Focus Brakes Siezed/Broken

[MarkJ]

I was going to put this in the workshop but that section seems more bike related.

I've been a bit of a plonker - I recently started a new job which gave me a company car, so my 04 Ford Focus Estate has been in my garage un-moved for around 6-7 weeks. Stupidly I put the handbrake on when I last put it there.

I've now come to move it and the car felt as though one of the wheels was dragging - no problem I thought, my garage is quite narrow and something's probably under one of the tyres, I'll just drive over it (nothing dangerous in there, I've got a few pieces of fake plastic coal lying around from an old electric fire/heater). About a meter later I get a sort of popping sound from the rear passenger side, and the car starts to roll freely. However when I come to press the brake the pedal it goes right to the floor. I pump it and immediately the brakes bite as they should.

Now I stop and go to reverse it back where it came from, and the brakes will bite fine if I keep tapping them as I slowly move back but every now and again the pedal will drop to the floor. You can see a drag mark where the rear passenger side wheel has been dragging. I have jacked both rear wheels up and they both spin freely and the same as each other.

To my knowledge the rear wheels are drum brakes. Does anyone know what I have broken and how to fix it?

Many Thanks

[10 pence Short]

The friction material will have corroded to the drums with the handbrake being left on. Moving the car may of released the bonding of the friction material so it has now seperated from the metal part of the shoe and broken up inside the drums. The pedal needs to be pumped to take up the slack where the material used to be. Take the wheels and drums off you should see whats gone on. Might of popped the wheel cylinder too.
____________________
I haven't had a cont all day, drinkstable.

[colin1]

i dont know about cars, but im surprised that it would do that after just 6 or 7 weeks
____________________
colin1 is officially faster than god

[R6jonny]

[MattHirst]

[Kwaks]

[MarkJ]

Mine's the old style Focus Estate, and also the base CL model so just drum brakes.

It's at the garage now anyway so he'll sort it. The annoying thing is that I know not to put the handbrake on when leaving it for a while yet I still bloody did it!

[colin1]

bloody hell cars are shit arent they. I would never have guessed they design modern cars that cant have the hand brake left on. How the fuck are you supposed to leave it parked without using a hand brake ? Ridiculous. Do they expect you to use chocks like with old aeroplanes or something ?
____________________
colin1 is officially faster than god

[mistergixer]

[Stelmer]

I'm one for leaving vehicles in gear too. Usually 2nd.

I'd be inclined to check all 4 brakes.....

Or, if you have a few quid, take it to a garage and get them to do a brake check and clean. Do not tell them it's been stood as they could attempt to rip you off with new pads/shoes.

[MattHirst]

[colin1]

i've just googled the rear brakes on my car, and fortunately, they are discs not drums
____________________
colin1 is officially faster than god

[veeeffarr]

Focus rear drums unless specced otherwise, the car has the Reflex pack or the engine is 2000cc.

[iooi]

Strip them down.....

My clios used to do this. Often freed by rocking back and forth.

Then it decided to lock the rear completly on one side. Thankfully this was right outside our house and not on the trip we had just made.
After 2 days of trying to get the drum off. I talked to my local garage who do the normal work on the car and they lent me a slide hammer to get the drum off....
Still took a hour of thumping it to get it right off, but what had happened was the lining had unbonded and jammed up....
____________________
Just because my bike was A DIVVY, does not mean i am......