent an hour trying to tap and wallop the drum to free it off of the shoes. The slave cylinder had pushed the pistons out and with the rust and corrosion, they had locked out. 
Lots of squirting with antiseizure fluids and gently tapping with a small hammer and the pistons slowly freed off. I pulled each piston out and cleaned them and cleaned the holes they sit in. Once all clean, I smeared a bit of "Copper Ease" around the pistons and a little in the holes. This should stop them from seizing again for a long time. ... I hope? I'm hoping the copper ease doesn't affect the rubber seals. I was lucky enough to get the pistons to come out and leave the seals in place, thus not losing any brake fluid. However, I did get the wife out and push the pedal and bled that side anyway. To my surprise, there was very little difference in the colour of the brake fluid when bled through.