Frozen Brakes?

[goeb34]

Got in my truck this morning, released the emergency brake, truck wouldnt budge without giving it gas (flat surface) it would go into reverse and slowly roll but when bumped into drive, i got nothing. Emergency brake pedal had some play in it that it has never had before. Humidity is 59% and it got as low at 22 degrees last night. Assuming the parking brake is frozen shut, if it doesnt fix itself when it warms up would it be okay to drive 1 mile to my buddys shop to get looked at? Has anyone experienced this?

[rkj__]

One time when I was learning to drive, I forgot to take the parking break of on my dad's '93 Blazer.  After arriving home 10km later, the brakes were very hot, obviously.  The truck seemed to survive.

 

On my '08 Canyon, the parking brake cable got sticky, and would not fully release.  I could reach under the truck, grab it with my hand at the split, and yank it to release it fully. 

 

I have not yet had any issues with my '18.

 

If you can't free it up manually, or by warming it up, I would not hesitate to drive 1 mile with it dragging. 

[1SLOW1500]

I wouldn't drive it or I would see the rolling resistant first. But I don't know why you put the brake on in a flat surface. 

[goeb34]

I wouldn't drive it or I would see the rolling resistant first. But I don't know why you put the brake on in a flat surface. 

Bad habit[emoji2371]

[1SLOW1500]

Bad habit[emoji2371]

Yeah they say not to use it unless you are a manual or on a step hill. But then they say turn the wheels so it rolled to the curb.
You are going to heat up and wear down the brakes. Also I would guess possible engine codes and if far drive or higher demanded throttle it can go into limp mode.

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[g2full]

You could sit underneath with a hair dryer to see if you can thaw it out? 

 

But, I would think a very short distance it wouldn't hurt things... too much... Yes. It's going to cause excessive heat in the brakes/that wheel. It's going to wear the brakes and just as 1SLOW said, you could trick the truck into going into limp mode. Just as RKJ said, it's nothing I haven't done myself. That's all your discretion though. 

 

Did you try reapplying the brake to see if you could then get it to release? Or moving around in your driveway just a bit under some moderate throttle to break it loose?

[goeb34]

You could sit underneath with a hair dryer to see if you can thaw it out? 
 
But, I would think a very short distance it wouldn't hurt things... too much... Yes. It's going to cause excessive heat in the brakes/that wheel. It's going to wear the brakes and just as 1SLOW said, you could trick the truck into going into limp mode. Just as RKJ said, it's nothing I haven't done myself. That's all your discretion though. 
 
Did you try reapplying the brake to see if you could then get it to release? Or moving around in your driveway just a bit under some moderate throttle to break it loose?

Yeah my next guess would be trying a hairdryer, gettin up into the 40s so hopefully it’ll thaw on its own

[Mozzer]

Check cables first, you might be able to spray some anti freeze on them (RV type or the anti frost stuff that Prestone sell. Don't know if that would leave any residue that could cause later problems though.

I had cables freeze up on my last car in the UK, doesn't get that cold there often but frequently bad frost & that screwed with the handbrake cables on my Fiat Coupe Turbo. Luckily I had a flat driveway so left it in gear.



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[L86 All Terrain]

The shoe will freeze to the inside of the rotor/drum. It's -35f here right now, I just chiselled the brake shoes off the drums on 3 axles on one of our trailers to get it out of the yard. This is very common problem in the winter in Canada but usually not until -20c or so(-4f), guys will pull in the yard and the brakes are warm because you just travelled for 10 hours (the shoe is always slightly touching the drum, creating heat/friction), they will pull the brakes when they park and the shoe will contact the drum for parking brakes. What happens is the snow and ice that is all around the drum, wheel and brake assembly will melt from the warmth created by the brake's friction, the water seeps into the drum between the shoe and the drum, by the time you go to release them in the AM they are froze on. I tell my drivers to pull in, no brakes on, shut the truck off then place the transmission in gear to prevent it from moving. Once the truck loses air overnight, the trailer brakes will kick on automatically but now they have had time to cool and they wont freeze on. 

 

These are some of the problems we have AFTER we can get the truck running with insulated tarps, auxillery and electric block heaters, and a Herman-nelson heater. Fun Fun. 

 

 

[Darmichar]

35 minutes ago, L86 All Terrain said:

The shoe will freeze to the inside of the rotor/drum. It's -35f here right now, I just chiselled the brake shoes off the drums on 3 axles on one of our trailers to get it out of the yard. This is very common problem in the winter in Canada but usually not until -20c or so(-4f), guys will pull in the yard and the brakes are warm because you just travelled for 10 hours (the shoe is always slightly touching the drum, creating heat/friction), they will pull the brakes when they park and the shoe will contact the drum for parking brakes. What happens is the snow and ice that is all around the drum, wheel and brake assembly will melt from the warmth created by the brake's friction, the water seeps into the drum between the shoe and the drum, by the time you go to release them in the AM they are froze on. I tell my drivers to pull in, no brakes on, shut the truck off then place the transmission in gear to prevent it from moving. Once the truck loses air overnight, the trailer brakes will kick on automatically but now they have had time to cool and they wont freeze on. 

 

These are some of the problems we have AFTER we can get the truck running with insulated tarps, auxillery and electric block heaters, and a Herman-nelson heater. Fun Fun. 

 

 

Drove over the road for 13+ years and it became a habit of mine when it was near or below freezing to 'ride' the brakes for a bit before parking for the night to get them hot to prevent this from happening.  Get them hot, set the brakes and they will cool together, likely dry from being hot.  Never had an issue with brakes freezing.

[Ozer]

Recently did my b rakes on my 2014 and the parking brake mechanism was completely rusted/frozen so its best to take a look, make sure you dont have the same problem.

I never use my parking brake but its a good habit to use it once in a while to make sure things dont get rusted up.

[goeb34]

Recently did my b rakes on my 2014 and the parking brake mechanism was completely rusted/frozen so its best to take a look, make sure you dont have the same problem.
I never use my parking brake but its a good habit to use it once in a while to make sure things dont get rusted up.

I live in the midsouth where it barely snows so i dont worry much about rusting