Front caliper locking/freezing
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Front caliper locking/freezing
Looking to see if someone can shed some light here. I am a mechanic at the airport and we have a 96 F350 that gets driven maybe a mile a day. The front passenger caliper was frozen and replaced by another mechanic and everything worked fine. Two days later the same(new) caliper locked up again. I cracked the bleeder and it backed off and was working fine, so I replaced the rubber line thinking it had deteriorated on the inside and wasnt allowing fluid back up. Now one day later it locked up again. Anyone have any input on this? I was thinking possibly a bad metering valve or something? Also I've been told that the master has been replaced on the truck not too long ago.
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Joined: Jun 2010
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From: Freehold
Sometiems a rebuilt caliper can be bad, I would change it and see what happens. I had brand new calipers on a truck once, worked fine-parked it for a week, came back to it and one locked up on me.
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Yeah I thought about that, but then again what are the chances that it does the same thing as the old? The caliper itself isn't really locked the fluid just isn't going back, the second you relief the pressure of the brake fluid the piston goes back in with ease..
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2005
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You did the right thing in replacing the flexible hose, as the problem would seem to be a restriction somewhere and you have eliminated the hose.
Because it is only happening to one front brake it is likely that the restriction is between the caliper and the T junction. I would check the hard line for pinching/kinks between the flexible hose and the T junction.
If it looks OK then I would remove the banjo bolt at the caliper and make sure it is clear of any obstruction. If that is good I would then replace the hard line and the T and bleed the brake.
The only other thing I can think of is that the pushrod length at the master cyl is incorrect. However I would expect all brakes to drag if that was the case but who knows, that one may just be over sensitive.
Because it is only happening to one front brake it is likely that the restriction is between the caliper and the T junction. I would check the hard line for pinching/kinks between the flexible hose and the T junction.
If it looks OK then I would remove the banjo bolt at the caliper and make sure it is clear of any obstruction. If that is good I would then replace the hard line and the T and bleed the brake.
The only other thing I can think of is that the pushrod length at the master cyl is incorrect. However I would expect all brakes to drag if that was the case but who knows, that one may just be over sensitive.
Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2005
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From: Charles Town, W bygod Va
I'd first verify that the new caliper releases when you crack the bleader. If it does, close the bleeder, push on the pedal to reapply the caliper. Now crack the line loose at the master cyl and see if it releases. If not maybe a steel line is pinched shut, if it does release then the master cyl is bad or the pushrod is not releasing all the way for some reason. The MC should effect both front though, maybe it is but one side isnt dragging as much even with hydralic pressure applied.
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Postmaster
Joined: Mar 2008
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From: Des Moines, Iowa
OK so as unlikely as this is... my bro had a similar problem on his car a while back... He somehow got water in the break line and it froze... I flushed the entire front end and line and he hasn't seen the problem since... Of course not knowing where you are located; you might be in Arizona and would not be worried about such a problem.
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