handbrake sticking on one side

evening all,

My '96 VVC has been off the road for a month or so while I gave it some much needed attention, a whole host of little jobs that have been sklowly backing up over the last year or so.
Todays task was to get my new rear tyres fitted, so I fired her up, popped the tyres into the boot (well, sort off...) and headed for the local friendly tyre fitter.

The car felt sluggish, like it was being held back. The tyre fitter is only a couple of miles and when I pulled up, I got a massive whiff of hot brake pads. A quick tough confirmed that the rear-left was hot to the touch.

so we got her jacked up and cracked on with the tyres. It was immediatle obvious that the R/L was binding. A look with the torch confirm that the acting lever was at a different angle to the other side. A quick twatting with the wheel brace got it free enough to drive home without any issues, but back in the my garage and up on axle stands, it's apparent that something needs repair/replacing.

Applying the handbrake lever tightens the cable with locks up both rear wheels in the correct manner.

Releasing the handbrake lever allows the R/R to spin freely (as you would expect). The L/R remains applied until you manipulate it with a large screwdriver. It can be freed off fairly easily.

So, have I got a shagged-out L/H handbrake cable or a sticking caliper arm? The brakes seem work fine in normal operation. Changing the cable with the rear subframe fitted looks to be a bit of a ballache... But I have just found Dave S's how-to on brake calipers and wondered if it's worth trying that first?

Bloody car, I've just t-cut, polished and waxed it to within an inch of it's life, four new boots and this is how it says thank you...

Almost certainly the calliper. You can try freeing the lever but it is usual that the internal bearing is shot.
A new or refurbished calliper is the simple solution.

I think your probably right, a bit more investigation (with the R/L cable clevis removed) shows a "sticky" lever. I might try freeing it off on the car today, could do without spending £80 on a caliper this month.

Changing the caliper looks easier than changing the cable, too

Spray some penetrating oil down the lever shaft going into the caliper, using the fine tube on the can pushed passed the seal (do not remove the seal, as it is almost impossible to re-fit without dismantling the caliper.)

Work this in untill the shaft is free to move (dont forget to keep winding the piston back!)

When free spray lithium grease down past seal also.

This will buy you some time, how much time depends on how bad the needle bearings have got in the caliper.