I had a very strange 'thump' from the rear just recently following me going over one of the many speed humps we have in the UK. I wasn't going at an excessive speed but, the thump was quite loud and I felt a very short 'pulling back' as if the brakes had been suddenly applied then released. Following this, I started to get a squeaking noise from the right hand rear wheel, slightly applying the handbrake whilst moving slowly caused it to stop squeaking... investigation required!

Removed the rear wheels, Calipers, and Caliper brackets, I then tried to get the discs off, absolutely solid.. even after slackening the adjusters. The right side would turn, but wouldn't come off even using a puller (the left came off with a gentle tap from a rubber mallet). I checked the rear of the back-plate and could see that the pins that hold the handbrake shoes in place had pulled through the back-plate, both of them. So I checked the other side, and one of those had pulled through too. The only way I could even move the right side disc was with brute force (big hammer) and eventually it came off.

When I got the right side off, the inside of the disc was damaged having chewed up both the pins and springs, add to that the damage caused hammering it off, and the cost of a pair of new Pagid discs was required. This was particularly annoying as the discs were not old, I think I posted not long ago fitting new Brembo branded discs and shoes, at that time the back-plate and pins seemed fine.

Now it's new back-plates, pins, springs, and new discs, I guess it makes sense to replace the shoes as well while I'm at it. But it left me wondering if anyone has experienced the same problem, and (before I fix it) any advice/ideas how I might help prevent this happening again? It's a lot of expense to replace the damage caused by a few small pins and screws! Is it worth fixing the pins in place with a spot weld or something, or are they required to move when applying the handbrake? Is there any way of reinforcing the back-plate where these pins come through?

As always, any advice would be most appreciated
Paul.