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raoul mitgong Samba Member
Joined: July 05, 2009 Posts: 1338 Location: Denver, CO
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 9:04 am Post subject: Parking Brake Issue |
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So my 86 Syncro sat for about a week and when I got in yesterday I released the parking brake and as I lowered it, the van rocked back a bit, and the brake pulled down to the floor like someone was pulling on the cable under the van.
The parking brake still feels like it is on even though it is all the way down. The rear brakes are now locked tight. I can only guess that something in the drum popped out of place and have locked the pads against the drum.
If this is the case, how am I going to get the drum off with the brakes locked tight? Perhaps crank down the adjuster as far as it will go?
Anyone else have this happen? I did replace the rear pads about a month or two ago. Not feeling very safe with the rear drums at the moment.
-d
yes I searched _________________ 84 Westy with a 2.1 (Groover)
86 Tintop Syncro (Crow)
86 Tintop Syncro to Westy project (Tom Servo)
91 Westy (Only the top 12 inches of this van (a burn victim)) |
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Terry Kay Banned
Joined: June 22, 2003 Posts: 13331
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 9:14 am Post subject: |
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Perhaps the cable is frozen the the cable cover's--lube them up lately? _________________ T.K. |
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tlbranth Samba Member
Joined: May 24, 2014 Posts: 209 Location: Carnation, Wa
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 9:17 am Post subject: |
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My '72 bus rear brakes would lock up if it sat for very long unused. I got in the habit of not using the parking brake under those circumstances but I'd just leave it in 1st gear. The shoes seem to stick to the drums because of rust, jerry juice or whatever. I could usually free it up by backing the bus up. _________________ Terry
1991 Westfailure. 2004 Forester 2.5 engine. 4speed Standard transmission. |
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SCM Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2011 Posts: 3102 Location: Bozeman MT
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 9:39 am Post subject: |
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Love 'em or hate 'em, it's a good idea to check out GoWesty's library from time to time.
http://www.gowesty.com/library_article.php?id=1630 _________________ '91 Westfalia GL Automatic (GTA "Turbo" Rebuild w/Peloquin) and 2.3L GoWesty Engine |
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raoul mitgong Samba Member
Joined: July 05, 2009 Posts: 1338 Location: Denver, CO
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 9:47 am Post subject: |
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Thanks Terry,
I thought the same at first. What makes me think not is that the brakes are locked (can't budge them F or R) AND the lever is pulled to the floor. Wouldn't the lever be loose if the cable was stuck?
SCM,
Good article, not a GW hater. Thought that might be the case, and likely is/was, but the lever now pulled tight to the floor had me scratching my head.
-d _________________ 84 Westy with a 2.1 (Groover)
86 Tintop Syncro (Crow)
86 Tintop Syncro to Westy project (Tom Servo)
91 Westy (Only the top 12 inches of this van (a burn victim)) |
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tlbranth Samba Member
Joined: May 24, 2014 Posts: 209 Location: Carnation, Wa
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:01 pm Post subject: |
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Front brakes are locked too? _________________ Terry
1991 Westfailure. 2004 Forester 2.5 engine. 4speed Standard transmission. |
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raoul mitgong Samba Member
Joined: July 05, 2009 Posts: 1338 Location: Denver, CO
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:41 pm Post subject: |
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No, just the rear brakes are locked.
