Not sure what is going on with my 2006 4x4 Expedition, so thought I would see if anyone has had same type of situation.
Owned it about 6 months now.
Feels like brake on the driver's front locks up when it sits maybe...?
It had just gotten the front pads replaced before I bought it.
I did rears which it needed a week after purchase.
And thought the fronts were dragging a little.
I have had a 2004 for 5-6 years and it had issues with the pads fitting too tight in the caliper brackets.
Figured I would have to file the ends of these pads a little too.
When I went to take front wheels off I had one HE__ of a time.
After weeks of soaking with PB Blaster, WD40, breaking a 4 way lug wrench, trying multiple impacts, trip to tire store for professional help, etc etc...
(Torch too)
Still could not get 2 lug nuts off.
Had to use a die grinder and grind a groove to essentially split them to get those 2 off.
When I finally did get the wheel off, found that the 4 wheel drive was not disengaging.
Thought that was causing this "drag" that I could feel.
I found one of the vacuum lines running to that IWE was melted under the radiator support.
Spliced some new vacuum line in there and thought I was set.
Still seemed to act stubborn to get rolling after sitting for a while.
The longer the sitting, the worse it was.
Then after a few hundred yards seemed to "loosen" up and do OK.
Well truck got washed 2 days ago (Saturday).
Moved only a few feet in and out of garage over the weekend.
Temps did go back and forth just around freezing past few days too.
But go to back out of garage this morning and felt like e brake was on or something.
Took a little bit of throttle then a bit of a BAMM and it struggled but got rolling.
Driveway was wet and truck sure felt like left front caliper was locked.
Even seemed to drag the truck a little sideways as I forced it to back up.
Put it in and out of 4 HI to see if that did anything for me.
Drove a few hundred feet up the road and got out to see if anything was heating up...NOPE.
Checked again after 1/2 mile and again after 3-4 miles.
All seemed fine.
Drove 60 miles to work without any more issues.
This has seemed to be going on since I got it.
Just never as bad as this morning.
Afraid it is getting worse and I will end up breaking something before I figure it out.
Even after 60 miles drive to work, no hot wheels or brakes.
So I am guessing something other than brakes maybe...
Knew when I worked on the lug nuts that I did not really want to heat them as much as I did but was getting desperate to get them off.
Any ideas??
Pad faces rusting on to rotors when I put it away wet after washing?
It did go from 45+ degrees to mid 20s that night, something freeze?
Something melt when I was torching the wheel studs and lug nuts?
Hoping it is not something like differential bearings, but feels like it may be more serious than just a caliper dragging...
Appreciate any ideas, especially if anyone has had similar issue(s)...
THANKS

 

How are the caliper pins?


When the caliper is locking up, crack open the bleeder valve and see if it releases.

 

Cleaned those all up and put a bunch of never seize on them when I checked the pads out.
Not 100% sure if it is actually locking or dragging on the brakes.
That is what drove me to see if any other common issues with such symptoms.
I am actually worrying about trans, torque convertor, differentials, transfer case,
or ????
Pretty hard to tell exactly what is happening and once it gets rolling it seems better if not totally fine.

If you we were headed towards brake line being culprit, I unfortunately have dealt with that before and will keep that in mind.
I have a 2004 Expedition that had brake drag on my wife.
Turned out to be the pads were just too tight of a fit in the caliper brackets.
But when I was working on that I was told about how brake hoses and flex lines can "delaminate" causing an internal blockage.
Until then I had never heard of such a thing or ever thought about it.
But now well aware and have replaced a few hoses just in case since.

 

Is the front left brake hose original?

 

If cracking the bleeder doesn't release the brake, then its likely that the pistons are binding. Sometimes when you push the pistons ALL the way back in to make room for fat new pads some debris gets dislodged and makes the piston **** and lock. YMMV.

 

P.S. I put nothing but Motorcraft Silicone Dielectric goo on the caliper pins and rubbers. Caliper grease (Dino grease) will swell the rubber bellows and lock the caliper to the pins. BTDT.

 

I believe the lf hose is original.
As far as I know and it looks like it.
It doesn't seem to show any other signs of dragging or locking up.
No brake dust.
No heat after driving.
That is why I was wondering if the hubs or IWEs or anything had history of getting water inside, freezing, binding...
I will keep the hose in mind.
It was easier to replace and bleed on my 04 than I had expected.
Will pay attention to it.
Maybe some hard braking before I park and try to force it to screw up.
Maybe I will have my son pump the brakes and see if anything noticeable from the outside of the hose at all.
If nothing else, just replace it when it warms up to see if it helps.

 

Sometimes the hoses deteriorate on the inside. The pressure from the master cylinder is strong enough to force fluid through the hose to the caliper. But for the return trip the fluid has nothing pushing it out of the caliper. This is tested by cracking open the bleeder screw on the caliper to release the pressure and see if the brake frees up.

 

I had been told of the hose delaminating when I had issues with my 04. Was told that there is an inner (or inners) and outer (outers) layers in the hose construction. There could be "internal" leaks within the inner layers and fluid trapped between can squeeze and pinch off the inside trapping fluid and pressure downstream.
Sounds like same situation getting mentioned here too.
The 04 had pads that just fit too tight in the caliper brackets and filing the ends to make to make them small enough to travel freely fixed it.
But I did replace that hose just in case after hearing about this happening.
It was easier than I remembered with older trucks.
As soon as it warms up some more around here I will dig into it more, but won't hesitate to replace the hose if it actually does look like I have a lock up happening.
Supposed to be down into the single digits most of this weekend.
But forecast looks better for following week.
Probably do a couple oil changes and dig into this then.
THANKS everyone.
Appreciate the help and advice ! ! !
Always a wealth of help and knowledge here!!!!

 

To follow up on this...

It seems like it was something in the rear diff that was binding up.
I pulled backwards out of the garage a while ago and felt and heard a small bang or something.
Felt like binding that lead me to thinking it was brake drag.
Once it "popped" no more bind.
When I bought the truck and replaced rear brakes I thought it was a limited slip rear end.
Jack up the rear and both tires would turn same direction etc...
After the pop I jack up rear and it acts like an open diff.
Tires turning in opposite directions and can tell when driving it is a "peg leg".
Looked at door tag, yep, open diff code.
Thinking the issue was actually something binding up in the rear and let loose finally a I engaged 4wd that morning and forced it out of the garage...
It has been driving fine since and no issues.
Aliens?
I don't know????

 

Back 35 or so years ago my sister's car would only go forward. Putting it in reverse and hitting the gas made it act like the brakes were applied. I took the cover off the differential and found that one of the bolts that bolts the ring gear to the carrier had fallen out. The bolt was under the ring gear wedged between the gear and the housing. Every time she went into reverse the bolt was pulled in tighter and locked it all up.

 

Guessing that there is something going on, or something did go on in there.
Hoping it isn't broken pieces, but don't know...that is basis for my "aliens" comment

 

As much as I have drove it since the bang happened...
Fingers are staying crossed!!!

 

Hoping that it is not something that will come back and haunt me in a bad way

 

You could always take a nice day and pull the cover to inspect inside. The resulting new fluid would be one for the plus column on adding life to the differential.