Hi Everyone,

I have a 2002 1.8, manual avant. Stock.

And my e-brake is sticking again. It did this last winter towards the end of the season, then stopped when the weather got warmer. I didn't do anything about it then because honestly, when the problem went away I forgot about it. Now it's sticking again though. If I leave the car for a few hours or overnight in the cold (below 40 deg.) the brake sticks. Not the lever, but the brake. I release it and the lever comes free but there is no resistance in it. The actual brake will slowly release as the car warms up, but sometimes that takes a while... Any suggestions? I hate parking and leaving it in gear all the time.

Also, I have a new noise. When I drive my car (only in 2nd-5th gear) I get a loud "whoosh" from the engine. It happens only under heavy acceleration, and only in gear (it wont do it in neutral). I can hear the turbo whine a second or so before it, then the noise starts. And for some reason I can stomp on it in first and I get nothing. The sound is hard to pinpoint since I can't recreate it without actually driving it, but it is louder on the driver side than on the passenger side. Could this be an exhaust leak? Vacuum leak? Is my turbo shot?

Thanks for any help on this!

Mike

 

im not sure about the e brake, but the noise sounds like it could be a vac leak.id check those sources first

 

A sticking e-brake can lead to scored rotors -- just went through that with my A6. I'm not sure if they can be lubed but I ended up having both replaced. The cables were over $200 and it was a couple hours work by my indie shop. Oh -- I also replaced all four rotors and pads since it they were due after 80k miles on the last set. Replacing cables definitely cheaper than replacing rotors and pads.

 

Thanks ppgoal!

I'll try that out. I already replaced my rotors and pads this summer @ 84k, I really don't want to have to do it again any time soon. It's weird that it would happen only in cold weather, but it's definitely worth checking.

and thanks ilackav6 - I'm going in for a vacuum test Monday. Plus I just ordered every hose valve and hose split I could, just in case...

Mike

 

See I get the loud "whoosh" sound when I shift from first to second in a hard acceleration, sounds to me like its the unused air exiting the turbo, I want to someday get the APR Tuned R1 Diverter Valve wondering if this would solve or help my problem or is it something else?

And with the sticking e-brake I have the same deal going on, it started when it started to get cold out and its around zero degrees here in Wisconsin as of now. I want to re do all my brakes in the spring cuz I don't know if they've been done before. I bought the car with 68k miles and it now has 83k miles on it. I hate parking it in gear also but its what I have to do as of now. Does anyone know how the setup is for the e-brake? is it a drum style behind the disk with its own pads or something else?

 

Hi Everyone,

So it turns out I have a vacuum leak, you were right ilackav8 - a cracked hose to the turbo. there was no way to recreate the noise without having the engine under stress, so it meant looking at every hose and inspecting for cracks...

If there is an easier way, I wish someone would tell me. but it's solved! Mileage is better now, too!

The brake problem turned out to be the cables, thanks for that advice ppgoal.

Hopefully someone got me a gift certificate to my local dealer or ECS for the holidays