Parking brake cable for Audi 200 20VT

[maddis]

It seems that left parking brake cable on my Audi 200 20VT has gone bad. It failed in yearly inspection and I've also noticed it before the inspection. Right side worked perfectly.

Brake caliber part seems to be working and moves rather easy when moving with a tool so I suspect that it's the cable that's causing problems.

200 20VT cables are getting hard to find and alternative would be use 200 quattros cable. The thing is that 200 20VT has 5mm shorter parking brake cable than ordinary 200 quattro.

Depending on where that 5mm is, it's either problem or not. Does someone has experience where that 5mm is? Is it in overral cable length or is the skin of the cable also shorter ie. the naked cable ends are different lengths in 200 and 200 20VT? I'm guessing that the cable ends themselfs are the same?

I've also tried to reset the parking brake adjustment but that didn't help. What did help was putting 6mm nut cut open, between the cable end and the caliber. Without that the brake didn't hold at all. That's why I'm suspecting the cable and not the caliber.

[maddis]

Dang. Is this first thing that cannot be resolved via this forum?

Anyway, I ordered that 1695mm cable and will report how it works after it arrives.

[rs200]

from my experience I thing that your brake caliper make problem.
hope that I'm wrong ! because it will be cheaper and easier solution. I have change 4 calipers in 6 years. this is weak point of 100,200,v8 audis.
i discovered that hand brake on this audi must be used every day, that they will work perfect forever. in one period my car (when we rebuilt the engine) stay in garden for 6 month and when I start to drive it (finaly) handbrake was not good like before.
if you will searching for other rear caliper that you can also use it from audi v8,s4,s6

[maddis]

If it's caliber problem then what breaks there? Has anyone investigated? The adjustment mechanism? I was hoping that the cable was the problem since it helped a little when I put the 6mm nut between cable and and brake caliber park brake lever. Without it the park brake didn't hold at all.

I try to use hand brake always when parking, but I did't drive with Audi that much last winter so it was in garage weeks at the time and then I didn't use the hand brake so it wouldn't get stuck.

[maddis]

I did some research and it seems that there is one short pin or something that can wear and cause the parking brake not to take with full power even if the cable and other mechanism isn't stuck. Might be in my case that that pin is the problem.

I've heard that parking brake part of the caliber is quite tricky to dismantle and put back together. I've looked and saw that local store sells refurbished calibers(hope they are correct one!) quite cheap(less than 120euros) so I think I'll get one and leave the old caliber in the shelf to be investigated later.

[5cylinderman]

The rear calipers give seizing problems for one main reason. Dirt and road grime gets past the seal below the cable quadrant and rusts the first few mm of the shaft, leading it to stick.
You can effect a remedy by lubricating the shaft that goes into the caliper:
Disconnect handbrake cable.
Remove the return spring from the caliper.
Remove the 10mm bolt that acts like the "stop" pin for the quadrant.
Start to work the quadrant with your hand back and forth t with plenty of Plus Gas or other proper penetrating oil. (Don't bother with WD40 as it's not penetrating oil).
Now is the time to be careful. You can prise the quadrant and its shaft out of the caliper but no more than 8mm. Otherwise you will disconnect it from the innards of the caliper and it's time for total disassembly.
You can use some wet/dry fine grit paper to clean up the shaft, then apply some lubrication.

There are a good few threads on the VW forums about rear caliper handbrake un-seizing etc. This is only a brief description from my memory. It does work. It took me 45 mins per side including removal/refitting of the calipers to my car.

The other modification for these calipers is to fit a stronger return spring from a caliper from the Ford (old RWD Granada £6 each) stable. Again, have a look at the forums and you will be the wiser.

[maddis]

That quandrant(?) or the thing where the cable comes moves quite easily when I tried to move it with screwdriver with spring still attached so I don't think it's seized. I think the pin that the thing is pushing is just worn out and won't push the brakes far enough.

You can see here description of the brakes.

I'm talking about the part number 13 in picture A2012. In the same picture the part 3 moves quite easily in my caliber.