Frozen handbrake.

[syncropatrick]

Even at 3pm today my van was so cold the handbrake wouldnt undo. Light rocking for and aft just would not budge it. Had to risk a roadtrip in a 2WD car which was entertaining. The perils of living on an north-east facing hillside.

Other than chucking a bucket of warm water over the wheel, what else could I do to release it?

[syncrodoug]

Hair drier, if you got a long enough extension lead or better still a hot air paint stripping gun.
If it's safe to do so, leave the handbrake off.
Doug

[axeman]

i have been driving through all this weather since it came just over a week ago. the problem that i had was that there was so much frozen slush around the area where the 2 hand break cables become exposed from the outer sleaving and the 2 cables join cable from the main hand break cable. that the slush froze the cables in a locked (hand break on) i had to climb under the van and hack off the slush with an old screw driver to free them up.

neil

[syncropatrick]

Thanks chaps. I'll keep my hot air gun by the back door for brake and cable thawing. Good tip that.
Plus a couple of bricks to chock a wheel.

[silverbullet]

I haven't had any handbrake problems yet, even after Surrey lanes and then quite thoroughly hosing down the van on Sunday morning, including all the underbody. Lucky me, I guess!

[v-lux]

Ive just been leaving it in gear instead.

[Justavan]

I just click on the Propex heater for a while and that thaws everything out nicely including the gear lever onion at the back as it was a block of ice this morning after whizzing around in all the slush and powder snow we've got lying around here..............

[HarryMann]

Throttle cables been the one for me, a right pain, and dangerous too, but Ok after a wee while with heat from the front rad (diesels sure know how to pump hot water up front, once the engine is working)

I used a 'set' 1/4 throttle, fast gearchanges and some left foot braking to get to garage, then idling for 5 minutes seemed to do it... would be a good idea to now install a switch to force the radfans on... think there was a thread on this subject a while back?

[silverbullet]

Throttle cables Ok after a wee

I'm sure it does the job; but I mean, really Clive!

[torchy]

Hand brake? never use it, never have, like most the old van can spend a few weeks between outings, I leave everything off, imobalise the battery and chock the wheels, unless of course it's a daily driver?

[silverbullet]

Frozen throttle cable this morning! All very exciting in traffic...

[syncropaddy]

Frozen throttle cable this morning! All very exciting in traffic...

Free cruise control !!

[crazydiamond]

Its not just our old vans that freeze up handbrake cables, my daily drive a 55 plate Pug307 estate has the same problem, and thats got discs on the back. Handbrake freezes on and I have to grovel underneath to free it. So Im another one who never normaly uses the handbrake, on the van or car. Anyway if you use the handbrake it only stretches the cables so when you come to MOT's it all has to be adjusted again.

[silverbullet]

Frozen throttle cable this morning! All very exciting in traffic...

Free cruise control !!

3000 idle then went off the tacho I had to use the starter in first gear to crank it into Toys R us loading bay. Just as a delivery Artic pulled up...
A few stabs of the pedal and closing the carb by hand and all was well again
Time for lots of WD40 down the cable...

[ghost123uk]

Getting the doors open has been my issue

Had to get in through the slider in the mornings a couple of times last week !

Oh eck, look where I am posting and I only got 2WD