-d _________________ 84 Westy with a 2.1 (Groover)
86 Tintop Syncro (Crow)
86 Tintop Syncro to Westy project (Tom Servo)
91 Westy (Only the top 12 inches of this van (a burn victim)) |
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tlbranth Samba Member
Joined: May 24, 2014 Posts: 209 Location: Carnation, Wa
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 1:43 pm Post subject: |
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I'd be inclined to crawl underneath & see what's up with the cables. If they're tight, there's a problem up front with the lever. If they're slack, something inside the drum(s) is stuck. At that point, I think you're right, adjusting the shoes away from the drum would be a good first attempt. _________________ Terry
1991 Westfailure. 2004 Forester 2.5 engine. 4speed Standard transmission. |
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djkeev Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007 Posts: 32433 Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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raoul mitgong Samba Member
Joined: July 05, 2009 Posts: 1338 Location: Denver, CO
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 9:17 pm Post subject: |
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Yesterday 1st and reverse wouldn't budge it. After all the responses and the GW article, I decided to give it another try. The low gear was able to pop it free. Now the parking brake lever pulls all the way up and does not engage the rear brakes. At least I'll be able to get in there now to see what is going on. _________________ 84 Westy with a 2.1 (Groover)
86 Tintop Syncro (Crow)
86 Tintop Syncro to Westy project (Tom Servo)
91 Westy (Only the top 12 inches of this van (a burn victim)) |
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raoul mitgong Samba Member
Joined: July 05, 2009 Posts: 1338 Location: Denver, CO
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 9:19 pm Post subject: |
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Oh, and crawling under there didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary while it was stuck or after with the lever or cable. _________________ 84 Westy with a 2.1 (Groover)
86 Tintop Syncro (Crow)
86 Tintop Syncro to Westy project (Tom Servo)
91 Westy (Only the top 12 inches of this van (a burn victim)) |
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tlbranth Samba Member
Joined: May 24, 2014 Posts: 209 Location: Carnation, Wa
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 9:47 pm Post subject: |
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Something came adrift eh? Well a look inside and an inspection of the handbrake assembly should show you what's wrong. With the drums off, have a helper work the handbrake so you can see what's up. Don't do the hydraulics though - unless you know what you're doing. _________________ Terry
1991 Westfailure. 2004 Forester 2.5 engine. 4speed Standard transmission. |
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WestyBob Samba Member
Joined: June 11, 2004 Posts: 2346 Location: Portland, Oregon
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2015 9:57 am Post subject: |
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raoul mitgong wrote: |
Oh, and crawling under there didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary while it was stuck or after with the lever or cable. |
Same thing happened to me, Raoul, yesterday morning. Released the handbrake but one rear brake was frozen - couldn't move forward or backward.
Crawled underneath - all looked well but backed off the parking brake nut a bit (loosened) because it was tight anyway.
Then what I did was gently rocked the rig forward and then reverse until I heard a slight 'ping' and the brake released. No problems since. |
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Sodo Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2007 Posts: 9521 Location: Western WA
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Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2016 10:24 pm Post subject: Re: Parking Brake Issue |
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Late reply to this old thread, but when you have a brake cable that's stuck you probably just have to flex the cable housing. Make sure it's in gear or can't roll when the brake releases, then go under the van and grab the black cable housing with your hand and flex it one way then the other, like an "S" pattern. This should release the inner cable.
Then you're gonna have to remove the cable and grease it. This is too much effort for most people. Most will just replace it with a new cable. _________________
'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb |
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djkeev Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007 Posts: 32433 Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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kguarnotta Samba Member
Joined: April 01, 2004 Posts: 1160 Location: Woodstock, NH
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Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2020 3:23 pm Post subject: Re: Parking Brake Issue |
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Reviving an old thread...
I sort of understand what is going on when you leave the parking brake applied for a while - it has happened to me, the pads stick to the drum.
I can't imagine it was this way from the factory 30+ years ago...so what happened? Did they change the formulation of the pads?
Is there anyway to be able to safely apply the parking brake? I am so used to doing that - and just had my passenger side lock up in my garage - which is super tight quarters. It was quite scary getting that to release. _________________ -Kevin
Lincoln, MA
'86 Triple Knob Syncro w/EJ22
'78 Westy
'69 Single Cab
'65 Kombi - EZ-Camper |
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Wildthings Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005 Posts: 50261
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Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2020 8:18 pm Post subject: Re: Parking Brake Issue |
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kguarnotta wrote: |
Reviving an old thread...
I sort of understand what is going on when you leave the parking brake applied for a while - it has happened to me, the pads stick to the drum.
I can't imagine it was this way from the factory 30+ years ago...so what happened? Did they change the formulation of the pads?
