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Re: park brake hard to release in cold weather Posted by Wayfarer [Email] (#479) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Wayfarer) on Sat, 2 Jan 2010 18:08:29 In Reply to: park brake hard to release in cold weather, raynva77, Sat, 2 Jan 2010 17:24:09 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
It is an age old problem.
What is happening is moisture in the cable housing freezes or grime and rust on the mechanisms leading to the rear wheels. The cure is to replace the cables or to inject a lubricant, which is difficult to do. And to lubricate the points where the cable and brake mechanisms rub against something.
What I've done on the Minnesota tundra is to:
1. always use the brake in the summer
2. when it gets cold get into the habit of working the brake cable back and forth everytime you engage and disengage the brake. You do this by pressing in the release button and work the lever back and forth five or six times to loosen up the cable.
3. angle your tires correctly when parking on a hill and don't pull the brake up so very tight. You can practice to find out how many clicks (you hear) when pulling up the lever. You shouldn't have to get it so tight that it is hard to release on a normal day. --Unless your parking brakes are not up to par.
If your parking brake is to the point where you can't release it, and I've had it happen on an old Ford, you can try starting up the car and rocking it back and forth to see if that will release the brake. If you break the cable with the brake engaged then you are proverbially screwed.
Or, I've been known not to use the brake when it is on a level surface where it will not move if it slips out of gear. which is why angling your tires correctly on a hill is so important.
Or, or, or... you can get the cables replaced and everything lubed. But its a couple hundred so just work it back and forth everytime you engage AND disengage the brake.
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