Hand brake actuator (D3) Squeal/Bang !!!

[Busman]

I have just returned from the GCLRO Easter Campout 2011.
On Easter Saturday we ventured to the Condamine Gorge Track.
For those who do not know this track, the road pass through the Condamine River 14 times.
Water levels at worst where a third up the door of the D3.
I completed the day and returned back to camp.
The next morning the park brake acuator was doing the usual squeel and knock upon appling & releasing.
In the past 10 months l had replaced the acuator unit, so l thought it may not be the issue.
How ever l checked the drain plug on the unit for water, and all good.
I checked the unit loom and cable screw application, all good.
The only thing l could think of was contamination in the hand brake drum.
I took the rear wheels off and removed the rubber plug on the drum.
I grabbed the camp shower pump and pumped under pressure water into the drum.
I found brake dust and some grit coming out under inspection.
After this, l put the wheel back on and went for a drive to heat up the main brakes and move the car side to side.
After a test, all is okay for the past day or so.
So a bit of advise, i was in creek water, then on to a dirt road a number of times, hence the pic on our trip.
There was some contamination to restrict the application of the hand brake, and thus the squeel and bang.
I just thought it may be of use if someone else has the same issue.
It may just get you out of trouble.
If the park brake was to lock on, l would have the take the plastic cover off near the hand brake switch and manually release the park brake.
No need in this instance.:cool:



https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/04/245.jpg

[CaverD3]

Yup, contamination between the drum and the shoe puts the actuator out on setting. Good idea to clean with water or air but best to remove the wheels and clean and adjust properly.

[Scouse]

Have you read the owners manual? It mentions cleaning out the handbrake shoes every 20 miles or something ridiculous like that in those sort of conditions.

:(:(

[grunta]

gday,my 08 dse 3 had a simmalar problem,with only 58000 klm on the clock the park brake made a screem and locked on,i worked out how to disarm the brake via owners manual, this car has done no off road work and gave no warning signs,my mechanic said its a common fault and suggests an acuator and cabble kit at a cost of $1000,? should i get the kit or try cleaning first as he hasnt looked at it yet,as i live in rockhampton qld, we have no dealer up here,would landrover look after me with parts,ie a discount ?as the car is just out of warranity,any advice would be gratefull ;)

[Scouse]

It could just need adjusting but if it's started to scream, it could well be a little late for that.

[NavyDiver]

I had this problem a few months ago. I tried getting the drum off. It needs a hex socket to remove it. Does anyone know the size or type this is for a D3?

The first problem with mine was a over tight adjustment on the parking brake. This was fixed by removing the wheel, taking off the small plug and rotating until I could see the cog inside the drum. I needed a torch and patients to find the cog! I adjusted it up to lock then backed it off three clicks on advise of ARL(thanks guys) and no problem.
Yesterday after a fair bit of water I got the Squeal and error message for the parking brake:(. Washed all the mud off and it is still sqealing like a stuck pig:o just a lot less than at first.

The 20k parking brake shoe cleaning sound good. I guess if we do a lot of river crossing especialy in dirty water and or time in mud baths :D :D then a flush or full clean would be a good idea even more often. Ritta landrover just suggested the flush via the handbrake adjsutment plus IS NOT a good idea as water might stay in the drum rusting!!!

Ritta suggested it is about an hours work to remove the disk brakes and calipers to allow a service, clean and recallibration of the hand brake.

210,000 km and loving my D3:D

[Graeme]

T50 Torx (not hex) socket is needed to remove the hub retaining screw. Adjustment needs a 4mm Allen key. Procedure is to loosen the Allen key bolt, tighten shoes until 40-90Nm to turn the axle, back off 8 clicks then tighten the Allen key bolt. Its certainly a good idea to clean out the dust before adjusting.

[NavyDiver]

Took D3 to URL, wanted the whole parking brake looked at but with two sick kids in tow:(:( setteld for a very speedy adjustement which fixed the squealing. Gent waiting with me suggested he had two parking brake actuators replaced. His D3 had 215000km of the clock mine with 210,000. Is replacing the actuator a good idea or common on D3, D4 or rangies with similar parking brake set ups?

[rocmic]

Don't know id it is common, but mine was replaced yesterday (2008 TDV6 with 73,400 km on the clock).
the dealer told me that they had tried to adjust but could not get it right, therefore the whold module was replaced. Good thing I bought the extended warranty.
Cheers
Mike

[Busman]

Bit of info on the queel l had.
It really started to get on my nerves when the wife rings me from the shops, saying she cannot move.:mad:
The whole problem started with going on a club trip through a number of shallow river crossings.
Grit builds up in the drum etc etc.
The shoes jam and bind and thus the acuator squeels its head of, as it cannot move the shoes in or out properly.
To cut a long story short, l took it to a local brake guy, and he machined the drum and noted that there was alot of grit and brake dust flowing the function.
Pretty much it seems general maintenance is the key in this regard, if you enter mud, very dusty conditions or water crossings.
Yes l had replaced the brake acuator last year, due to it being just plain worn out.
But beyond that, simple cleaning and maint is the key for easy operation the car.

