EPB - Park brake module fixed IN SITU

[TopEndThom]

My EPB jammed up and made the screeching sound of death. I used the emergency release which got me on my way but the next time I tried the brake it made an even more deathly noise. I found a couple of youtube videos which replicated the exact same air-ratchet kinda noise which carries on for about 5 seconds. Most of these videos suggested the gears in the module have become mush and it must be replaced. I cant afford a whole new module at about $1600 for the part alone so I ordered the gear kit from the UK ($20 delivered) and whilst it was on the way I got looking at how hard it actually is to remove the module and overhaul the internal gearbox. VERY HARD. But during this research I found something interesting. Theres an inbuilt mechanism in that gearbox to protect the gears from tearing themselves apart if something jams. This is what makes the awful noise, meaning that most modules that are replaced because of the noise are actually fine. The other interesting thing is that the cover for the EPB module can be removed in-situ and the mechanism manually unjammed. I've just saved myself about $3000 in parts and labour and it only cost me $20 for a gear kit that I didn't even use.

If you've got this issue read on and hopefully save some dollars.

1. Watch this video to get an idea of what needs to be done. He has the module removed, but does what can be done in-situ.
Land Rover Discovery 3 - Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) Failure & Repair - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0bGgf6u_dk&t=194s)

2. Jack rear of car up, slide under and find the module above the rear diff. Remove the 8 torx head screws that hold the cover on. Access by basically hugging the drive line and exhaust pipes so you can get both hands up there.

3. Remove cover using a pry bar or long flathead screw driver. The cover is siliconed on so force is required. I used 2x long screwdrivers on the passenger side lower corner - leverage off the diff and eventually it should break enough silicone to get your hand in and pull it fully away.

4. Unwind the jammed bar as shown in the video. This takes some effort. The bar needs to be rotated down towards you. I used a stumpy flathead screwdriver and levered off the internal plastic moulding which broke, but theres a solid area behind it which was strong enough to lever off and break the thread.

5. Wind all the way until the re-latching mechanism clicks back into place.

6. Test park brake. If its working again remove all the old silicone off the cover and module, re-apply some sealant and reverse the process.

7. It should be noted that your EPB will likely only jam up like this if it's badly out of adjustment, causing the threaded bar to reach its limit and become stuck. Follow the instructions in Bodsy's Brake Bible linked below to adjust the brake shoes. This involves removing each rear wheel and adjusting the cable length each side. There are some video's on youtube that follow each step.
https://www.disco3club.co.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/10057/Bodsys_Brake_Bible_V1_6a.pdf

[350RRC]

Here's a vid that shows all, including the protection mechanism and suss replacement parts, that turn out to be unnecessary:

Range Rover Sport EPB Actuator Repair. - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF8NqQ8BoYI)

Maybe it's a follow on from the OP's link

[TopEndThom]

Yep thats the exact video I referenced.

[350RRC]

Prior to seeing that vid I thought the plastic gears etc in the EPB was just a shocker.

The ratchet mechanism that prevents the gears shredding when the thing is jammed is well explained and changed my opinion about the whole set up.

DL

[TopEndThom]

I was the same. I did find a couple of other videos where there was damage to the gears, namely the very top gear in the arrangement. But the symptoms are different.
If one hears the rattle gun carry on then the gearbox is most likely okay.

[Rocksaw]

I have just completed the repairs on my park brake. I bought a 2006 Disko with a blown 4L V6 and had the motor rebuilt then found the park brake was Inoperative, the first thing I did was check the brake linings they were worn, the next was to remove the control module and disassemble it, on inspection of the plastic gears I found the largest gear had three teeth striped. I also found on line in E-Bay Uk a set of new brake cables which included new gears all up with new discks and brake linings the fix cost me $500Au and six hours work.

[TopEndThom]

I have just completed the repairs on my park brake. I bought a 2006 Disko with a blown 4L V6 and had the motor rebuilt then found the park brake was Inoperative, the first thing I did was check the brake linings they were worn, the next was to remove the control module and disassemble it, on inspection of the plastic gears I found the largest gear had three teeth striped. I also found on line in E-Bay Uk a set of new brake cables which included new gears all up with new discks and brake linings the fix cost me $500Au and six hours work.

What were the symptoms of your inoperative EPB? I'm interested to know if it was still able to produce the "rattle gun" sound with the stripped teeth.

[RANDLOVER]

My EPB jammed up and made the screeching sound of death.....

5. Wind all the way until the re-latching mechanism clicks back into place.

6. Test park brake. If its working again remove all the old silicone off the cover and module, re-apply some sealant and reverse the process.

7. It should be noted that your EPB will likely only jam up like this if it's badly out of adjustment, causing the threaded bar to reach its limit and become stuck. Follow the instructions in Bodsy's Brake Bible linked below to adjust the brake shoes. This involves removing each rear wheel and adjusting the cable length each side. There are some video's on youtube that follow each step.
https://www.disco3club.co.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/10057/Bodsys_Brake_Bible_V1_6a.pdf

I'm wondering if there is a clever way to pull the manual release then via the OBD/GAP Tool get the motor to wind the threaded rod until it re-latches as per the OP's step 5?

