Seized Caliper or Seized hand brake cable ??

[Squire]

i changed my oil at my buddys shop in okotoks, on the way home on 22x i smelt burning pads, pulled over and my rear left
caliper was smoking, i know when i did my pads last my caliper was hard to push back so i know its a valid option but i also
know that the hand brake cables do seize on older mk4's. i pumped my brakes and pulled my e brake a bunch and it did unseize
and hasnt since. i dont wanna change my caliper if its my cable and vice versa, is there a way to tell which one it is
or am i better off trying one then the other ?

thanks

cars at 140,000 km

[Squire]

Re: Seized Caliper or Seized hand brake cable ??

also, it doesnt smoke but at times i do smell it so it may eventually totally seize up so i want to do it now before i do more damage or have to tow it home

[Geobmx4life]

Re: Seized Caliper or Seized hand brake cable ??

Did you grease the pistons when you put the calipers back together?

[Squire]

Re: Seized Caliper or Seized hand brake cable ??

Did you grease the pistons when you put the calipers back together?

yes, and also rotated them when they compressed back in, its been fine for like 10,000 km now i know there old calipers i just dont wanna replace it if its only the e brake cable

[Natty54]

Re: Seized Caliper or Seized hand brake cable ??

Sometimes the calipers seize on the back side where the cables attach

[Stonewall]

Re: Seized Caliper or Seized hand brake cable ??

Sometimes when you rotate the rear piston in wrong by using too much force you can strip the threads for the ebrake handle. In that way the lever will not release back to its normal position. You can find this out by pulling the ebrake and looking at the position of the lever on the caliper. Then release the lever and make sure the lever moves back to its outermost position. If the lever doesn't move at all it could be a seized ebrake cable. Those are easy to check by removing from the lever and seeing if you can push it in and out or if it moves with the handle. Either way cables are cheap, if you see wear on them it is best to replace them.

[stefan]

Re: Seized Caliper or Seized hand brake cable ??

like brent said, rears need rotating, not just pressed it, but sounds like you did that. Easy if you have the tool for it, but otherwise damage is possible i suppose.
Release e brake and see if there is slack at the caliper, and compare how far back the ebrake linkage moves compared to the side that does work. Should be pretty obvious if the cable or caliper is at fault.
If it is the cable, swapping is pretty simple. Try not to pull the guide tube that the cable goes through out - that is a lot harder to get back in place!

George at Tunedub had has got me calipers in the past. Barely more than rebuilt partsource ones, and he gets new OEM ones, if it is the caliper.

[vteclol]

Re: Seized Caliper or Seized hand brake cable ??

That has happened to me before. All you could smell was burning breaks and they would turn red hot. I just replaced the breaks and calipers and it went away.

[Squire]

Re: Seized Caliper or Seized hand brake cable ??

That has happened to me before. All you could smell was burning breaks and they would turn red hot. I just replaced the breaks and calipers and it went away.

yah i just am in the process of getting calipers off of natty, pads are baredly used so im driving minimally so i dont get them hot or ruin my rotors at all

[Stonewall]

Re: Seized Caliper or Seized hand brake cable ??

What side do you need? I have an extra passenger side one on my parts car.