2003 parking brake is sticky. Will rebuilding the caliper help?

[Masta Shake]

It's not the cable. The parking brake arm is just super sticky. Not sure if rebuilding the caliper will help or not. Lubrication on the arm didnt free it up much.

Any input?
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As a good friend told me when I got the Syncro: "Welcome to the an intense love/hate relationship".

[soissisc]

On my 99, the rod that passes through the caliper to connect to the parking brake lever, there is an O ring in there that fails, and then that arm gets crusty / rusty in there and will not turn freely.

If you disassemble the caliper, and remove the piston to expose the ratcheting mechanism inside there, there is a snap ring down in the bottom (that is fiddly to get out a little bit) of the bore that needs removed to be able to remove the ratcheting mechanism to get at the failed oring at the bottom. I was able to rebuild the caliper once and it lasted a while, but the corrosion on mine was too much and it did not last long (chewed up the new o ring). So I purchased a used caliper from a junkyard in the south where there are no salty roads, and replaced the ratcheting mechanism in mine with the one I purchased, and new O rings etc. It has been fine since.

There is a brass bushing down in there that the oring sets on also, mine was destroyed from the rusty shaft so I replaced that also from the junker I bought.

I purchased a rebuild kit from rock auto I believe and it had the orings, and I reused my piston seals as the ones in the kit were super flimsy.
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Mark

68 Westy
92 Jetta (oh it is retired)
99 Eurovan
05 NBC
06 Audi A3
72 Westy (I am going to fix it up)

[Abscate]

If someone did a rear pad job on your T4 recently, its possible they didn't use the tool to 'screw' the pistons back in, but instead just forced them in.

That will mess your PB pretty bad.
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.ssS!

[soissisc]

Yes you have to compress and turn the piston to compress. Just clamping down on the piston to force it back in the caliper will completely screw up the parking brake mechanism.

I can get some pictures of this stuff if you need it. I have a Passat rear caliper on the bench that is very similar, just a tad bit smaller.
_________________
Mark

68 Westy
92 Jetta (oh it is retired)
99 Eurovan
05 NBC
06 Audi A3
72 Westy (I am going to fix it up)

[Masta Shake]

Thanks all. I'm aware of the turning down process to reset the pistons. Anytime I see notches on the face of the piston it's evident that's what is needed. The brake issue is fairly new and I have put about 15k miles on the van since I bought it in 2015. After some research I too determined that rebuilding it was not really worth the time or effort. A good rebuilt one is on the way and I'll install it Friday, then complete the flush of the system (rear half).
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As a good friend told me when I got the Syncro: "Welcome to the an intense love/hate relationship".

[Zeitgeist 13]

I just got burned for a second time with "rebuilt" calipers. I'm currently doing a warranty job to fix the calipers I installed last year on a Mercedes--they both seize up when warm, creating intermittent problems. Totally irritating. I'm rebuilding them myself this time, and will always do so from here on out.
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Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[Masta Shake]

[rbiegel5]

Hi Masta Shake and all. I just joined this forum although not new to EV ownership. Owned a new 1993 MV 5 speed for nearly 10 years then traded for a 2003 MV VR6 now going on 15 years with nearly 180,000 miles. By now should have it all figured out but am faced with a sticking rear brake problem that is baffling me. It may be similar to the subject of this thread so though add it here rather than start a new one. I'll start with the background so bear with me a bit....

In my case the original factory calipers were changed by a local shop 3 years ago. That was done as part of needing new rear brake pads and their advise to get the 10 year old calipers replaced at the same time. I thought a reasonable suggestion so went ahead. They sourced what looks like OEM rebuilt calipers that have the LUCAS stamp on them. At the same time they checked the parking brake cable and made sure it was lubricated and working OK. I also had the brake fluid flushed as I have done regularly on this vehicle.

All good and probably put on a good 10-15,000 miles since then but a few months ago after less than three years of service, the right rear brakes started to stick and in fact it got my attention by giving off a terrible burning smell and the disc actually was a dull hot red! After letting it cool, I removed the pads and tried compressing the caliper using the proper tool that I bought long ago when I changed the first set of pads. It was a bit tight but eventually got it to compress. Put it all back together as the pads and rotor seemed OK and it has worked fine since. I concluded that perhaps the piston in the caliper had a tight spot and my moving it broke it loose. Seemed a bit strange though but all was fine.

More recently the left rear brake has done the same thing. This time I suspected a sticking parking brake so checked the cable and disconnected it so I stopped using it and made sure it was not stuck on. I even decided to disconnect the ball from the lever as I was forgetting not to use it. Problem was still there though even without the cable connected. I have now pulled off the caliper and was contemplating what to to as I don't want to just compress it and put it back then have this happen again on a trip.

