RobRou
Member
So long story short, my 02 Golf left me about an hour away from home due to an electrical issue. (From the readings I'm getting from VCDS, the issue looks like a grounded wire or broken connection leading to the QA. I have a fair bit of experience with the QA and the G149 [as I had to recalibrate it when I got the car].) After spending about two hours in a parking lot, I thought I had the problem narrowed down. Since it was getting late, I asked my dad to tow me to his place, which is where I do most of my car work anyway.
We tied up to the tow hook and headed out. About forty minutes into the tow there was a huge boom, followed by a constant grinding noise from the front of the car. Not reacting very well (and afraid to cause further damage), I immediately began to slow the car and pull over, using mostly the parking brake... (mistake number two: NETHER RELY ON THOSE TINY REAR DISCS TO STOP YOU AND A TOW VEHICLE). By the time we came to a stop, the rear brakes discs were glowing red and there was a small flame coming from the banjos behind the caliper.
(Just to make the story even better - the fire extinguisher I have in the back the car is apparently faulty. It only worked for less than two seconds; seems the valve got stuck closed when I released it. Scary part is, I just bought it a few weeks back in a twin pack, with the other in my home... they will be receiving a phone call soon. My dad said that Kidde is very good about replacing faulty ones and will likely recall the whole batch if they get a complaint).
I couldn't do much to assess the damage in the front on the side of the freeway, but being able to freely move the car in park is a pretty clear indication: I'm guessing failure in the transmission due to lack of lube movement. Good news is, I've been trying to convince my wife that we need a manual swap... so a faulty tranny (and likely damaged CV axles) are the least of my worries.
We left the car there and found a trailer to load it on. It's sitting in my dad's shop until I get time to work on it. I plan to start with the electrical issue and work my way through the drive chain and then move to the rear brakes.
Anyone have experience with the back brakes catching fire like that? I know it was the fluid leaking that was combusting, but now I'm wondering how the bearings and calipers held up with all the heat.
Also, I'm well aware of the issues with flat towing, but please begin the preachy comments about how "This is why I never flat tow" below. LOL.
Last picture I took before the whole experience:
So beautiful... lol.
We tied up to the tow hook and headed out. About forty minutes into the tow there was a huge boom, followed by a constant grinding noise from the front of the car. Not reacting very well (and afraid to cause further damage), I immediately began to slow the car and pull over, using mostly the parking brake... (mistake number two: NETHER RELY ON THOSE TINY REAR DISCS TO STOP YOU AND A TOW VEHICLE). By the time we came to a stop, the rear brakes discs were glowing red and there was a small flame coming from the banjos behind the caliper.
(Just to make the story even better - the fire extinguisher I have in the back the car is apparently faulty. It only worked for less than two seconds; seems the valve got stuck closed when I released it. Scary part is, I just bought it a few weeks back in a twin pack, with the other in my home... they will be receiving a phone call soon. My dad said that Kidde is very good about replacing faulty ones and will likely recall the whole batch if they get a complaint).
I couldn't do much to assess the damage in the front on the side of the freeway, but being able to freely move the car in park is a pretty clear indication: I'm guessing failure in the transmission due to lack of lube movement. Good news is, I've been trying to convince my wife that we need a manual swap... so a faulty tranny (and likely damaged CV axles) are the least of my worries.
We left the car there and found a trailer to load it on. It's sitting in my dad's shop until I get time to work on it. I plan to start with the electrical issue and work my way through the drive chain and then move to the rear brakes.
Anyone have experience with the back brakes catching fire like that? I know it was the fluid leaking that was combusting, but now I'm wondering how the bearings and calipers held up with all the heat.
Also, I'm well aware of the issues with flat towing, but please begin the preachy comments about how "This is why I never flat tow" below. LOL.
Last picture I took before the whole experience:
So beautiful... lol.
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