Frozen Rear Brakes

[MrG 3]

Having temperatures plummeting down to -10 caused a few issues, namely with a frozen or inoperative handbrake! Basically the offside did not release enough over the weekend so the car was undriveable.

 

So I need to strip it all down, no fun in this weather, however could the issue be purely the handbrake linkages or could it be the cables getting caked in snow/ice etc? I drove it home during a marathon 5hr journey back from Heathrow last Thursday night, so plenty of wet weather and the like. And the problem surfaced on the Friday and the Monday. Strangely enough it was fine over the weekend and today. Brakes are bloody good if it wasn't for this and prior to this we've had no issues with the handbrake (unlike other 1.9's!)

[welshpug 1,646]

likely to be tired cables I would imagine, my sisters T4 VW transporter has done this a few times, they are known for it.

 

to get the car moving you can grab hold of the handbrake lever on the bottom of the caliper with some mole grips or water pump pliers and see if you can free them off enough to not drag.

[MrG 3]

cheers WP for the reply, all seems OK today so we've decided not to use the handbrake but leaving it in gear on a flat surface where possible?? When the weather breaks I'll replace them I think.

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

It used to be a common problem on Alfa 155's in winter. The design of the handbrake cable had a rubber bit on the end that used to perish and over time water ingressed into the cable which looped down so collecting water in the dip. This meant that when it was cold, the handbrake cable would freeze on.

 

Check the ends of the cables as this is where the water get in and replace if necessary. It is also wise to grease up the cables to reduce the chances of seizure

[Tom Fenton 1,536]

I would personally not grease handbrake cables, they are lined and all the grease will do is attract dirt.

 

The normal problem is that the outer plastic sheath will be damaged in an area, this allows the metal spiral to rust and either pinch the cable making it stiff to operate, or allow water in which has frozen.

 

The handbrake cables for 205's are dirt cheap and easy to change, but a little addition which makes a huge difference is to get the cable clips from a ZX or 309 which allow you to clip the cable to the lugs on the fuel tank, hey presto no more droopy cables.

 

The clip was never fitted to 205's, goodness knows why, but it fits perfectly and is a good addition- I always try to add them to 205's on which I replace the cables.

[GLPoomobile 958]

I had clips on the tank of my last GTI And don't recall not seeing them on any of my other GTIs either

 

EDIT: Sorry, think I misunderstood you. Are you saying that all 205s have lugs (the plastic thing about an inch long that the cables clip in to), but the clip is another part that stops the cables falling out of the lugs when they get loose with age?

Edited December 23, 2010 by GLPoomobile

[welshpug 1,646]

yeah, they are metal barbed clip that secures the cable in said plastic fitting.

[MrG 3]

hmm, thanks for the replies guys, and cheers Tom for the suggestion, I'll do that. My pet hate is droopy cables!

 

so early next year the carr will up on jacks and a good going over will be the order of the day.

[Tom Fenton 1,536]

Picture = 1000 words etc