Hot Rear Tourer Brake

Yesterday I noticed a hot smell from my rear passenger side wheel (forgive me, I've never got to grips with the offside rule). Not steaming, but hotter than I'd have expected given fairly sedate driving -and in any case significantly hotter than the other side.

Went to work this morning and all was well.

Got home tonight and the hot smell was back (most likely the aroma of cooking black Hammerite on the drum).

I was going to book it in at the local garage for investigation, but curiosity (and a seasonally thin wallet) got the better of me.

With the wheel off the ground there was no binding :-(

Thanks to the Grand High Plumber's excellent DIY I soon had the caliper off. All appears well. The sliders are nice and slidey with practically no resistance. The piston pushed back in with ease. I changed the fluid not long ago and there wasn't a trace of perished hose in what came out, so I doubt it's the oft mentioned degraded hose issue.

Now it's 4 degrees outside tonight and it started to drizzle. Suffices to say I'd had enough of kneeling in a puddle whilst grovelling under the wheel arch with a handlamp for one night.

I reassembled the brake and took it for a spin. About 15 miles at 60mph with hardly any braking. The drivers side rear is stone cold, the passenger side is reasonably warm (but a long way from cooking temperature). I might put that down to a little extra friction as the pads re-seat themselves having been out.

My question is, given the hydraulics appear superficially ok, are there any common issues with the handbrake ***embly?

If it doesn't settle tomorrow I'll have it apart again and try to fathom the mysteries of the drum.

One thought crossed my mind. Is the handbrake self adjusting? Might it be that that side has self-tightened by a notch and is running warm until the new position beds in? Hmm scratch that. I'd feel the binding in that case.
Could be wheel bearing I suppose, but I'd expect at least a little noise.

Did the piston push back in all the way so it was flush? I had the same problem but my piston would not push all the way back in. I dont think the handbrake is self adjusting as it has manual adjusters (have you messed about with the handbrake at all?).

Is there a wear lip on the silver spring that pushes the pads in? Where it actually touches the top of the brake pad? If so this could be pushing the pad on an angle but then I dont know how hot that would make the disc get.

I can only suggest replacing the hose if the caliper is fine, maybe jack the rear up with the wheel on and get someone to stand hard on the brake peddle and release it and then try to turn the wheel by hand and see if it sticks a bit or is harder to turn than the otherside also do the same with the handbrake.

Agree with Dave's feedback.

Handbrake within disc has brake shoes which are manually adjustable, handbrake cable adjuster is within central console.
As Dave suggests jack up affected wheel and see how it spins, then go for a drive and do the same again.
If the wheels is more difficult to spin, open the bleed nipple on the affected caliper slightly, if the wheel now spins more easily I would suspect hydraulics and change brake hose, then repeat test again.

All of the above is predicated on the pads and caliper being free

Hope it helps and can appreciate weather difficulties, good luck

The bright steel parts in the caliper are they clean?, take a wire brush to the lot, remove any paint that may be on the pads were they fit into the calipers, Having done all of this myself more than once, I eventually replaced the caliper and hose to solve the problem, who knows you may succeed were others and I have failed. Put a dab of copper grease on the moving bits.