[Busman]

T50 Torx (not hex) socket is needed to remove the hub retaining screw. Adjustment needs a 4mm Allen key. Procedure is to loosen the Allen key bolt, tighten shoes until 40-90Nm to turn the axle, back off 8 clicks then tighten the Allen key bolt. Its certainly a good idea to clean out the dust before adjusting.

Graeme is totally correct with his procedure.
Another simple to clean out grit to get you out of trouble, is take the rubber gromit from the drum and flush water through.
It does assist sometimes, and may get things working enough, until you get home to have a closer inspection.

[DiscoWeb]

Took D3 to URL, wanted the whole parking brake looked at but with two sick kids in tow:(:( setteld for a very speedy adjustement which fixed the squealing. Gent waiting with me suggested he had two parking brake actuators replaced. His D3 had 215000km of the clock mine with 210,000. Is replacing the actuator a good idea or common on D3, D4 or rangies with similar parking brake set ups?

My D3 has just over 50,000km and on the AULRO forum trip just last weekend my handbrake started squealing and failed for the second time since I have owned it and I had to do the manual release to get going.

Still within warranty and whole assembly was replaced on Tuesday as well as the a/c compressor which developed a leak whilst at the dealers (good timing).

This is probably my only issue with the D3. I find it hard to reconcile why this part is designed in such a way that if you use the vehicle off road even a little bit in muck and dust etc this part fails.

I try and get off road reasonably regularly (read 1 a month) and last week we did go through some mud and bog holes etc and before that I did 2 days driving in the Vic High Country and some other day trips around Lithgow/Newnes but this is a real design problem and one that does not seem to have been rectifies in later models.

Even mentioning it to the dealer at service time to make sure they clean and adjust does not seem to really extend the life and if a Mike (rocmic) advised me on the weekend that the cost to replace the actuator unit is $1,700 (done under his extended warranty) it should be dealt with by LR and fixed.

Rant over and other than the inconvenience no big deal this time but I would be pretty P@@sed off if I have to spend those type of $$ on replacing this regularly if owned for a long time.

Regards,


George

[Busman]

I have to agree it is a P..s poor design.
Whats wrong with the old fashioned hand brake??
Having to clean the brake drums and adjust after a weekend of wheeling on dirt roads ????? WEll you know:mad:

Our local LR mechanic has mentioned that it just comes down to having the drums taken off and cleaned and maintained at every service.
If the acuator keeps on jaming, over a period of time it just burns out the motor.
To save money, the bottom line is maintenance.

[birky]

G'day Forum

My Disco 3 MY09 TDV6 SE, had the same issue last week. After driving on some slightly wet muddy gravel roads my hand brake / park brake made a squealing sound followed by an error message. This happened once I had stopped, applied the EPB and tried to drive off after a short time.

I have read a lot of forums from the UK, SA and AUS since the problem with my car, and it is very clear that this is a very common issue with all D3's. These cars obviously have a faulty design and this is clearly a safety issue.

Through the collective power of all D3 owners and possibly driven by the large Landrover forums around the world, due to the hundreds of complaints regarding this issue. It should be possible to get acknowledgement and rectification from Landrover.

Regards
Birky

[yattalunga]

I had the squeal problem again one month after a service where the EPB was adjusted. This time I did it myself following the instructions and it has worked like a gem. Its time to do it again if you hear that metallic clink when the brake goes on.

[steved01]

Well the EPB went on the wife last weekend (while she was parked, not hers literally!!) - I get the panicked phone call at work and talk her through it...all ok until 2 days later when it goes again and this time she has to call the breakdown guys.

Took it in for it's 98k service today at Knights Rover, Brisbane and I just got the call that the acctuator has gone - that'll be 1100 bucks to you sir !!

I'll survive without it for now I think...esp when the part here Famous Four - New Parts for Discovery 3 - Brakes (http://www.famousfour.co.uk/new_parts/parts-veh-disco_3-sec-brks.html) is 345 UK pounds ($520)

[yattalunga]

Well the EPB went on the wife last weekend (while she was parked, not hers literally!!) - I get the panicked phone call at work and talk her through it...all ok until 2 days later when it goes again and this time she has to call the breakdown guys.

Took it in for it's 98k service today at Knights Rover, Brisbane and I just got the call that the acctuator has gone - that'll be 1100 bucks to you sir !!

I'll survive without it for now I think...esp when the part here Famous Four - New Parts for Discovery 3 - Brakes (http://www.famousfour.co.uk/new_parts/parts-veh-disco_3-sec-brks.html) is 345 UK pounds ($520)

Ok time to get resourceful and design an alternative system. I was thinking of making a side lever system that directly pulls on the cables or onto a sutable spot in the existing unit. I will need to get hold of a broken unit to explore. Has anyone looked at doing this?