# can rear calipers be serviced?



## littlegreek (Nov 24, 2006)

Got mark4 1999.5 jetta gls 2.0,got the calipers rebuilt 4 months ago.When i did the replacement i also installed new backing plates,zimmerman crossdrilled rotors,ebc greenstuff pads,e-brake cables,flushed brake fluid.i was very impressed with the car's braking after that but recently,as soon as it hits 0 degrees my parking brakes sieze up.The cables themselves are not siezing but the calipers are getting stuck.i had to tap the little 'arm' that the cables connect to so i would be able to move the car.As its getting colder up here the problem has gotten worse







Can somebody help?


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## littlegreek (Nov 24, 2006)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (littlegreek)*

anybody?


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## mayhem3x (Mar 28, 2006)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (littlegreek)*

I feel your pain on this. the same thing happens to me. I usually get out and break it loose. It sucks to do this everytime you go to drive. I hope someone has an easy fix.


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## littlegreek (Nov 24, 2006)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (littlegreek)*

it sucks driving without an e-brake







anybody?


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## racinrocco (Sep 26, 2002)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (littlegreek)*

what i have done is I unhooked the cable from the caliper arm,slipped a coil spring over the cable and then reconnected the cable.
when the cable is pulled(ebrake applied) this puts tension on the coil spring.WHen the ebrake is released,the coil spring tension pushes up on the caliper arm,helping to release everything.
It takes a bit of trial and error to get the correct sizing on the coil spring.Since I did it about 2 months ago have not had a caliper hang up.


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## mayhem3x (Mar 28, 2006)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (racinrocco)*

That is kinda what I was thinking about doing also. After you replace everything and it still acts up, you gotta find alternatives. 
I'm glad its working for you. I for one am going to do the same. thanks


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (racinrocco)*


_Quote, originally posted by *racinrocco* »_what i have done is I unhooked the cable from the caliper arm,slipped a coil spring over the cable and then reconnected the cable.
when the cable is pulled(ebrake applied) this puts tension on the coil spring.WHen the ebrake is released,the coil spring tension pushes up on the caliper arm,helping to release everything.
It takes a bit of trial and error to get the correct sizing on the coil spring.Since I did it about 2 months ago have not had a caliper hang up.

Brilliant! A secondary return spring for the parking brake cable. Why doesn't it come like that from the manufacturer. Can you post a picture of that setup?
I know the little parking brake arm already has some kind of spring in there, but maybe its just not strong enough? If you do a rebuild - maybe you can just swap in a stiffer spring


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## littlegreek (Nov 24, 2006)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (littlegreek)*

Sounds promising...but where do you get the spring?maybe off some old drum brake?
Bet one day there will be a D.I.Y on this problem because it seems that im not the only one with this issue...


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## racinrocco (Sep 26, 2002)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (littlegreek)*

yes,I had an assortment of brake shoe hold down springs,I stacked two or three over the cable(sorry cant remember how many and it is too cold to go look) and then reconnected the cable to the caliper.It does make it a bit tougher to pull the ebrake on,I wont be surprised if the extra stress causes something else to break.


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## littlegreek (Nov 24, 2006)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (racinrocco)*

how about unbolting that little arm and seeing why its sticking?i created this thread to see if anybody has already done this.i went to vw to see if they sell that little black grommet thingy but of course,just like vw ,they say its part of the caliper and cant be sold seperately


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## 2pt_slo_Mk3 (Jan 10, 2007)

for the first time tonight i experianced the same problem i think.. when you go to release the e brake, the arm goes all the way back down, but you can tell its not releasing. it only dropped down to 31 degrees here tonight.. i thought maybe it was from the cold, but thought less of the idea until i read this. what can i do to get it unstuck so i can get to school tomorrow?


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## 2pt_slo_Mk3 (Jan 10, 2007)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (mayhem3x)*


_Quote, originally posted by *mayhem3x* »_I feel your pain on this. the same thing happens to me. I usually get out and break it loose. It sucks to do this everytime you go to drive. I hope someone has an easy fix.

how are you breaking it loose?


