Frozen hand brake

Gritty

Member
Hi guys

Recently when its been really frosty in the mornings Ive been unable to move the car as the handbrake is frozen to the rear drums? I have been forced to leave the car in gear to avoid using the handbrake which aint ideal

Appreciate its more likely to happen on a model with drums but wanted to find out how to avoid the problem in future.

Any suggestions advice always appreciated
 
For a short term solution I would try and adjust the hand brake, maybe slightly tap the drums with a rubber / plastic hammer after releasing the hand brake. Long term solution is to strip down the drums and investigate

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not necessarily the drums, it's quite possible it's also the cable. And yes, I would avoid using the handbrake if it's +-2C. Put some lock on the wheels, too, and block them against the kerb. Standard practice up here...

- Bret
 
...when I experience "frozen rear brakes" I first try to go back-forth-back-forth as fast as I can to try to get release.
If this does not help my experience is that it is due to that the sinner is the cables and not drums

To verify I lay down on by back and streach my hand in under the car and catch the wire and drag.... if it seems flexy, then I would blame drum/drums.
If it feels stiff and tensioned (even with a released hand brake handle) I would blame the cable.

Cables does not last more than 5-6 years over here so I change them as a routine when I prepare the car for MOT.

If you have problems with drums, I would check dis-located / broken springs or guide groove on cylinders or position pads wear.

If you dismantle the brakes and do not have new cables at hand you can extend life of old cables by hanging them up and add chainsaw oil at top (8-10 drops) it takes 24h ish to penetrate to the lower end.... (I use chainsaw oil due to the content of resin and since it is designed to work down to -40 degC)

dieselfan
 
I've had Mk1 and Mk2 Skoda Fabias, which probably share the rear brake design, and both have suffered from this very badly. In my experience, it's the shoes sticking to the drums, especially after a long stand and/or getting wet. My son now has the Mk2 version and he's taken to not using the handbrake for parking, just for hill starts. I wonder if after-market shoes have a different compound from the original fitment, and thus are more "sticky".
 
Our Citigo with visibly identical drums had the same problem from a year old and I know my Mum's Polos look pretty similar and have been similarly finicky. Put the Citigo in for the first annual service - I got told when I went to pick it up that "the brake drums have been adjusted - it has to be done at this service", £80 from what I remember without pre-warning. Less than a week later the drums started seizing in damp weather - and did so every time the car sat still for more than 2 days thereafter. Got used to leaving handbrake off in gear when parked. Took it into my independent for the 3rd year service who found that the cables had been tightened excessively with no sign of required lubrication during the service and had been gently binding for a while so the drums were both showing signs of being cooked. A full service, new parts and proper lubrication of the levers later, the handbrake has never been better and never seizes nomatter what the weather is. In the snow I found my A2 will only lock the passenger side rear wheel while the driver side rear brake shows no sign of any handbrake activity at all (and squeaks when reversing). Eurocarparts had a 50% discount a few weeks ago on the full Pagid replacement internals kit through their Ebay portal, so I got the whole lot for £47 instead of £70-80 discounted at normal prices from the ECP website. Going to get that done asap by my independent now because I trust that he knows how these things work - and this isn't something I can do myself right now.
 
Our Citigo with visibly identical drums had the same problem from a year old and I know my Mum's Polos look pretty similar and have been similarly finicky. Put the Citigo in for the first annual service - I got told when I went to pick it up that "the brake drums have been adjusted - it has to be done at this service", £80 from what I remember without pre-warning. Less than a week later the drums started seizing in damp weather - and did so every time the car sat still for more than 2 days thereafter. Got used to leaving handbrake off in gear when parked. Took it into my independent for the 3rd year service who found that the cables had been tightened excessively with no sign of required lubrication during the service and had been gently binding for a while so the drums were both showing signs of being cooked. A full service, new parts and proper lubrication of the levers later, the handbrake has never been better and never seizes nomatter what the weather is. In the snow I found my A2 will only lock the passenger side rear wheel while the driver side rear brake shows no sign of any handbrake activity at all (and squeaks when reversing). Eurocarparts had a 50% discount a few weeks ago on the full Pagid replacement internals kit through their Ebay portal, so I got the whole lot for £47 instead of £70-80 discounted at normal prices from the ECP website. Going to get that done asap by my independent now because I trust that he knows how these things work - and this isn't something I can do myself right now.

I bought two rear cables from ECP but had to return them as they were identical. On my Tdi the rear cables are different lengths and different designs. Worth checking out.
 
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