Rear EPB Drum Clean

[Disco-tastic]

Hi guys and girls,

I have had the rear right brake disc off 3 times now for various reasons, and each time it has been full of mud. I discovered that the bung had gone missing which is why it was filling up, so have replaced that with some from Repco, which will hopefully keep most of the crud out.

My question is, apart from pulling the whole thing apart and cleaning properly, is there:

a) an easier way to clean the brakes?

b) if not, is it useful/harmful to rinse the drums with water to clean out as much as possible?

c) If I'm going off road say once a month, how often should I pull the wheels off and do a proper clean/adjustment? Every time is a PITA, though I suppose I'll get real good at it :P

Whoops, that was 3 questions

my local spot has little bog holes everywhere so it is hard to avoid driving through mud or water on most of the tracks. I've had the EPB jam on once since owning it (6 months) and I have little idea as to whether that was mostly caused by the brakes already being out of adjustment, or the dirt getting into the drums.

Cheers

Dan

[IvanR]

The buildup of dust etc in the parking brake drum has caused me problems such as orange warning light coming on. I now have found that by regularly blowing out with the air gun though the hole with the plug fixes this. Not sure about mud. Also adjusting the parking brake seems to be required more often than you would think, given mine does not get a lot of use.
Hope this helps.

Ivan

[Ghost-Who-Walks]

I can't really comment on the 'how' of cleaning it - never done it myself...

However I can say that you need to keep on top of this, particularly if you do any sort of water/mud work.

I bought my car 2nd hand in 2012 with 71k kms on the clock, about 3yrs old. I owned it for 2yrs, and am pretty sure the rear drums were not cleaned out in that time (not sure about prior to my ownership).

I did a trip up to Cape York, and through the OTT (ie water, mud etc). Shortly after returning home, I started having EPB issues (flashing EPB light, beeping). Mostly it would clear after putting it off/on once or twice. Then it made a screeching noise (talked about in other threads on this forum).

I eventually took it to my nearest dealer (who was about 2hrs away at that time), and when the car arrived, they said the park brake was jammed/seized on, and the only way they could release it was by cutting the rear park brake cables. Manual release would not work. (how/why they did that is a story for another day...)

The upshot was I had to have the whole EPB replaced, as it comes as a single unit (switch, actuators, cables). Parts were about $1200, if I recall. MR Automotive did the replacement work, and counselled me to ensure regular cleanout of the rear park brake drums.

I specifically ask for this to be done on every service now. Talk about a good lesson!!

[Disco-tastic]

Thanks GWW and Ivan.

I plan to have my mechanic clean and adjust the brakes each service after my EPB jammed earlier this year. I am wondering if every 13k km or 6 months is enough? Should i be doing it myself at 6.5k km?

I have seen plenty of D3's and 4's travelling through mud (misadventure 4x4 vids are pretty good ) but have not heard of peoples EPB maintenance schedule when doing this sort of driving. I am keen to hear what other people do, or if this question has been answered prwviously and i couldnt find it (i did search for it )

Cheers

Dan

[BobD]

Mine has jammed twice. The first time it was replaced at a cost of close to $2000. The last time, removing drums and cleaning fixed it. The trouble is the drums fill with dust and then when they get wet the dust turns to mud and then jams the EPB.


I have mine cleaned after each big trip or around once per year now and even though I didn't replace the EPB after the last screeching episode it has been going strong for about three years since with the odd clean. We use it all the time so it gets a good work out.


The arduous conditions service schedule says to clean it every day when using it off road. Yeah, like that would ever happen. They should make it easy to clean if that is what is required.

[Disco-tastic]

Thanks Bob. Haha who would clean the brakes every day!!

Youve given me some confidence that I can drive around for a bit without much trouble. I think once every 6 months will be the go for me. I will have to teach myself how to do it!

Cheers

Dan

[LRD414]

I will have to teach myself how to do it!

Dan, have you seen Bodsy's Brake Bible on Disco3 ?

DISCO3.CO.UK - View topic - How To ? - Change your Brake Disks Pads Shoes Sensors

Cheers,
Scott

[Disco-tastic]

Thanks Scott,

Yeah i read through that a few times when my EPB jammed. I was hoping to do it myself but had little hope of getting both back wheels off the ground at the same time with my little bottle jack as the suspension drops so much, so just got my mechanic to clean and adjust.

Since then i found out i can do it if i lock the car in access mode before i start (i had it in off road height originally, as per the cars handbook for changing a tyre), but i still need to jack it up, support it then jack it again as the jack doesn't have enough travel to do it in one go.

There is a difference to reading about it and then actually doing it to the family car that is driven everyday! I'm sure I'll find a way to stuff it up . Once I've done it once though, it should be much easier after that.

Cheers

Dan

[BobD]

Just go and buy yourself a trolley jack! They don't cost much in the scheme of things.

[LandyAndy]

My right rear got stuck for a tad after a wet trip to the city,wet trip to Albany and back.It was parked in the shed after the Albany trip.Went to drive and there was quite a loud noise from the right left as it released.Hasnt played up in the last couple of drives since.
Done no dirt or off-road.
Andrew