Rear nearside handbrake has locked itself up solid?

[Cyprusnoddycar]

I had a strange problem with my R4 today, the rear nearside handbrake drum has locked itself up solid ? so the rear wheel hardly turns.
So will investigate this week weekend. Also the inline fuel filter is dirty yet again with fine rust, so I will have to remove the petrol tank/petrol pump and clean them out properly this time. Still it will keep me busy over boring old Xmas. Bah Humbug !

 

[Andy McGhee]

I had a strange problem with my R4 today, the rear nearside handbrake drum has locked itself up solid ? so the rear wheel hardly turns.
So will investigate this week weekend. Also the inline fuel filter is dirty yet again with fine rust, so I will have to remove the petrol tank/petrol pump and clean them out properly this time. Still it will keep me busy over boring old Xmas. Bah Humbug !

I wouldn't be surprised if the brake lining had come off the shoe - this happened to me once, and the only way I could get the drum off was by removing the outer bearing, putting the wheel back on and then working the drum off. Hard work!

 

[Cyprusnoddycar]

I wouldn't be surprised if the brake lining had come off the shoe - this happened to me once, and the only way I could get the drum off was by removing the outer bearing, putting the wheel back on and then working the drum off. Hard work!

Hello Andy hope all is well.
Yeah that's exactly what I thought as well, they are brand new shoes as well. Thanks for the tip for removing the drum...a good idea. Will keep you posted.

 

[edwin]

Re the tank, there is a product called Por 15 sold by Frosts on the internet. It is a complete relining system for petrol tanks and is very good. It has two parts.
First you clean the tank out, put some water in and put a hand full of bolts in and shake it all about. Gets all the loose crap out. Clean out and dry. Then put liquid one in which further cleans and etch primes the interior. Roll the tank in every direction so the interior is completely coated, drain and dry, and then the second bottle and coat the interior all over. Leave and hey presto the whole interior is perfect and petrol proof. I have used it twice, different cars, and its worked very well.

I had the brake material come off the brake shoe. Bit of a fiddle but got the wheel and shoe off with a bit of hot and cold.

 

[Cyprusnoddycar]

Re the tank, there is a product called Por 15 sold by Frosts on the internet. It is a complete relining system for petrol tanks and is very good. It has two parts.
First you clean the tank out, put some water in and put a hand full of bolts in and shake it all about. Gets all the loose crap out. Clean out and dry. Then put liquid one in which further cleans and etch primes the interior. Roll the tank in every direction so the interior is completely coated, drain and dry, and then the second bottle and coat the interior all over. Leave and hey presto the whole interior is perfect and petrol proof. I have used it twice, different cars, and its worked very well.

I had the brake material come off the brake shoe. Bit of a fiddle but got the wheel and shoe off with a bit of hot and cold.

Hello Edwin, Many thanks for this useful information, I have heard good reports about this stuff. I removed the petrol tank yesterday, and the tank is solid although full of fine rust residue and with a little corrosion on the bottom inside. So I did my usual trick and filled the tank up with a strong solution of caustic soda with hot water and left it overnight. I drained it off it this morning, and the tank is like new inside. So I flushed it out with a hose and then my power washer. After it dried I put some Shell Super 98 (No Ethanol crap) and swilled it around and it is now clean a whistle inside. Although I was bit worried about 'flash rusting' so I swilled it around with some 2 stroke petrol inside and left some in the tank as well, until my new sender/fuel pickup unit arrives from De Marco in Italy after Christmas. My original unit was in very bad condition as you can see in the photo. Cheers and have a nice Christmas. Kevin

 

[Cyprusnoddycar]

I wouldn't be surprised if the brake lining had come off the shoe - this happened to me once, and the only way I could get the drum off was by removing the outer bearing, putting the wheel back on and then working the drum off. Hard work!

It was an easy fix, for some reason the handbrake was stuck on one side ? So I just banged the drum with a big rubber mallet and it freed itself off. Been ok since then.

 

[edwin]

The Pro 15 lining also protects the inside of the tank from the Ethanol thats now in petrol.

 

[Cyprusnoddycar]

The Pro 15 lining also protects the inside of the tank from the Ethanol thats now in petrol.

I find running my R4 on Shell Super 98 (no Ethanol) is best, it's a bit like the old 4 Star petrol.

 

[Homegrown]

I find running my R4 on Shell Super 98 (no Ethanol) is best, it's a bit like the old 4 Star petrol.

There is two ”problems” with E10 fuel.
First its more hygroscopic than old fuel so if there is low turnaround there will be more and more water in the tank just sitting.
Second the alcohol have a cleaning effect that make all residuals from the “god old fuel” come lose and clog what is downstream.
In the Porsche world lots of people have the same problems, but bigger course they have 80L fuel tanks and most cars only go few hundred kilometers per year then problems become propositionaly bigger. Our Renault have around 25L and I guess mostly get full tank several times a year.
I am front runner going over to E10 fuel here in Sweden. Engine wise 95okt (E10) is sufficient for my std Porsche engines and my Renaults so I stick to it and put really big prefilter or spare in the car
I see the problem the other way around. It’s the old fuel (98okt) that left a lot of residues inside the fuel system and the E10s cleaning effect makes it come off (what we see in the prefilter). Picture below showing what my prefilter collected every 300km two years ago when I started up my 911T that has 80L plastic tank, nowadays it’s almost nothing in the prefilter.
Have a lovely Christmas

 

[Cyprusnoddycar]

Yes, the other problem I found with Ethanol fuel, is that it starts going stale within a year or so if exposed to air. And it stinks rotten after a while, and becomes very corrosive to everything if left in your tank for a couple of years...like when my R4 was in left in storage for a few years with 20 litres of fuel in the tank.
All the best for Christmas and 2025.