Parking brake query

A

andrewparkeruk

A2OC Donor
The parking brake on my A2 (rear disc brakes) has developed a lot of movement before the first click.

Is this likely to be cable stretch, and is it something which can be adjusted from inside the car?

Thank you, Andrew
 
andrewparkeruk said:
The parking brake on my A2 (rear disc brakes) has developed a lot of movement before the first click.

Is this likely to be cable stretch, and is it something which can be adjusted from inside the car?

Thank you, Andrew
Click to expand...


I can't say for certain that it's cable stretch that's caused the 'slack' in your handbrake's action but it probably is. You can take out some of it by tightening the nut that you'll find if you remove the small oddments tray (for want of a better description) at the back of the handbrake lever.
 
My rear discs develop this symptom from time to time. Typically it's a sticking lever on the calliper, where the cable is connected. I've had one calliper replaced to fix this (apparently, once the coatings are worn off the mating parts, trying to free them off and re-lube them is a mug's game), and it worked well for a spell. It's beginning to happen again on the same side, and so I'm now suspecting sticking cables as well. Especially given that they look like the originals (now 14.5 years old). I'm pretty sure it's not a stretch issue. A multi-core steel Bowden cable is unlikely to stretch under the loads that you or I can apply, even with a hefty lever advantage.

Make sure the calliper levers are moving freely before you start winding in the cable adjustment nut, otherwise all you'll do is bind the rear brakes on permanently.

Good luck.

Mike
 
The more likely explanation is that the return springs have got weaker (and shorter) with age. The only cure is replacement. This has the same effect as the cable stretching but the latter is far less likely.

RAB
 
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I hadn’t managed to do anything with this issue (mainly technical naivety) and noticed yesterday the nsr wheel was hot after 10 miles at 30mph. I booked it into the service garage on Friday.
Happy to report that it ran cool for the remainder of the day, which was fortunate as I was making a 280 mile journey home from the lovely East Neuk of Fife.

Andrew
 
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The car is in the service garage today: the handbrake lever on the nsr caliper is firmly stuck (osr caliper replaced Dec-2015).

Replacing nsr caliper, disc x2, pads x2.

Oh for the simplicity of rear drum brakes!

Andrew
 
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Checking my service history spreadsheet, the car was new Aug-2005
rear discs and pads have been replaced
Oct-2008
Jul-2012
Dec-2015
Jan-2019

Is this normal; does anyone have a strategy for getting a longer life out of the rear brakes on the disc setup?

Thank you, Andrew
 
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andrewparkeruk said:
Checking my service history spreadsheet, the car was new Aug-2005
rear discs and pads have been replaced
Oct-2008
Jul-2012
Dec-2015
Jan-2019

Is this normal; does anyone have a strategy for getting a longer life out of the rear brakes on the disc setup?

Thank you, Andrew
Click to expand...

Got drums on my A2 but have/had the combined park and road brake callipers on two VAG cars. One pair of callipers are 30 years old and 80k miles. The other pair lasted 230k miles. The trick is to keep the cam / spring mechanism on the rear well grease, keep the callipers floating freely and keep the rear of the pads well greased.
I strip grease and rebuild my brakes at every service.
 
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