Citroen C3 2008 Fish-tailing on Braking - Need identification of drum OEM

[HarryMiller123]

Hi there,

greetings from Australia.

I have a Citroen C3 2008 diesel DV6TED4, manual, with rear drum brakes.

Upon getting my annual registration pink-slip check (MOT), it was revealed that under heavy braking at 50 kph (31 mph) the rear left of the vehicle fish-tailed sharply to the left.

I took it to a specialist brake mechanic who said the brake master cylinder needed replacing. Unfortunately there is no OEM replacement in the country, so he has washed his hands clean of it (common over here, especially with European cars).

I wanted to know of any other opinion as I'm not entirely convinced of his diagnosis.

I suspect it could be the left rear drum instead:

• I bought the car 10 years ago I could not get the rear drums off, even with attempting to back them off. Worn a deep groove?

• The left rear drum has had a bad bearing that I have kept alive with care. I could not replace that because there is none left in the country! Maybe some grease has entered the drum?

I am left in a predicament as to inspect the drums would mean possibly cutting them, thus destroying them in the process.

As parts are near impossible to obtain this would mean sourcing parts from Europe/UK most likely.

If I decide to replace the drums as a kit (including bearing) I need to know if the drums are Bosch or Lucas as a return of a wrong product internationally is out of the question.

Please find attached pictures of the drums.

If anyone could identify them (Bosch or Lucas) that would give me more confidence to send for the correct kit.

Thank you kindly.

[xantia_v6]

I think that it is unlikely that the master cylinder is causing rear wheel lockup. It would seem more reasonable for it to be the ABS block, or something downstream (although the ABS block is probably more difficult to source than a master cylinder).

Rear brake drums (Citroen PN 424746) seem to be available after-market: https://www.superspares.com.au/bcp-rear ... -citroen-c

[HarryMiller123]

Thank you @xantia_v6 for getting back to me.

I re-spoke to the mechanic and he was saying that in smaller cars the master cylinders are diagonal-biased rather than front-rear. So in my case the front right and rear left are operating, the others not -> thus the rear moves to the left....made sense.

As per the drums at superspares I don't think they come with the bearing press-fitted (the bearing is the Achilles heel)....but I have enquired and waiting on a response.

Thanks again!

[RichardW]

Wish our cars were that rust free - at 1 year old, let alone nearly 20!!

These look like Bosch brakes to me. Here is the the back of the 2 types from GSF Car parts, you can see that TRW/Lucas has the pipe offset to the side with the bleed screw slightly above the retaining bolt, and Bosch has the pipe offset to the bottom with the bolt in line with the bleed screw - which looks like the set up on your car.

The drum will come off; you just have to be 'firm' with it!! Of course that might wreck something in the process, which if parts supply is limited and you need the car might be an issue... Worst case you can drill off the end of the shoe retaining pins and then pull it all off together. If the bearing is stuck on the shaft then a slide hammer might be needed to free it. Should 'just' come apart like this:

[PaulC5]

Not watched the video but if you adjust the handbrake so its cable is completely slack you might be able to get the drums off. Then once off file off the wear/dust ridge so the drums can go back on easily. When refitting start with the auto adjuster at minimum to fit the shoes, then adjust it out with a finger to about where it was before removal/cleaning so that the drum lightly catches the shoes when turned. Do not peen over the hub nut until you are happy all is well as these should be replaced each time and are expensive.

The auto adjusters work when the ends are compressed so on the car with the drums on it is done with the handbrake off and just using the footbrake. The handbrake cable should be set so the shoe levers are against the shoe with the handbrake off after the auto adjuster is done and then when pulling up the handbrake the shoes should be just catching on one click. If you make the mistake of adjusting the handbrake on its cable so the shoe lever is not against the shoe then the auto adjuster will not work. I found this after our daughter's mechanic friend adjusted her 2010 C3 handbrake cable and for me to get it right needed the adjuster nut undoing 3 full turns.