Series 3 emergency brake adjustment

it's just a brake drum, complete with a pair of shoes. You need to either adjust the shoes or the rods.

I've never had to adjust mine in the last 38 years though, they get no wear at all, so check something hasn't broken. I've found broken welds on the chassis bracket before now, where the rod linkages anchor.

I'm assuming here that a Series 3 hand brake works the same as a Series

Karen

Or it'll be full of oil from the output shaft visible as a drip. If so fix the leak decontaminate the brake shoes and refit.

Lee D

Mine has been slowly getting oilier and oilier over the last 2 years. For each MOT I have managed to get it throuh by adjustig it up a bit more by turning the nuts on the threaded shaft the lever pulls.

Before next year I am going to have to do the oil seal as it now almost pulls the gearbox off the mounts when you put the handbrake on enough to make it grip properly... :)

Anywhere I can find the adjustment procedure?

try here

The brake is adjusted by the square adjuster opposite where the operating rod goes into the back plate. Adjust until it locks the drum with the lever in the off position, and back off one click. If it still does not give proper lever movement adjust length of the rod from the lever to the bell crank. If you are getting movement on the lever that appears to be correct, but it is not holding, there is probably oil on the shoes from the rear seal leaking. Disassemble, degrease or replace linings, replace seal, should work. Another possibility is that the anchor on the chassis is bent, broken, or the operating roller and wedge is seized - repair as indicated.

After adjusting on the first run, check for overheating due to dragging and back off one more click if needed. JD

Emergency brake? I'd like to see you try to brake a Series in an emergency using the parking brake (or hand brake as we call them over here). You'd be better off tieing a bit of string round a brick and throwing it out of the window.

Alex

Erm, the basic design of the handbrake hasn't changed since the 86" Series 1. And the only major change was the move from a rod operated system on the S3 to a cable operated system on the 90/110.

Alex

I have done it on a 110, which has more or less the same system. Mind you, the gearbox seized within 500 miles (I wonder if the two events were connected?)

Stuart

They do if you accidentally drive off with the brake on, much smoking in no time.

No way will mine continue any forward motion with the hand brake on.

It's used regularly as my prime ground anchor when winching on a good surface. A good brake, coupled with the multiplier effect of the diffs, makes it a very safe & secure device.

Perhaps there's something not right with your hand brake, Alex?

Karen

Have you ever tried stopping using the hand brake? They're just too sudden and efficient for that - broken half shafts, driveshafts and backing plates tend to result!

Yes I did once, when I was young & not too sober. Never again, instant wheel lock & loss of control :O

Only damage was an urgent need to get changed ... but I realised I was lucky not to lose a half shaft at the very least.

Karen

The handbrake is usable for stopping - breakages such as you mention only result if it is yanked on very suddenly - applied smoothly it is effective for emergency stops, but the limited drum and lining area means that a single stop will give substantial lining wear and if stopping from any considerable speed severe overheating. And, of course, unless you are in four wheel drive, the braking is only on the back wheels and should be applied with caution anyway to avoid skidding and loss of control.

On my Defender I used the handbrake to stop and slow down on an 80 minute drive through country roads when my brakes failed, assisted by the gearbox, engine braking and light right foot of course. The normal brakes would have worked in an emergency as it was only one caliper that was leaking (on the front), otherwise I'd not have attempted the drive.

I'd imagine you'd be right if yanked on at speed though. I did have to be very careful and light on the brake when the speed dropped as it tended to grab and wind up the drivetrain, causing it to unwind and chuck me backwards a little but only when I was at walking pace.

It's the American term for a handbrake!

Richard

The important thing to remember is to set the actual braking bit at the drum end, that's set up using the adjuster, *then* set up the slack in the cable/linkage. If you try to use the linkage and/or cable adustment to set the operation of the shoes you can well end up the the handbrake either weak or stuck slightly on, and a knackered cable if appropriate.

Richard

Agreed - if the transmission handbrake is anything like right the vehicle cannot be moved with the wheels turning. Experience from RTV scruitineering suggests that an awfult lot of LR's don't have their handbrakes set up right.

Richard

A friend replaced his Defender transmission brake with an open disc brake as he got fed up with it packing with mud. I don't think he made it himself so I suspect there's a kit out there somewhere. It's still cable operated.