Is there anyway to be able to safely apply the parking brake? I am so used to doing that - and just had my passenger side lock up in my garage - which is super tight quarters. It was quite scary getting that to release. |
Depends on what the cause is. If the cables are old and their sheaths compromised then yes the problem may be age related. I have run into this on fairly new vehicles so overall it is not necessarily do to age. We certainly had rules about when one should use a parking brake when I worked in a ski area years ago and were certainly religious about replacing cables that were at all questionable. A system that sees frequent moisture and salt is going to give more trouble than one that doesn't.
Chocks work well outdoors or you can leave a parking mat in place in your garage.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Highland-Park-Right-Ve...ti-NA-Feed |
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tencentlife Samba Member
Joined: May 02, 2006 Posts: 10067 Location: Abiquiu, NM, USA
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Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2020 11:45 am Post subject: Re: Parking Brake Issue |
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kguarnotta wrote: |
Reviving an old thread...
I sort of understand what is going on when you leave the parking brake applied for a while - it has happened to me, the pads stick to the drum.
I can't imagine it was this way from the factory 30+ years ago...so what happened? Did they change the formulation of the pads?
Is there anyway to be able to safely apply the parking brake? I am so used to doing that - and just had my passenger side lock up in my garage - which is super tight quarters. It was quite scary getting that to release. |
Most folks I know who grew up in a hard-freeze climate were taught not to use the handbrake routinely for parking. Only when you need to leave the vehicle idling momentarily without parking, or when you have to park on a slope and it's needed to aid the transmission. When you need it for safe parking, you think about whether it might freeze before you drive off again, and if so, find a parking spot where you don't need brake assist.
The sticking referred to in the GW article linked above is something I know has always happened but I haven't experienced personally, for good reason because I learned to drive in a hard-freeze climate and almost never use my handbrake. But one experience having wet drum brakes actually freeze solid will teach you once and for all, because there is no way they will break free by any of the methods GW lays out in their article. No, the only way to free frozen drums is to thaw them.
I've used torches to free others' cars. Once when camping high in the mountains on a very steep rough road I needed the handbrake to ensure the truck wouldn't roll away overnight (in addition to rocks as chocks, etc.; it was really steep!), but forgot we had driven thru a huge puddle minutes before stopping. It was hella stormy and cold overnight. Go to roll away in the AM, rear wheel frozen solid. All we had was our camp stove, so we heated a big pot of water and dumped it over the drum; it broke free with a loud snap as the springs drew the shoes back.
After that kind or treatment you have to be sure to drive and use the brakes enough to dry them out, or, simple, just don't use the handbrake again! _________________ Shop for unique Vanagon accessories at the Vanistan shop:
https://intrepidoverland.com/vanistan/
Please don't PM here, I will not reply.
Experience is kryptonite to doctrine.
Last edited by tencentlife on Wed Feb 12, 2020 12:45 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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dabaron Samba Member
Joined: June 21, 2018 Posts: 2558 Location: Philly, mang
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Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2020 12:27 pm Post subject: |
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i need to get a copy of Dave's Bentley 2.0 _________________ 1991 Vanagon GL Camper
i had no idea i wanted to be a mechanic
"burnin oil and cookin coils" -- Destructo
BiWerks Design, LLC |
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kguarnotta Samba Member
Joined: April 01, 2004 Posts: 1160 Location: Woodstock, NH
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 8:30 pm Post subject: Re: Parking Brake Issue |
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Quick question on this parking brake thing - I have always just used my parking brake - it has stuck a couple times in the past, but I generally only drove my aircooled VW's in warmer weather. Now that I have a VW I drive year round, I'm trying to get in the habit of just leaving it in gear.
What does it mean if I park on a hill, and leave it in 2nd gear - if the van still feels like it is slipping a bit - is this indicative of some transmission problem?
On a maybe related note, I do get some chatter/slippage when going into 2nd gear - not all the time, sort of intermittently. _________________ -Kevin
Lincoln, MA
'86 Triple Knob Syncro w/EJ22
'78 Westy
'69 Single Cab
'65 Kombi - EZ-Camper |
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