[Macadamia]

I'm wondering if there is a clever way to pull the manual release then via the OBD/GAP Tool get the motor to wind the threaded rod until it re-latches as per the OP's step 5?

mine relatched itself.

it was jammed on after a trip through a deep boggy mud hole. had to pull the manual release to get moving again. I flushed it out with fresh water as best I could. I cannot remember the exact procedure but there was a message on the dash to hold the EPB lever up for a while or something to that effect and it relatched and started working again. had it adjusted during the next service and it's been fine since.

I did try bodsy's brake bible but when I got it serviced they said I'd ballsed it up so won't be doing it myself again.

[RANDLOVER]

mine relatched itself.

it was jammed on after a trip through a deep boggy mud hole. had to pull the manual release to get moving again. I flushed it out with fresh water as best I could. I cannot remember the exact procedure but there was a message on the dash to hold the EPB lever up for a while or something to that effect and it relatched and started working again. had it adjusted during the next service and it's been fine since.

I did try bodsy's brake bible but when I got it serviced they said I'd ballsed it up so won't be doing it myself again.

I've had something similar happen, mine's been a bit noisy for a week or so, then the day before it stuck on, so I puled the emergency release cable and thought I'd have no EPB, but out of force of habit I pulled the switch up and it started working again. However yesterday it stuck on again, but it was easier to free this time as I put it in low range and drove it forwards and backwards a bit and it came off, so now I've put a cloth over the switch so I don't inadvertently use it, until I can get it to my mechanic.

[Stuart02]

Needless to say my wife is pretty keen for us to try and save $3k with some DIY! What kind of sealant do folks use?

What's been the experience getting that shield off? I have an angle grinder but I'm out at the point I'm using it on the car to shear of rusted bolts!



My EPB jammed up and made the screeching sound of death. I used the emergency release which got me on my way but the next time I tried the brake it made an even more deathly noise. I found a couple of youtube videos which replicated the exact same air-ratchet kinda noise which carries on for about 5 seconds. Most of these videos suggested the gears in the module have become mush and it must be replaced. I cant afford a whole new module at about $1600 for the part alone so I ordered the gear kit from the UK ($20 delivered) and whilst it was on the way I got looking at how hard it actually is to remove the module and overhaul the internal gearbox. VERY HARD. But during this research I found something interesting. Theres an inbuilt mechanism in that gearbox to protect the gears from tearing themselves apart if something jams. This is what makes the awful noise, meaning that most modules that are replaced because of the noise are actually fine. The other interesting thing is that the cover for the EPB module can be removed in-situ and the mechanism manually unjammed. I've just saved myself about $3000 in parts and labour and it only cost me $20 for a gear kit that I didn't even use.

If you've got this issue read on and hopefully save some dollars.

1. Watch this video to get an idea of what needs to be done. He has the module removed, but does what can be done in-situ.
Land Rover Discovery 3 - Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) Failure & Repair - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0bGgf6u_dk&t=194s)

2. Jack rear of car up, slide under and find the module above the rear diff. Remove the 8 torx head screws that hold the cover on. Access by basically hugging the drive line and exhaust pipes so you can get both hands up there.

3. Remove cover using a pry bar or long flathead screw driver. The cover is siliconed on so force is required. I used 2x long screwdrivers on the passenger side lower corner - leverage off the diff and eventually it should break enough silicone to get your hand in and pull it fully away.

4. Unwind the jammed bar as shown in the video. This takes some effort. The bar needs to be rotated down towards you. I used a stumpy flathead screwdriver and levered off the internal plastic moulding which broke, but theres a solid area behind it which was strong enough to lever off and break the thread.

5. Wind all the way until the re-latching mechanism clicks back into place.

6. Test park brake. If its working again remove all the old silicone off the cover and module, re-apply some sealant and reverse the process.

7. It should be noted that your EPB will likely only jam up like this if it's badly out of adjustment, causing the threaded bar to reach its limit and become stuck. Follow the instructions in Bodsy's Brake Bible linked below to adjust the brake shoes. This involves removing each rear wheel and adjusting the cable length each side. There are some video's on youtube that follow each step.
https://www.disco3club.co.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/10057/Bodsys_Brake_Bible_V1_6a.pdf

[swiftnets]

Although my symptoms were the same, our EPB must have done something funky.

I took a Friday off work, all of Saturday and most of Sunday working to unwind the bloody thing and it would not budge.

I had to give up and get the whole module replaced.

I did however, find the time to get rear wheel off, brakes off and adjusted and then back together again down to about 10 minutes at the end of it all, working out all those fiddly springs and locating pins [bighmmm]

[Falcon500]

Needless to say my wife is pretty keen for us to try and save $3k with some DIY! What kind of sealant do folks use?

