Hello all,

 

Any help would be appreciated. My rear left wheel, Drum Brake has started to seize. This only happens when the car had been left stationary for the at least 1 hour. It is only affecting the one wheel and when I reverse or move off the car pivots on the wheel until the wheel releases and then the whole car drives perfectly. . It will then work fine again until I stop for an hour. It then seizes again. I reverse, it frees up and just keeps happening. It seems to be becoming harder and harder each time and im worried for the little car. What do I need to do to fix this???

 

Also unrelated I have an odd squeak on the left side, My friend has told me it is the rubber on the spring. is this right?

 

Im going to try and remove the wheel soon to see what I find.

 

TIA

Edited 10 September, 20187 yr by SkitzzFortune

@SkitzzFortune - How confident do you feel about dismantling and reassembling a brake?

 

I think it's brake dust build-up, pivot(s) needing lubricated, a broken return spring or similar, but unless you feel confident to do that yourself, I'd say to go to a local garage. No need to pay dealership labour rates for this.

Quite a common fault, mainly happens if you have driven through a flood or ford.

 

DB.

Common problem with Skoda drums, proper solution is to remove drum, clean thoroughly and strip down shoes. The bit that causes the locking is the long  vertical parking lever on the trailing shoe attached to the handbrake cable which corrodes at the pivot and becomes too stiff for the cable return spring to release. Unfortunately it behind the shoe so you really need to remove the shoes to fettle it.

 

Also there are 4 nylon glide pads clipped in the back plate that the shoe plates slide on. They become worn and damaged so need replacing. Part no 6N0 609 589

 

Or treat it to complete refurb.

https://www.carparts4less.co.uk/cp4l/c/Skoda_Fabia_1.2_2004/p/car-parts/brake-friction/car-brakes/brake-shoes/

 

Removing the drum is quite easy. Just remember to push the adjustment wedge up from underneath with a screwdriver to retract the shoes before removing the drum. You can see the adjustment wedge if you shine a phone torch through one of the bolt holes at between 2 or 3 o'clock on right hand side, 9 or 10 o'clock on left side. The wedge is Item 16 here

 

 

When reassembling, after fitting the drum, press the footbrake firmly to reset the adjuster.

 

Edited 10 September, 20187 yr by xman

14 hours ago, xman said:

The bit that causes the locking is the long  vertical parking lever on the trailing shoe attached to the handbrake cable which corrodes at the pivot and becomes too stiff for the cable return spring to release. Unfortunately it behind the shoe so you really need to remove the shoes to fettle it.

 

 You can actually work these back and forward in position to free off. I used Plusgas first and then spray copper grease on the pivot point, being very careful not to apply too much. I have successfully done this on both a Fabia and a Polo.

Worth checking both wheel cylinders for leaks, unless they have been changed already they must be due sometime soon.