Anyone ever hear of this before?

My 2000 Dakota is currently having the rear brakes replaced because the e-brake seized up this winter and warped the drums.

I'm flabbergasted, never having heard of such a thing before. It certainly never felt like the the rear brakes were dragging, and the symptoms only showed up in the last week or so when they started to thump as I was coming to a stop at a light or stop sign.

 

do you use the e-brake?
if it is a little engaged it would heat up the drum and if its cold out it could warp them

 

I never use the e-brake at all.

 

If you drive in the snow you probably had someice and slush build up on the e-brake cable just enough to have it engaged but not so much that you felt it. When you get the truck back spray down your e-brake cable with some lithium grease to repel the water so that it doesn't allow the ice to build up.It's a pretty common thing for it to happen here in Colorado. If you don't live in a cold winter climate then just disregard this post!

 

hmmm.... thats odd

 

Thanks Casper, that must've been what happened.

For the record, I most certainly do live in a cold climate, i.e. Saskatchewan.

The mechanic told me they would use a teflon spray to prevent this from repeating. Is this a suitable substitute for lithium grease?

 

Yeah, definitely. As long as it repels water and sticks to metal fairly wellit will be suitable for the job. Teflon will work because it pretty much actslike a wax. The water will just bead on the cableand then blow off as you drive instead of freezing to it.

 

Ah, good to know. I don't want to repeat a $400 brake job every spring.

Thanks Casper for explaining this to me.

 

Anytime, that's what these forums are for.

 

I forgot the cable runs along the side iof the frame and is exposed at parts,
I use it all the time so the ice dosen't last long