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## littlegreek (Nov 24, 2006)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (2pt_slo_Mk3)*

with your ebrake in the down position,go under the car.make SURE the car is in gear and block off the wheels so you wont get squished.on the caliper you will see these little arms,they connect to your ebrake cable.now get a small hammer and LIGHTLY tap the arms upwards,they should move counter clockwise.
i had to do this on the side of the road last month and i've never pulled my ebrake since then


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## bikeprof (Aug 7, 2005)

WOW! Same event happened to my VW, seems that it is a "GENETIC" deficiency .
I had to cut the E-cable to be able to get anywhere, now I cannot use the E-brakes.
What I have read: The O ring(s) at the caliper ends of the cable get old and let snow,dirt and lots of moisture. These are steel cables in a sheath of wounded steel coils, so RUST willl happen.
I got new ones(cables) and waiting to get new ALUMINUM calipers...to install.
B4 w/277K, as in miles


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## littlegreek (Nov 24, 2006)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (littlegreek)*

wierd,its 0 celcius in toronto and my ebrakes work







so there must be crud getting in the caliper and freezing it up.i think i just might end up living with this problem since spring is just around the corner but id still would like to know if anybody has taken the ebrake part of the caliper apart and what can be done to lube it.


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## littlegreek (Nov 24, 2006)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (littlegreek)*

bringing this back.i noticed that the newer mk4 rear calipers have a large spring attached to them.
might be the answer.gonna call vw.


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## T99inFL (Aug 4, 1999)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (littlegreek)*


_Quote, originally posted by *littlegreek* »_i noticed that the newer mk4 rear calipers have a large spring attached to them.
might be the answer.gonna call vw.

Are you saying that late model mk4 caliper springs are larger than early model mk4 springs?


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## screwedrrado (Mar 13, 2007)

just upgrade to mk4 rear calipers, they dont have the freezing yp prob


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## littlegreek (Nov 24, 2006)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (littlegreek)*

no,what im saying is that there is a spring that attaches from a plate at the rear of the caliper to the little arm the parking brake cable attaches to.
my calipers are 1999-2000 mark4 rebuilds,they do not have this spring.
some guy in the canadian parts classifieds posted a pic of 2004 mark4 calipers and there is a spring on the back of them.
so this might be a solution to the sticking caliper issue were having.


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## T99inFL (Aug 4, 1999)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (littlegreek)*


_Quote, originally posted by *littlegreek* »_no,what im saying is that there is a spring that attaches from a plate at the rear of the caliper to the little arm the parking brake cable attaches to.
my calipers are 1999-2000 mark4 rebuilds,they do not have this spring.
some guy in the canadian parts classifieds posted a pic of 2004 mark4 calipers and there is a spring on the back of them.
so this might be a solution to the sticking caliper issue were having.

A link to the post would have helped greatly! I searched and located it for the rest of us.
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3129492
The poster is *vwtoby*.
And this is his pic.








This definitely needs to be explored. It may be vw's fix for the sticking cable.
Maybe someone with ETKA can look it up and see if it only comes as an assembly or if the parts are available separately.


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## littlegreek (Nov 24, 2006)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (littlegreek)*

cool,thanks!!gotta learn how to do that!i've been turning wrenches since i was twelve but i've only had a computer for one year.
gonna go to vw and see if they sell 'em.


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## T99inFL (Aug 4, 1999)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (littlegreek)*

I found some pix of the inside of a caliper in another thread:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3093785
The poster is *razex*
















In that thread, *tupinchemadre* has this to say:

_Quote, originally posted by *tupinchemadre* »_
It comes out, if you look into the caliper, where the piston sits, there is a shaft, that shaft at the base of it has a C-clip, using two scribes, pull that open and out, then the shaft with the lever pulls out the back of the caliper, the shaft and lever arm are pressed in, be VERY careful that you don't rip the seal out on the back, if you decide to remove it for powdercoating as pictured below, because as far as I know VW does NOT sell that seal alone, if your just removing and reinstalling the same part, no need to pull off the black seal on the back of the caliper that the shaft goes through, you will know what I mean once you get there, any questions Im me http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 










_Modified by T99inFL at 7:36 PM 3-26-2007_

_Modified by T99inFL at 7:39 PM 3-26-2007_

_Modified by T99inFL at 7:40 PM 3-26-2007_


_Modified by T99inFL at 7:42 PM 3-26-2007_


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## T99inFL (Aug 4, 1999)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (T99inFL)*

Armed with this photograph, I made a trip to the dealer today to investigate these calipers. 








