handbrake locked on and power steering problem noises

[Cozy]

ok following on from the other thread

http://www.clubcalibra.net/viewtopic.php?t=36439

after the cally has been sat for a few months, i have got round to getting her back on the road

two problems to start with

1. handbrakes locked on

Stupidly i left the car with the handbrake applied for the 6-7 months it has been sat, now the handbrakes are stuck, have tried reversing to free them but alas wouldn't do it,

the handbrake will go up and down all 6 notches but has no effect on freeing them

so question is:-

is there a way to free the handbrake shoes without having to take calipers and disks off, as i will be doing both front and rear disks and pads but haven't got them yet so don't really want to do the job twice if possible


2. next one is the power steering, when i turn the steering wheel i am getting a groaning noise coming from the engine bay, have checked the level of the fluid and it seems to be up to the min level when cold, so i suspect it could be the power steering pump itself, could anything else cause this problem


any help on the above greatly appreciated

[fraggie]

do the levers behind the backing plate move? May be worth wiggling them to see if it free's them up a bit. Other then that id try reversing and then moving forwards in quick succession and keep going till its released.

[Phantom]

had the handbrake seize on on mine before, jack it up take the wheels off and hit the drums with a big hammer

[Callyman]

Had this happen on a cavalier some years back, applying the handbrake whilst rolling backwards normally causes it. And Agree with Phantom, the hammer does work.

[Cozy]

Cheers guys, i have managed to free one side using the reverse - forward method, passenger side is still locked on, will be tackling it this weekend and i now have my new brake disks and pads so i can take the disks off to free them up and change them at the same time

can't wait to get it back on the road, was sat in it and i couldn't beleive how low you sit in the cally i had forgotton how low it was but you soon realise after driving a corsa and a fiesta lol

will have a good look at the power steering problem too, suspect it may be the pump but when i get it up on the axle stands should be able to shed some more light on the situation

cheers for the advice, will be back on for more advise i suspect when i come to do the brakes

[Vanguard]

I would recommend checking the handbrake cable as well to see if that definitely moves on the passenger side. If it doesn't then the cable may be knackered - mine was!
Regardss Vanguard