a98pmalcolm 0 Posted January 7, 2009 hay guys happy new year to all of ya and hope u had a good x mas :) ok just a quick question, has any 1 experienced there handbrake to be frozen in the morning? i take the brake off but its totaly solid and have to drive to work with the rear brake on all the way! i think its the calipers not the cable coz i can pull the handbrake rite up and get movement in the cable The hand brake lever is totaly floppy until bought back to the on postion! any ideas guys? Oh getting some work done on the 12 looking at 260 - 280 BHP will let u know how i get on cheers paul x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supercharged 2 Posted January 7, 2009 It's not unusual for VW's to do this when in minus temps... For now i'd either not use the handbrake or chuck a bucket of hot water over each rear wheel in the morning. When the weather improves you need to clean and regrease the calipers and handbrake mech It could also be the pads seizing onto the discs if badly worn but it's usually the mech. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blenkj 0 Posted January 7, 2009 yea mind did the same thing this mornig took a few miles to come free i think they are ready for a good clean also. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
a98pmalcolm 0 Posted January 7, 2009 exaclty what mine take a few miles to free up! im now jus tleaving it in 1st gear and handbrake off, so what u goin to do to try an resolve your issue with it??? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZippyVR6 0 Posted January 7, 2009 I found squirting some wd40 down the handbrake cable tube helped prevent sticking. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
n3p 3 Posted January 7, 2009 Had the same problem with a frozen handbrake the other night, cue glowing rear brakes and a dodgy smell half a mile down the road! Had to manually release the handbrake with a good wack from behind as the lever inside was useless. Was fine the next day, but i'm not sure if my handbrake cable needs replacing or anything ;/ seems to work ok now but i would rather not have a repeat performance!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebby 0 Posted January 7, 2009 sounds like exactly the problem i've had over the past couple of weeks, takin it to my mates garage tomorrow for oil change and a check up so i'll find out for sure then Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marf497 0 Posted January 7, 2009 I had this on one side it was the rubber boot on the cable had split and let water in and then froze I just leave it in gear and leave the handbrake off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
craigowl 0 Posted January 7, 2009 Relatively common problem when you have slush and snow - even with added salt - flying about under the car. Once you have had it happen, you do not normally allow it to happen again. A pest to fix on a freezing morning :brickwall:. As other say, best solution is to leave hand brake off. Your car will always be left in 1st or reverse gear anyway, won't it? :grin: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yalan 0 Posted January 7, 2009 I had this on one side it was the rubber boot on the cable had split and let water in and then froze I just leave it in gear and leave the handbrake off. I'd almost guarantee it is your cables. My old corrado did this a few years ago. Rubber gaiter at the caliper end gets old, moisture gets in down the bowden cable then freezes the cable solid. No amount of warming the wheel / caliper sorts it. Just buy 2 new cables for £20 odd quid and solve the problem once & for all. My wifes A3 has been doing this all winter too. One cable was knackered causing it to seize up. Meaning only one caliper was doing all the work. Meaning also the one caliper took up all the movement & the lever travelled half as far. Both cables now replaced & handbrake operates as it should..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dinkus 10 Posted January 7, 2009 The rubber sealing boots can split on the handbrake cables, causing moisture to get in and then freeze. Plus you'll be getting general corrosion in there too which will eventually cease the cable regardless of temperature. The cables aren't too expensive, or that difficult to change (heck, even I could do it! :lol: ) There are also rubber boots that seal the pins that the calliper slides back and forth on. Again, if those have split, you'll get water freezing in them and/or generally poorly rear brakes. You can buy a (sadly £15 a side) kit to repair these, which involves 2 new boots and a sachet of fresh grease. Best to clean all of the hole out too though. The other possibility is that the pad is sticking to the disk as the moisture between the disk and pad has frozen... not much you can do about that, but it should sort itself out pretty quickly once you drive off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
a98pmalcolm 0 Posted January 7, 2009 thanks for all the advice guys! sounds like the rubber seal near the caliper, makes sense, my mate at backdraft motorsport said its possiable its that! well looks like im goint get the car up on the ramp and get the rubber seal changed! Thanks Again Paul Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted January 7, 2009 Had this happen to me yesterday. Set off at 5.30pm and wondered why the car had no power in 3rd.... Came to a hill start (didn't take long.... so many hills around here) and realised the car was holding itself without having to pull the handbrake on as it already was. Turned round and parked up again with a horrid smell in the air. Left hand brake off and put in gear, checked , re checked and checked again (I've had a bit of bad luck with handbrakes and parking recently). Went out to the car midday today and all was well but I've left it with handbrake off. I'm glad I don't have to drive early in the morning when everywhere is still frozen up. Think a quick check and overhaul is required once things warm up a bit. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
n3p 3 Posted January 7, 2009 Had this happen to me yesterday. Set off at 5.30pm and wondered why the car had no power in 3rd.... Came to a hill start (didn't take long.... so many hills around here) and realised the car was holding itself without having to pull the handbrake on as it already was. Turned round and parked up again with a horrid smell in the air. Left hand brake off and put in gear, checked , re checked and checked again (I've had a bit of bad luck with handbrakes and parking recently). Went out to the car midday today and all was well but I've left it with handbrake off. I'm glad I don't have to drive early in the morning when everywhere is still frozen up. Think a quick check and overhaul is required once things warm up a bit. I'm glad it's not just me then! I think i'm gonna play it safe and replace the handbrake cables and have a look at the rubber brake gubbins - washes away all worries :D Dinkus - Do you know where they sell these repair kits from? GSF or *gulp* vw? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dinkus 10 Posted January 7, 2009 Had this happen to me yesterday. Set off at 5.30pm and wondered why the car had no power in 3rd.... Came to a hill start (didn't take long.... so many hills around here) and realised the car was holding itself without having to pull the handbrake on as it already was. Turned round and parked up again with a horrid smell in the air. Left hand brake off and put in gear, checked , re checked and checked again (I've had a bit of bad luck with handbrakes and parking recently). Went out to the car midday today and all was well but I've left it with handbrake off. I'm glad I don't have to drive early in the morning when everywhere is still frozen up. Think a quick check and overhaul is required once things warm up a bit. I'm glad it's not just me then! I think i'm gonna play it safe and replace the handbrake cables and have a look at the rubber brake gubbins - washes away all worries :D Dinkus - Do you know where they sell these repair kits from? GSF or *gulp* vw? GSF might sell them, but not 100% sure. Otherwise VW Definitely sell them for the aforementioned £15 a side :( Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
