C4 99 sticky handbrake

[bigmds]

My handbrake sticks, well the brakes stick. Are these the rear disks or inboard? Any tips, just had a service and the rear brakes didnt need replacement although they are heavily scored. the porsche dealer said that was normal.

[Dharn55]

handbrakes on 996 are well know for sticking. This is particularly a problem in wet weather, the pads will stick to the rotors and sometimes you will get a major thunk when they break free. Some advise not to set the handbrake if the car will be sitting for a long period of time. On mine you can often see the image/outline of the pads on the rear rotors. The problem with the rotors rusting/corroding is well known. I am not sure if the newer rotors have reduced or eliminated the problem.

[Loren]

The handbrake shoes are inside the rear rotor hubs. They can be adjusted with a screwdriver by rotating the adjuster wheel through the rotor.

I don't understand how they got tighter (they should get looser)... unless someone at the dealership (OPC) messed them up after inspection.

[bigmds]

The handbrake shoes are inside the rear rotor hubs. They can be adjusted with a screwdriver by rotating the adjuster wheel through the rotor.

I don't understand how they got tighter (they should get looser)... unless someone at the dealership (OPC) messed them up after inspection.

Funny you should say that, thre is some history to this.

The car rolled off the handbrake, then went 5meters into a post.. I had complained to the dealer...

nowadays I park it in gear

[chance2001]

When you have the opportunity, point your front wheel closest to the curb toward the curb. If you live where it's hilly, it provides an additional safety catch. I've noticed when I leave my car on a hill and come back to it (in gear), ocassionally it will have moved slightly because my wheel is tight against the curb (the rubber, not rim), whereas I had an inch or two when I parked it. FYI...

[siddharth]

When you have the opportunity, point your front wheel closest to the curb toward the curb. If you live where it's hilly, it provides an additional safety catch. I've noticed when I leave my car on a hill and come back to it (in gear), ocassionally it will have moved slightly because my wheel is tight against the curb (the rubber, not rim), whereas I had an inch or two when I parked it. FYI...

I might want to chip in.

I had parked on an incline with the car facing uphill and with the hand brake up (but not pulled really hard) and the car in the 3rd gear. My girlfriend was in the car when I ran inside to get my cellphone. The car actually slipped backwards by almost 4-5 feet !! My girlfriend sorta panicked and got out of the car to call for me (instead of hitting the brakes - different story) and I was lucky that there wasn't a tree/car behind me. I got in and hit the brakes JUST in time.

Lesson learnt.

1. The car can still creep backwards even if in 3rd (or higher) gear. I've started using only the first/reverse gear.

2. The hand brake NEEDS to be yanked pretty hard to be 100% effective.

3. On steep slopes (like outside my house) you need a combination of 1st/reverse gear + handbrake + tyres towards the curb.

4. After I park on an incline, I always pause for a couple of seconds looking if the car is slipping away !

hope that helps,

Sid