Suggestions for preventing rear E-brake lockup

[Kneale Brownson]

At 01:11 AM 03/21/2002 +0000, Jobe Tichy wrote:

>Hello all...
>
>I just got back from a quick trip to the store and I thought my car was 
>quite sluggish on the get up and slowed down way too fast.  My beliefs 
>were confirmed when I got out to smell brake pad smoke--AHH!  I was hoping 
>this would not happen.  So, some how, whether by the cold weather or 
>otherwise, the ebrake cam on the caliper was stuck closed keeping the 
>ebrake on even after released.  Is this common on midwest Audis with all 
>of the salt and crud?  Is there any preventative maintenance you can 
>suggest, whether cleaning out the cam or otherwise?  Should I avoid using 
>the ebrake and use it only when necessary?  Does the cam return spring 
>need replacing after several years?  I don't think the sheathing broke on 
>the ebrake lines because after pumping the hell out of the brakes, I was 
>able to get the cam to loosen up and now everthing is fine--I just don't 
>want to deal with this again so if there is anything to do, I'd appreciate 
>the tips.

On my car, it had nothing to do with the E-brake itself.  It was corrosion 
on the brake piston and in the cylinder that kept the brake applied.  I 
think it's because PO's never replaced the brake fluid.