Handbrake binding at points

[Jabba]

The handbrake drum on my 90 is making a chirping noise if I adjust it enough to hold. It's OK if it is so slack it only just holds. There is also some judder in the drive train - presumably from the handbrake. I can feel it binding at one point in the rotation.

If I jack up one of the back wheels and get the drum rotating, I can see that it is not running perfectly round. It seems to move by up to 5mm.

The drum is fairly new, but apart from it being out of round, is there anything else that could be causing this? Output shaft/bearing/flange maybe?

Trying to exhaust all the cheaper options before I spend out on an x-brake disc conversion!

[davew]

I can't think of much that would cause that, maybe the bearing in the output housing. You'd expect it to be leaking oil if it was that bad.

I suspect it might be that you're not getting enough throw on the handbrake linkage, perhaps the mechanism in the drum needs stripping, cleaning and lubricating. It depends on which linkage your drum has as to how likely that is - the older style where the cable doesn't go into the drum, for example, are a bugger for seizing up and not allowing the brake to release properly when applied.

I have a load of bits in the garage from different brakes if you want to try a different drum but I don't think any of them are what you'd call "precision engineered" !

[Jabba]

It's the type where the cable goes to a linkage and then into the drum. I've stripped the internals several times and apart from the adjuster, they have all been replaced over the last few years.

Even when freshly stripped and cleaned, the brake still seems to bind at points.

I did replace the output seal a few years back.
I'll remove the drum and check the output bearing and flange tightness. Then the next thing might be to check the drum is actually centred correctly on the flange.

[Jabba]

Sorted I think.

I centred the drum on the output flange as there was a small amount of movement when the propshaft bolts were loosened. It now seems to be OK.

[Graeme C.]

Have you checked that the screw that secures the drum to the drive flange is tight or even there at all? That might explain why it has a problem.

[Jabba]

The screws are not there. I've ordered a couple. I hadn't thought they would be essential, but it seems they might.