Steve,
You didn't mention how old the car was. Is it a pre-89
version or a later one??? The rear calipers on A2 cars have been
known to seize and need replaced with rebuilt or new ones.
Someone mentioned in one of the notes about screwing back in
the piston in the caliper when you replaced the rear pads. It takes
a 17mm allen wrench to do this or find a bolt that has a 17mm head on
it, run a couple of nuts on and jam them together. If I remember
correctly, Sears has a 17mm allen wrench available.
Anyhow, run the piston back down in as far as you can and
replace the pads. Once you get the pads in and everything back
together you are required to pump the brake pedal "about 30 times" to
get the pistons to move back out and trap the pads in the correct
spot.
Now, having said all that, if you did just like I described
and you are still experiencing the heating of the rear wheel, then
the caliper might well be starting to seize. Pulling the handbrake
on will clamp the pads to the disc but when it is released, the pads
might not fully retract or not retract at all. I had gone through
this with both my A2 cars as well as an 81 Rabbit pickup that has
early A2 rear discs on it. When it happened the second time, I
thought there had to be a better way than splashing out $$$$ for
rebuilt calipers. Mine were the early type with the handbrake
mechanism on the top of the caliper. I had some "P'Blaster" sitting
on my bench so I pulled both rear wheels off and sprayed some of the
stuff onto the handbrake actuating mechanisms that went down into the
calipers. I tapped them and let it sit for 10 or 15 minutes to soak
in. I then used a big pair of grips to work them free but, at the
end of the day, they were as good as new and continue to work every
time I use them. All it takes is giving them a little shot of
P'Blaster every six months or so, especially if the weather has been
crappy or there is a lot of salt, grit, whatever on the roads during
the winter. Don't try it with WD40, that stuff, when compared to
P'Blaster, is like spraying them with cow urine!!!
Good luck.........Jack
