Brake pads freezing to brake rotors in sub-freezing weather?
Dec 13, 2010, 03:13 PM
#1
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Brake pads freezing to brake rotors in sub-freezing weather?
Has anyone else that lives in cold climates and experiences snow had this issue? It's happened to me already 4-5 times this winter where the brake rotor and the pads are somehow freezing together? When I try to start driving, I can feel the car start torque'ing, but the wheels don't want to spin. I know this cannot be good for the drivetrain and/or clutch.
Is there anything you can put on the surface of the rotors to prevent snow/water from freezing between the pads and rotors?
Is there anything you can put on the surface of the rotors to prevent snow/water from freezing between the pads and rotors?
Dec 13, 2010, 03:51 PM
#3
I have had this happen to me last winter. I guess, one way to prevent this is to keep the car in 1st gear rather than in neutral and pull up the ebrake. That will sqeeze the pads to the rotors and when it's cold, it will create condensation and later freezes up. Try that and see if it helps.
Dec 13, 2010, 03:54 PM
#4
I have had this happen to me last winter. I guess, one way to prevent this is to keep the car in 1st gear rather than in neutral and pull up the ebrake. That will sqeeze the pads to the rotors and when it's cold, it will create condensation and later freezes up. Try that and see if it helps.
Help me understand here....
Dec 13, 2010, 04:14 PM
#7
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its fine, just ease the clutch when your first driving off, its not hurting your drivetrain, it only takes a little gas to break the brakes loose but its not hurting anything,
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Dec 13, 2010, 05:08 PM
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When my brakes literally freeze up, I cannot 'just ease the clutch.' You can feel the drivetrain engaging, but the wheels are not spinning. The power from the engine is being transfered to the drivetrain which is trying to spin, but cannot.
Not to mention, it does not take 'just a little gas' to break the wheels free when this has happened to me. I had 3 wheels break free, but one wheel was still frozen in place. I was stuck doing circles in the parking lot at work until it broke free.
Dec 13, 2010, 05:48 PM
#10
We must be talking about different situations because this sounds like total mis-information.
When my brakes literally freeze up, I cannot 'just ease the clutch.' You can feel the drivetrain engaging, but the wheels are not spinning. The power from the engine is being transfered to the drivetrain which is trying to spin, but cannot.
Not to mention, it does not take 'just a little gas' to break the wheels free when this has happened to me. I had 3 wheels break free, but one wheel was still frozen in place. I was stuck doing circles in the parking lot at work until it broke free.
When my brakes literally freeze up, I cannot 'just ease the clutch.' You can feel the drivetrain engaging, but the wheels are not spinning. The power from the engine is being transfered to the drivetrain which is trying to spin, but cannot.
Not to mention, it does not take 'just a little gas' to break the wheels free when this has happened to me. I had 3 wheels break free, but one wheel was still frozen in place. I was stuck doing circles in the parking lot at work until it broke free.
Living in vegas i dont think i will ever encounter this...but maybe keeping some areosol based cleaner thats safe of the area your spraying around or Anti-Ice spray. MAF spray might work and dries pretty fast even when its cold. Brake cleaner is bad for some paints.
http://automotive.hardwarestore.com/...er-280917.aspx
Dec 13, 2010, 06:01 PM
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Would MAF spray leave a film on the rotors? I've never used it before. It freezes pretty good, I couldn't even get it to break free in reverse, I had to go forward a bit. And I park in my garage in gear with no e-brake on, so that solution probabaly won't work.
Dec 13, 2010, 07:42 PM
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I park my car in my garage at home overnight, but this happened when I was at work.
I'm going to look into some of these aerosol de-icer sprays.
I'm going to look into some of these aerosol de-icer sprays.
Dec 13, 2010, 07:55 PM
#14
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I've driven in some pretty rough wintry weather and I've had my Evo brakes freeze but never past the point where they just went pop as I started driving off. I never use the parking brake if I have driven in snow.
I've had brakes on other cars freeze to where the only fix was to dump a bucket of hot water on the stuck wheel - not much help if you don't have a bucket and hot water.
I've had brakes on other cars freeze to where the only fix was to dump a bucket of hot water on the stuck wheel - not much help if you don't have a bucket and hot water.
Dec 15, 2010, 06:13 AM
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My co-workers found it amusing as well.
Quick update - When practical, I've been trying not to use my parking brake and just leaving my car in gear. So far, knock on wood, I haven't frozen my rotors to my pads yet.
Then again, we just got another 8" of snow last night...