My car is too old ('05) to be in the cheating period...
One of the rear brakes has been sticking a little and as we'd like to take that
car to Syracuse this weekend (way cheaper than taking the pickup) I figured it
was time to look at it.
The car has 4 wheel disks, the rears have the parking brakes which are actuated
by levers on the inside of the caliper. The driver's side lever was stuck about
halfway on. I tapped it with a hammer and moved it back to the stop. That
helped but it still made a noise so I jacked up the car and took the wheel off.
Had to dig awhile to find the security lock for the one special lug, it was in
the glove box for some reason...Anyway I got the wheel off and pulled the
caliper, shot some Kroil on the pivot for the park brake and worked it back and
forth a bunch until it would spring back to the stop when I released it. I put
the caliper back on the rotor and gently pried back and forth to open the
caliper a little. Also tried opening the bleeder valve to see if maybe a
collapsing hose was the culprit. The brake fluid looked good and I saw no sign
of a collapsing hose so I buttoned it all back up. With the wheel back on the
noise is gone, I put the hammer in the back of the car as insurance...
While I was out I took a minute to check tire pressure, interestingly this car
has a slow leak on the left front while the Jetta has a slow leak at the right
front. This car leaks slower though. I wrangled the left front mudflap back
into position, it'd fallen off its clip due to damage to the fender which I
want to replace. Finally I put a can of Diesel Purge into the 1/4 tank of fuel,
I know it'd be better if I ran it directly but I don't have time and I've had
decent luck with this technique.Took the car for a spin to pick up a quart of
VW 505.01 oil (Valvoline Syn-Power 5w40) apparently many of the TDI folks run
M1 Turbo Diesel truck which doesn't meet the standard only because Mobil hasn't
applied for it. I dunno I may switch over to it at the next change. The engine
did sound quieter on the return trip with the Diesel Purge running through it,
could be wishful thinking, its pretty quiet car already.
-Curt
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