What's been the experience getting that shield off? I have an angle grinder but I'm out at the point I'm using it on the car to shear of rusted bolts!


Depending on what your EPB needs, this is another video showing winding it and re-engaging the module in-vehicle without removing:
I REPAIR EPB MODULE on a Land Rover Discovery 3 / LR3 / RRS for 0$ - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQY2V8pO39w)

As for sealant, I used Permatex Ultra Black RTV silicone - you probably don't need the oil resistance it has but i just happened to have that on hand at the time.

[RANDLOVER]

I wonder what the average lifespan of these units are, mine seem to last about 5 years. I just had mine replaced including the brake drums and discs as they were worn too.

[DiscoJeffster]

I wonder what the average lifespan of these units are, mine seem to last about 5 years. I just had mine replaced including the brake drums and discs as they were worn too.

Mine is 12 years because I service it annually by ensuring I perform a reset of the handbrake pad position. These only fail if the handbrake isn’t serviced and the unit over extends.

[PerthDisco]

Mine is 14 years old and used every day but adjusted every 12-18 months. Clean out the drums also with compressed air at same time. This I think makes the most difference in smooth reliable operation.

[Stuart02]

Well it nearly killed my wife and I but we were successful in the end, after about 8 hours, several cups of tea and a few gins. There were a couple of key differences to everything we read and watched which made things harder and forced us to find our own approach. The first was the space between the rear diff and the front of the housing. I don't know if the e-diff housing is different to the standard one, but there's no way on earth anyone was getting those torque screws out of the EPB module lid in situ, let alone getting the lid off or unjamming the mechanism. So we decided to go from the back to get to the module.

The other difference, it turns out, is that the spare wheel support member is more like a solid shield with a barely-arm-sized hole in it, rather than just the two splayed beams with a space that you'll see blokes in the youtube videos waving angle grinders and jemmy bars around in. So everything from the back of the car, to remove that backing/mounting plate and get to the module, requires forcing your arm through the holes and gaps. We're both quite badly bruised on our forearms!

Anyway so we got the plate off, from which point we figured that if we unscrewed at least one of the cables from the outside of the module, and pulled out the wiring loom, we could twist the module right around with the cables still attached, so that we could get the lid off and do the unjamming and unwinding from the back (albeit with scant room to move). The biggest thing I could get past the spare wheel backing plate to unjam with was a blunt wood chisel and small hammer, but with persistence it was enough to get the spindle moving. From there it was bordering on pleasant, mainly because all the feeling had gone from beyond our elbows.

I would still say it's _theoretically_ a one person job, but the moral support and tagging out made it much more survivable. A hoist would have made things only slightly easier (and always safer) than vehicle stands, but the hard part was just shoving arms through holes.

What bewilders me is why that EPB module couldn't just face the other way for starters, so that once the mounting plate is off, you're looking at the lid. That'd almost make it a no brainer. There's no reason it couldn't pull the cables just as well if turned around. And yeah, the access past the spare wheel mounting could easily have been made better if serviceability was a priority...

[Tombie]

Mine is 12 years because I service it annually by ensuring I perform a reset of the handbrake pad position. These only fail if the handbrake isn’t serviced and the unit over extends.

Same... My MY11 is on original unit, used all the time.

I do NOT drive through it to take off though (unless offroad and required) and I flush after sand/mud and adjust / service every year

[350RRC]

The handbrake mechanism (drum, etc) in my 74 RRC came from an 81.

42 years old, original shoes, will lock the back wheels on gravel................. I suppose that could be called a 'third world problem'. [thumbsupbig]

DL

[loanrangie]

Had to pull the release cable last Saturday, first issue i've had with the EPB. Can re-latching be done with the GAP tool or is it the manual process then adjust the shoes ?

[DiscoJeffster]

I understood you pulled up the handbrake lever twice to relatch it, once you’ve adjusted them

[Macadamia]

when it happened to me it give me instructions on the dash to relatch and if I remember correctly it was just pull the leaver again after restart. It relatched a few times (kept getting stuck and pulling the manual release while out bush) but finally gave out complete and needed new boots and readjustment.

[loanrangie]

when it happened to me it give me instructions on the dash to relatch and if I remember correctly it was just pull the leaver again after restart. It relatched a few times (kept getting stuck and pulling the manual release while out bush) but finally gave out complete and needed new boots and readjustment.

Only message on my dash was park brake is off, lift switch to apply and all i have now is the flashing red P.

[Tombie]

After adjusting it, you’ll need to do the calibration.

That’s good fun and raises eyebrows!

[loanrangie]

Well i got lucky, was about to head out today and when i started the car i got the "handbrake off, lift switch to apply "message and thought i will give it a go and see what happens.
Got the quiet whir and handbrake applied, pushed the switch down and it released - phew. Now i wont touch it until i adjust the shoes.