I was told they are not 04 or even 05. They are 06 jetta. 
The part numbers:
for the left spring is 1K0-615-295
for the right spring is 1K0-615-296
The price was $4.46 each
The complete calipers are 1K0-15-423 (L) and 1K0-615-424 (R)

_Modified by T99inFL at 1:33 PM 3-28-2007_


_Modified by T99inFL at 1:35 PM 3-28-2007_


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## littlegreek (Nov 24, 2006)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (littlegreek)*

wow,thats so cool!do you guys think this spring might help with the problem?
funny thing is my calipers have the holes to mount these springs but i wonder why i never got the actual spring.
well gonna go this week to vw to buy them when i get a chance this week.
thanks everybody who posted replies and pics.
now if this works,then should this go down as a D.I.Y. ?????im sure there are a few people on here that would like a solution.


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## screwedrrado (Mar 13, 2007)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (T99inFL)*


_Quote, originally posted by *T99inFL* »_Armed with the photograph, I made a trip to the dealer today to investigate these calipers. I was told they are not 04 or even 05. They are 06 jetta. 
The part numbers:
for the left spring is 1K0-615-295
for the right spring is 1K0-615-296
The price was $4.46 each
The complete calipers are 1K0-15-423 (L) and 1K0-615-424 (R)

If you showed them the powder coated black caliper, those are not from a mk5, those rear calipers are off a Mk4, the Mk5 rear calipers *DO NOT FIT* If a good amount of you guys need these springs, please let me know I can get them for half that price mentioned ($4.46), also that disassembled caliper, yea that brings back memories










_Modified by screwedrrado at 11:31 PM 3-27-2007_


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## T99inFL (Aug 4, 1999)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (screwedrrado)*


_Quote, originally posted by *screwedrrado* »_
If you showed them the powder coated black caliper, those are not from a mk5, those rear calipers are off a Mk4, the Mk5 rear calipers *DO NOT FIT* If a good amount of you guys need these springs, please let me know I can get them for half that price mentioned ($4.46), also that disassembled caliper, yea that brings back memories


Thanks for the info. I was using your pix only to show the guts of a caliper. These were the only pix I found. 
If you can provide any pix or insight about the arm and mechanical portion of a caliper, assembly/disassembly do share.
You mentioned obtaining springs. Can you get the caliper seal kits also? (8D0-698-671)


_Modified by T99inFL at 1:35 PM 3-28-2007_


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## screwedrrado (Mar 13, 2007)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (T99inFL)*


_Quote, originally posted by *T99inFL* »_
Thanks for the info. I was using your pix only to show the guts of a caliper. These were the only pix I found. 
If you can provide any pix or insight about the arm and mechanical portion of a caliper, assembly/disassembly do share.
You mentioned obtaining springs. Can you get the caliper seal kits ALSO? (8D0-698-671)


I don't have any pics of when I took it apart, but I can walk you through the process, one day I will want to take another set apart and will make sure to get some pics of the process, the seal kit you were asking about is available for $25 , any other questions feel free to IM or email me, thanks


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## T99inFL (Aug 4, 1999)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (T99inFL)*

The springs I got (1K0-615-295 and 1K0-615-296) are not identical to the ones in the photo but can be bent into a similar shape and installed. It does fix my sticky e-brake. Prior to this, I had already replaced the e-brake cables and cable guides. I have pix, if someone wants to host and post, im me.


_Modified by T99inFL at 8:55 PM 3-28-2007_


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## screwedrrado (Mar 13, 2007)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (T99inFL)*


_Quote, originally posted by *T99inFL* »_The springs I got (1K0-615-295 and 1K0-615-296) are not identical to the ones in the photo but can be bent into a similar shape and installed. It does fix my sticky e-brake. Prior to this, I had already replaced the e-brake cables and cable guides. I have pix, if someone wants to host and post, im me.

_Modified by T99inFL at 8:55 PM 3-28-2007_


IM sent


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## screwedrrado (Mar 13, 2007)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (screwedrrado)*


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## meaculpa20v (Aug 15, 2001)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (littlegreek)*

No, rear caliper with the parking brake built in usually cannot be serviced/rebuilt. If you want it to work properly you'll have to buy a new one.


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## screwedrrado (Mar 13, 2007)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (meaculpa20v)*


_Quote, originally posted by *meaculpa20v* »_No, rear caliper with the parking brake built in usually cannot be serviced/rebuilt. If you want it to work properly you'll have to buy a new one.


Did you just scroll all the way down and not read a freakin thing, I have taken them apart and put them back together, if you want it to work properly you can service it yourself, using commen sense which on the vortex seems to be hard to find, and put it back together, next time read the whole thread


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## littlegreek (Nov 24, 2006)

*Re: can rear calipers be serviced? (littlegreek)*

yup,was thinking the same thing as screwedrado








gotta love the 'tex.


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