Rear brake scrape and clean

[Janett]

Hullo, I purchased a 2016 Skoda Citigo Approved Used Car in April 2018.  In December I had to call out breakdown because the rear wheel on driver's side was jammed.  The car had been parked for four days - after a longish journey through rain.   The AA man freed the wheel and advised that a rear brake scrape and clean should be carried out.   This was done in January 2019 at no cost to me.  However I discovered that the same work had been done on the car after I paid my deposit and before I drove it away from the dealership.   Is this okay?   Should I not have been made aware beforehand?   

 

Also going forward, if the car gets wet (rain or professional washing) and is not used for a few days, I get resistance and even at times a 'clunk' before the car will move.

 

Any advice/info will be much appreciated.  Thank you. 

 

 

 

[Eltezz]

Mine does this whenever it rains or I drive through standing puddles, etc. I drove to the airport on business recently and it was tipping it down. i parked in the multi storey and returned four day later. The brakes were nicely seized. My preferred method is to briefly reverse a few inches if you can and this seems to free them up easier. 

 

I personally believe the problem stems from brake shoes with a high ferrous metal content and the drum and shoe simply rust together after any water gets in there. High humidity seems to do it as well. You can hear the rear drums making a metal on metal grind for a mile or so until braking removes the surface rust.

 

Irritating but harmless in my opinion and dismantling the drums to perform a ‘scrape and clean’ is a waste of time as the next time they get wet it will happen again.

 

If you can find better quality brake shoes than the OEM fitment that may be a solution... 

[Emil]

Just don't use handbrake. Or be sure brakes are dry if you use handbrake. 

[xman]

Corrosion on the handbrake actuation lever pivot. This lever is located in the drum on the trailing shoe.

 

Affects all Skoda models with drum brakes, Citigo, Fabia, Roomster

 

Needs rear brake shoe stripdown and everything cleaned, and that lever freed/lubed. Or consider fitting a new shoe kit, lube the lever pivot with brake grease before fitting. Also check and replace the 4 nylon pads on each back plate that the shoes rest/slide against.

 

Poor quality brake components are common across the Skoda range.

 

Slacken the handbrake adjuster at the handbrake end so that it requires 4 or 5 clicks to apply instead of the 2 to 3 clicks Skoda dealers tighten them. This allows the lever to move over a wider range, self clean a bit better and so doesn't stick/seize as much.

 

Edited 21 July, 2019 by xman

[Eltezz]

Interesting. I will heed that advice and have a look at mine.  Amazing how brake drums have been around since before the dinosaurs but VAG can’t make them work but even British Leyland could...

[xman]

If you find yourself with a stuck on rear brake, 2 things I find that can help.

 

With handbrake off, (make arrangements to make sure car can't roll away)

 

1. Jump up and down on the seat such as the car jumps up and down. Often you will hear the clunk of brakes releasing.

 

2. Get a piece of wood (broom handle) and bang the side of the drum hard though the spokes of the wheel. 

Edited 21 July, 2019 by xman

[Emil]

British Leyland had a thing called "asbestos". 😄

 

Quality is not poor in these. They just try to find alternative for asbestos. More metal cause seizing at some conditions. 

[Ootohere]

Many many Car Manufacturers still have cars with rear drums.  VW Group ones like Fabia and the UPMiiCitigo have been ridiculous for these past few years and Fabia ones for a good long time.

The Main Dealers that do not do Drum Removal and a clean out as 'Fixed Price Skoda Service offers' showed were to be done, and wheels never removed has been an issue for a long time,

 

Lets see how VW Group do with the EV Citigo/Mii.

[xman]

The problem is use of thinly zinc plated steel on the shoes and a pivot that's just a simple rivet type job. As the lever pivots, plating is worn off after X handbrake applications, water sodden, brake dust in and around the pivot, rust forms and stiffens/seizes the pivot. Weak return spring on brake cable insufficient to release the lever.

 

[Janett]

I don't know how to comment on the topic that I posted re Rear Brake Scrape and Clean.  So am doing it by 'replying to the post'.   I am Janett - I am grateful for all the advice and information that people have provided.  I am not able to carry out any of the suggestions myself but will talk to the garage and hope they will do some remedial work for me before the Warranty runs out at the end of August.  Many many thanks to everyone who has posted information for me.  Janett

[KenONeill]

@Janett Well, you managed to post in the correct topic. As posted by @Eltezz reversing will make drums release easier.

 

Here's the engineering bit. Drum brakes are designed to come on harder if they're on and you're trying to move forwards, and action called "self-servoing". Reversing undoes the self-servoing action.

[Emil]

Works only with duplex brakes. Citigo is with simplex brakes. 

[A01]

On 22/07/2019 at 11:40, Emil said:

Works only with duplex brakes. Citigo is with simplex brakes. 

 

I assume duplex is another way of saying duo-servo?

 

Citigo rear brakes are leading/trailing  as opposed to duo-servo.

 

Citigo brakes could be sticking because they are not retarding back up the wedge as much as they should be and then rusting into the drum..... i.e. need cleaning and lube on the backing plate pads and the wedge.

Edited 3 August, 2019 by A01