just did brake job- after 200 miles, rr wheel smoking

just did brake job- after 200 miles, rr wheel smoking???

?????? replaced all 4 rotors, all the pads, cleaned and lubed everything, replaced fr caliper (piston would not go back in), new rear bearings, races, grease, bled all 4 calipers. everything seemed fine, felt great for first 200 miles. i worked last night and today (car sat in heavy rain all night w/ the ebrake on). i start my drive home at 5pm and start to smell that yummy burning brake smell when i got on the interstate. i figured it was another car or truck, lots of traffic. after a few miles i still smell and say- oh no! i stopped at a friends house and crap- my rr wheel is the culprit. didn't smell too bad , but this couldn't be normal. the car would roll on the slightest grade so i saw that as a good sign, not being locked up. i went on my way and would check again in a few miles. i stopped and checked again and now i have some smoke coming from the pads but can't tell if the brake quiet goo is smoking or the pad to rotor surface is smoking. the ebrake cable was moving at the bottom of the caliper, but i'm still not sure if the caliper or cable is the problem. i waited 30 minutes and then drove the remaing 30 miles home at 45 mph, with no smoke, no burning smell but slightly still warmer than the other side. made it home with no further damage, but did notice early on that the rotor did discolor to a lightish blue.

what do i do now as far as telling what the problem is? it must be the caliper piston getting stuck or the ebrake cable/mechanism holding the pads on the rotor. is their any preventative maintenance on that cable?

are my pads and rotor toasted? can i still use them? get the rotor resurfaced or sand the rotor and pads?

btw, i bought the rotors and pads from tdiparts.com as a front and rear brake kit, 97 passat. and i drive it very gentle, no hard braking accelerating, or cornering.

any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thanks, rune

Here is an AUTRALIAN saying...
"NO worries mate"!

In the older vehicles that are VW made, there is a TENDENCY for the E-brake to stick after a while.
Where you live, there is LOTS of snow/ice and road slush that gets into the sheath of the cable(s) and rusts them, therefore and EVENTUALLY, locking the E-brake on.

This is what happened to you, just replace it and all will be ok. dokey...

How to:
1. raise the TDI
2. engage the E-brake
3. get under and see E-brake action
4. back on top, release E-brake
5. run back under the car real fast hoping to see E-brake cable release
or
6. (this method is easier!) hire a friend/family member to engage E-brake as you are under the TDI to see release of cable, chances are it will not release!

(one E-brake cable engaged on my TDI @10.000 elevation(Fairplay, Co) and close to 0*F in the middle of winter. I had to crawl under and see for myself, then cut/w cooold hands the cable)

thanks, mate. i have more info to share on what might be the problem. the cables seem to be in great shape. i unhooked it from the caliper and was able to move it freely. the little mechanism that it connects to seems to be the problem, though. since i could tell the cable was moving free, i had my friend looking at it when i moved the handle up and down. we noted that the cable moved ok, but the wheel was still binding when the cable released it. the cable bracket was very stiff and we think that was the problem.

what force release the cable here when you release the handle inside? is there a spring somewhere? can this bracket be removed and inspected/cleaned/greased? anyone else have this problem?