So, my thought is that maybe the rebuilt calipers installed 3 years ago were not the best quality and the pistons are hanging up. I also am wondering if maybe the racket mechanism for the parking brake is hanging up due to contamination as discussed in this thread. I could go the rebuild on my own route but am thinking better to start fresh with a new set of rear calipers and pads. Question is where to buy them so I know I am getting good quality rebuilds. Prices vary from a high of $213.60 each from VW ( discounted from $296.67 list) to $65.99 for an Autozone Duralast Reman rebuild with my old calipers. In between RockAuto.com has a rebuilt for $80.79 with my old calipers. I'm told from a trusted VW tech that all of these calipers are rebuilds of the factory calipers so I guess it comes down to the quality of the rebuild. I would contemplate rebuilding myself but given they had overheated so badly thinking best to start with a fresh set.


Any advise of where to get a quality rebuild?
Thanks
Ron

[Masta Shake]

Great comment above. I called a few "Brake" shops looking to get my existing OEM calipers rebuilt. No one wanted to do it as it's cheaper for them to buy and install rebuilt ones. I knew I could do the rebuild myself but nothing I found online spoke to the parking brake issue I was having and I didn't want to get into a rebuild and not fix the core issue of that being sticky.

I ended up getting a rebuilt complete caliper at Auto Zone. They had it at the store in 2 days so no shipping back my core. They were out of the caliper only kit so I got the one with a carrier. It came with the wrong carrier of course and there was no option given for the different rotor sizes seen in EVs but I swapped my carrier onto the caliper. I replaced the parking brake rear cable while I was at it.

So far so good but you can bet I'll be checking that brake for proper function several times a year from now on.

On a side note the main parking brake cable is pretty rusty, so that is on the to do list.
_________________
As a good friend told me when I got the Syncro: "Welcome to the an intense love/hate relationship".

[soissisc]

The stickiness comes from the shaft corroding and getting tight where it passes thru the bronze bushing in the caliper. There is an O ring at the bronze bushing that keeps the brake fluid in the caliper, and the only thing that seals the shaft from the outside world is a seal on the back side of the caliper the is squeezed between the caliper body and the parking brake lever. In a salty condition like we have here in the winters of western PA it is inevitable that the shaft gets rusty and starts to bind after 15 or 20 years of abuse.

I will try to get some pictures to better explain.

You can buy seal kits, pistons, but not the ratchet mechanism, as far as I could find.
_________________
Mark

68 Westy
92 Jetta (oh it is retired)
99 Eurovan
05 NBC
06 Audi A3
72 Westy (I am going to fix it up)

[rbiegel5]

Thanks for the update on what you did. I am also leaning towards getting a new set of rear calipers and pads from Autozone. Besides being the most economical solution, the store is only a few miles from my house making it much easier to manage refund of the core charge. I also think they come with a warranty so if I see any issues can easily bring them back for a replacement. The alternative route would be buy from VW at almost 3X more per caliper. The only way that would start to make any sense to me is if they are brand new calipers just like the ones that were installed at the factory. I plan to call my VW dealer to see if that is the case. If they are also selling rebuilds then I'll take my chances with Autozone. I'll update once I have this solved.
Ron

[rbiegel5]

A few updates....I found out from my VW dealer here in NJ that the calipers they sell these days are brand new rather than rebuilds. The parts guy there has been around for awhile and quite knowledgable. He claims they used to sell rebuilds but VW was finding that the core returns were in bad shape so they stopped doing that. So maybe that somewhat explains the high cost but still at $250 each with a 15% discount they offered me off list it becomes an expensive solution.

So, that left me with either going for the much less expensive AutoZone rebuilds or rebuilding myself. I figured since the caliper was out already why not dig deeper so started taking mine apart. I found that the piston had some light scuffs but no severe pitting that would indicate it had corroded and seized. The piston seal and bellow were also is decent shape. So I am thinking the culprit is probably that parking brake actuation shaft hanging up as noted in this thread. Thing is that also seemed to turn quite easily after I worked it a bit. In fact I used that ratcheting action to get the the piston out of the cylinder. The shaft itself looks like it is secured with a snap ring deep in the cylinder recess. I would really like to pull that out to thoroughly clean but I am thinking best leave it alone since I don't have a snap ring tool that would reach down to allow removal. Also as pointed out, there are no parts available to rebuild the seal or replace the bushing so if I damage it I'm stuck. Maybe best to just give it a thorough soaking to remove any dirt that has worked past the seal.

So I am now on the rebuild myself path. I ordered a new piston seal and bellows from GermanAutoparts for $8.75 for both sides. I added new rubber hoses ( 2 per wheel), pads, grease and brake fluid to the order for a total of about $190 with shipping. Parts I hope will arrive by Thursday. I already have a Motive Pressure bleeder so will use that to pressurize the system and get all the air out of the rebuilt rear brakes. I'll update you on how it goes.