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| davew Member Since: 02 Jan 2012 Location: North Yorkshire Posts: 888   
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It's difficult to know if the heat you've felt is normal or not, the hand brake is mounted on the back of the gearbox and the lever is connected to that so they can get warm when towing or on the motorway etc... It could well be that is unconnected with the handbrake not working.
Normally if the handbrake goes on correctly in the first place then it will not come off again on it's own. It's design makes that pretty much impossible. However, it does use a manual adjuster which allows you to adjust the bite and take up any slack or allow for any wear in the shoes. It's possible for the handbrake to feel as if it's been applied but actually hasn't. A vehicle parked like that with minimal or no hand brake might take a while to start moving on it's own. When we scrutineer Land Rovers for competitions the scrutineers always check the hand brake operation on a slope to check that the hand brake not only feels OK but is actually doing something ! The cause for it failing that test is nearly always bad adjustment. It may just be that your hand brake needs adjusting but it's also worth checking for signs of oil, often drips forming on the bottom of the hand brake drum, that might indicate an oil leak into the brake drum from the back of the gearbox. The hand brake is actually a transmission brake and in that respect it works and feels different to a hand brake in a car. It's possible that the heat you describe has been caused by the drums binding due to the handbrake lever not being released fully or sticking due to being full of mud. If that is the case then the binding may have worn the shoes down and it needs to be adjusted to compensate. http://www.yorkshireoffroadclub.net/ |
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23rd Jul 2013 1:51pm |
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| JR Member Since: 07 Dec 2012 Location: Auchtermuchty Posts: 532  
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I'm an BORDA Occupational Off Road Instructor, we always train people to use 2 forms of braking with the gearbox as the primary brake.
When you stop, select 1st or reverse as the gear OPPOSITE the direction of gravitational travel, switch off engine and release feet from clutch & footbrake to allow the vehicle to settle in gear, THEN apply the handbrake last as the secondary brake. If you take a trailer B+E test you have to leave the gearbox in neutral and rely on the handbrake alone but do you want to rely on 1 brake drum to hold 3.5 tonnes of trailer and potentially 2.5-3.0 tonnes of Land Rover on a steep hill; I don't!  |
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23rd Jul 2013 2:42pm |
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| Pam W Member Since: 25 Oct 2011 Location: North Yorkshire Posts: 1169 
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When I learned to drive in 1983 it was standard instruction to leave the car in gear with the hand brake on (ordinary driving, not off-road as such). I don't actually own a manual car these days, we are all auto in our household, but even so, when I do occasionally get back into a manual (say a hire or courtesy car) then it is still second nature to leave it in gear with the hand brake on.... and as such, to dip the clutch and take it out of gear on when starting it up again. I thought everyone did that, but maybe not!! 
 Our blog - http://landytravels.com/
Yorkshire Off Road Club - http://www.yorkshireoffroadclub.net |
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23rd Jul 2013 3:12pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17378  
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I believe that it is still a legal requirement, although I cannot readily find any evidence.
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23rd Jul 2013 5:07pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20359
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^^^ I agree with above, it's a part of the driving test still that you are expected to do to this day for a car test so if for a car test with a trailer will be the same. Along with kerbed areas aligning the wheels to the appropriate direction into the kerb to further prevent this kind of thing. If nothing like a kerb is available then on say a sloped area that is open chocking the wheels would be a good idea. Especially with a trailer to the rear. $W33T $0U7H3RN $UG4R
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23rd Jul 2013 9:12pm |
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| bear100 Member Since: 22 Mar 2010 Location: South Wales Posts: 1916  
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Just an option Simon at Xeng makes a disk hand brake conversion and wil hold a 1:1 slope!
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29th Jul 2013 8:30pm |
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| Caterham Member Since: 06 Nov 2008 Location: Birmingham Posts: 6298 
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all useful replies but I'd still be interested to know why the hand brake has given way to gravity.
maybe it was just all too much (the trailer, slope etc) but if was holding and then slipped / released I'd been real keen to know why - granted it should have been in gear etc but that doesn't mean the handbrake releasing is ok? ever get to the bottom of it - oil on the drum / contamination? |
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29th Jul 2013 8:36pm |
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