I'm following a discussion on another forum about using the parking brake or not. Many say they don't use it and leave their car in first or reverse gear to prevent the parking brake from freezing in cold weather. I've had about 10 cars over the past 20 years (5 for private use, 5 or 6 for work) and always used the parking brake. Never had any problems with frozen brakes.

What are you using? And did your parking brakes ever freeze solid?

Carlo ;)

Up until my last car I never used it unless I was parked on a hill. My present car is automatic, so no requirement really. For me it is not a question of the brake freezing, but more a case of the cables will stretch in the end and you will not be able to take out the slack. The average hand brake cable to replace is a complete "§$%&/('# to change.

Matt

I never used them much, of course if you don't use them the cables will corrode much faster.

I always use it, I've never given it any thought.

It's what it's there for. Parking.

wrote on May 30^th, 2010 at 3:05pm:

I always use it, I've never given it any thought. It's what it's there for. Parking.

Precisely. [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

I've left my Parking Brake on until the Brake linings have welded themselves to the Brake Drums....

..over a period of many years, stood still...you understand... ;)...!

...a bit like the Clutch Plates!...;)...!

Paul.... ;D... ;D...!

My Trusty, 1982, Austin Allegro 1.5HL, has been festering, unused, in my garage for the past 20 years...40,00 miles on the clock... ;)...!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG_V4eB5PR4

Off topic.. but Fozzer's mention of the Austin Aggro reminded me of this..:

Austin Ambassador Y reg

;D

I've never owned a car that had a working parking brake in it that you could trust.
The one in our new car may work, but it has an automatic, and I've never seen the point of a slush box coming equipped with a p-brake.

One time, I had a 1984  RX-7 that had one, I pulled it, and it engaged, but never released. Nice and expensive fix that I wasn't prepared for. >:(

From that day forward, I won't touch them.  I don't live in an area where a car parked in gear would suddenly start rolling away without the additional aid of a parking brake.

Indiana is rather flat where I'm at.  ;D  ;)

ShaneG wrote on May 31^st, 2010 at 6:07am:

I've never owned a car that had a working parking break in it that you could trust. The one in our new car may work, but it has an automatic, and I've never seen the point of a slush box coming equipped with a p-brake. One time, I had a 1984  RX-7 that had one, I pulled it, and it engaged, but never released. Nice and expensive fix that I wasn't prepared for. >:( From that day forward, I won't touch them.  I don't live in an area where a car parked in gear would suddenly start rolling away without the additional aid of a parking break. Indiana is rather flat where I'm at.  ;D  ;)

....give us a break, Shane!...

..its a Brake.... :o...!

Paul.... ;D... ;D... ;D...!

The only thing I break at the moment is.....wind!... (Flat-ulence)....:-[..... ;D....!

What's really bad, is that I did manage to use the correct spelling once.  :-[

;D ;D

Give me a break, it's early over here.  ;D  ;)

ShaneG wrote on May 31^st, 2010 at 7:15am:

What's really bad, is that I did manage to use the correct spelling once.  :-[ ;D ;D Give me a break, it's early over here.  ;D  ;)

Tee-Hee!... ;D... ;D...!

All good for a laugh, Shane!... ;D... ;D...!

Paul.... ;D...!

Its a miserable "Bank Holiday" over here in England...but I'm always in a happy mood...come rain or shine!... ;D...!

I've decided I should take a break from breaking my brakes as as it leads to me being broke.

8-)

;D

Thanks for the replies lads.

Carlo ;)

Brake + reverse lock... I can park it with the parking brake loose, but i never do that

It partially froze once last year but that was in huge snow heaps. And you dont notice the clunk sound of it getting unstuck because the half frozen rubber bushings make a lot more noise

Drive an automatic and mostly park on a flat surface so no need to set the park brake, only use it on inclines.  But I don't trust them anyways, last summer I was bringing in a wagon load of hay, drive is pretty steep, bosses wife had her car parked in the way, leaving me stuck on the hill, set the brake...no sooner got out and shut the door before the cable broke, needless to say over 8,000 pounds worth of loaded wagon suddenly being released onto the transmission led to one very expensive OH $#*%! :-[

Parking brake is a latching brake which is mostly used to keep the vehicle stationary. Parking brake is very useful in order to prevent a vehicle from rolling on mountains and sliding. It s operated with hand and it stop the front wheel of the car. In bikes, it can be use for one wheeling.

Owen wrote on Dec 21^st, 2012 at 1:32am:

Parking brake is a latching brake which is mostly used to keep the vehicle stationary. Parking brake is very useful in order to prevent a vehicle from rolling on mountains and sliding. It s operated with hand and it stop the front wheel of the car. In bikes, it can be use for one wheeling.

:-? :-?

expat wrote on Dec 21^st, 2012 at 11:21am:

Owen wrote on Dec 21st, 2012 at 1:32am: Parking brake is a latching brake which is mostly used to keep the vehicle stationary. Parking brake is very useful in order to prevent a vehicle from rolling on mountains and sliding. It s operated with hand and it stop the front wheel of the car. In bikes, it can be use for one wheeling. :-? :-?

Gettng his minimum posts in to post links.. I suppose

A parking Break, an open spot right by the entrance to the mall.                  

Owen has a pre 1987 Saab 900... that one has the parking brake on the front wheels  ;D

The only time... well, TWO times... a parking brake froze on me was on my first car, an old as Noah and as much as battered SIMCA 1307GLS I had in the 90ies, but it wasn't quite a FROZEN parking brake, it was a STUCK parking brake.

Once it happened while I was trying to start the car up after the night from the parking to go on my way, and trying to get it unstuck I almost fried the clutch, and the second time it partially stuck while I was driving, boiling the braking fluid over and giving me a nasty surprise when trying to break I had the sinking feeling of the brake pedal sinking itself all the way down to the pavement with the car barely even slowing down. Luckily the road was empty and nothing... untoward happened.

Even since then, my cars have always been of a better kind, and that never happened... beside one sole time, but it was MY FAULT for having left the parking brake partially engaged while driving on my old BMW, which had quite the weak parking brake that forced me to learn to park my car in first gear when the front was downhill, and in rear gear when the front was uphill, to be sure, almost never in neutral anyway. A procedure that has stuck with me and I do it always without thinking.