sticking rear brakes in freezing weather

nathann88

as above in freezing weather if i leave the car on the drive overnight, the rear drivers side brake doesnt release. i have removed everything, cleaned, re greased, however its still sticking.

i looked at the handbrake cable for splits but all seems good. (its fine in warmer weather)

would your thoughts be handbrake cables?
havent had to do much on the astra i take it the cables run above the heat shield, and join into 1 for the handbreak?

thanks nathan

jwalker

Moisture in the rubber bit that goes over the cable freezes, which causes the handbrake to stick.

Easiest thing to do is leave the handbrake off and the car in gear

evocarlos

hey Nathan
in the past with my old rear calipers (lucas) they have stuck on in the freezing weather but was always able to drive them free
the cables may be the problem but ive not seen it with my car maybe others have
i have some new cables in the hall to fit soon with the new mk5 calipers that i just refurbished

did you re grease the sliding pins ? may be there's water in there that's freezing up ?

nathann88

jwalker said:
Moisture in the rubber bit that goes over the cable freezes, which causes the handbrake to stick.

Easiest thing to do is leave the handbrake off and the car in gear

not able to do that lol the drive is a slope 😃

evocarlos said:
hey Nathan
in the past with my old rear calipers (lucas) they have stuck on in the freezing weather but was always able to drive them free
the cables may be the problem but ive not seen it with my car maybe others have
i have some new cables in the hall to fit soon with the new mk5 calipers that i just refurbished

did you re grease the sliding pins ? may be there's water in there that's freezing up ?

they are lucas calipers. everything was cleaned and greased,

i can drive with it on but its pretty hard lots of extra power to get it going, you can smell it burning the pads, and the disc just heat up. so not somthing i want to keep doing. plus it takes ages for it to free up even then. 🙁

Sjdickso

Had this for a few years, had the cable replaced when I had new discs and pads fitted last year.

The hand brake cable was pritty corroded.

nathann88

Its only done it this year, there must be a split in the cable somewhere then. i need to find a replacment.
its ok overnight on the drive i can sort it out but if it happens when im parked up somewhere else id be stuck :eek:
hopfully its as simple as a faulty cable. ( its only 1 side as well so i think it must be)

evocarlos

if its drivers side and the calipers faulty i have a spare lmk 🙂

new lucas type hand brake cables are £44.19 from autovaux its a single piece if its the cable

nathann88

Hopefully there ok the calipers they are only a max of 3 years old, and as i say fine in warmer weather. so fingers crossed its just the cable.

ill update this at some point once i replace it. 🙂

JohnnyN

Cable on our Zafira froze every winter without fail. Water/moisture finds its way back up the inside of the cable.

Sjdickso

JohnnyN said:
Cable on our Zafira froze every winter without fail. Water/moisture finds its way back up the inside of the cable.

Just like mine Johnny anything under -2 and they locked on normally passenger side worse, used to try and grease etch which helped but after replacing the cable not had an issue yet.

MikeS

i just remember to not use the hand brake and leave it in gear

smell of burning brakes is nasty

nathann88

well i got a new cable started fitting it and as i was fitting it the sleeving spit.

replacment arrived and iv fitted it today so hopfully no more problems.
the old cable 1 side was free and as easy to use as the new cable and the sticking side is rough and jumpy. so if it was getting a slight amount of water in there it had no chance to work. thanks for the replys. ill repost if it sticks again when it freezes up.

m4rtin

I have the exact same problem on mine. It took me over an hour one morning trying to get them free. 3 kettels of boiling water and a hairdryer haha. Safe to say i just leave it in gear now when its going to be frosty.