Sharan Handbrake problems

[david muir]

Hi folks,
Had a good handbrake on my '04 Sharan 'till the other day!........now the lever comes way up! What are the likely causes?-I'm guessing one of the rear cables has broken or can the cable jump out of the handbrake mechanism?
Garage is mumbling about a new caliper!!
Any ideas or experiences?
Thanks

[the_old_diver]

Had exactly the same thing myself yesterday- 97 Sharan. When I find out the cause I'll tell you.

[the_old_diver]

I had a look at my 97 Sharan CL and found the mechanism at the rear hub was siezed up on both sides with winter muck. As the cable approaches the wheel the outer part of the cable ends at a bent steel plate about 1/8th thick, while the inner cable continues through a rubber concertina sleeve to another larger bit of the mechanism. A large spring resembling that on a clothes peg tries to spring the two bits apart.

With the handbrake off I was able to poke a large screwdriver blade into the barely visible gap and then found that the larger "top" part of the mechanism should normally rise upwards by about 1 or 1.5" to free off the brake. I then sprayed WD40 liberaly over the mechanism on both wheels and went back inside the car and pulled the brake on. Already the action was "tight" all the way from the floor - all the slack had gone. When I released the handbrake lever the slack had come back so I went back under the rear of the car and pushed the two bits apart again, as the spring wasn't strong enough. I then found that the three turns of the spring were corroded together, so I separated them with a blade, but the spring could still only give me about 1/3 the travel needed. After 46 grovellings to put the brakes off followed by 46 returns to the cab to put it on again the handbrake lever travel is now about 2/3 restored. If you have someone to sit in the cab and operate the handbrake lever it will speed things up a lot. The mechanism needs exercise and I'm hoping it will improve after I take it out for a drive.

That was my car. There are places where the twin rear cables join with the single front cable at a triangular plate where a cable could have jumped out of position, so your mileage may vary.

Hope this helps. OD

[david muir]

thanks for all the info.. i'm guessing I'll see a similar situation once I get a chance to look...........will let you know!
thanks again.

[david muir]

Took rear wheels off expecting to see something amiss....nothing!, everything moving. Lubricated mechanisms and worked repeatedly, excess movement at lever decreased. Car passed MOT [pretty easy since handbrake only has to be something like 17% efficient!]. Now getting "Check Brake pads" message [front ones are new, rear ones had about 4-5mm]....when does the integral wire in the pads start saying that they're goosed?
Can I wind in the pistons without the 'special' tool?
Thanks