Hey guys, as if i haven't dumped a pant load into this truck already, my brakes are starting to seize now. I just pulled the slide pins out , cleaned the bores and lubed them up with permatex ceramic slide pin grease because my front left brakes were dragging. when i pulled the pin on the top driver side it looked like there was some metal on metal contact , and they were dry as a bone. seeing this i thought for sure this was my problem so i didnt bother to pull the caliper and inspect it since i was short on time. greased up front driver and passanger side and buttoned it up. went for a test drive and now when i press the brakes it was pulling hard to the right (opposite of what it was doing before). after 20 minutes of driving it got better so i figured it worked it self out. Went back out today and the driver side caliper started dragging again! So i was thinking of replacing the calipers but then thought what if its the line is imploding. then thought what if i just do the guzzles pin upgrade kit?? My question is there any way to decipher whether its the lines, or the calipers , or the pins. Or do i just have to bite the bullet and do it all?? I am running out of money with this truck so would like to just do whats neccesary but if i am just postponing the inevitable then i will do it all. any suggestions on calipers or brake lines?? steel piston calipers?? i have read a bunch of other threads , and reviews were kinda all over the place. thanks for any help

 

If one of your calipers is dragging and you suspect it's the hose then open the bleeder Port let some pressure off and then start rolling again without touching the brakes if it's stopped dragging then it very well could be the hose not letting fluid return.



edit: Obviously to do this you'll need to go somewhere where the ground is level and there's no traffic. Once the caliper starts dragging roll to a stop put the truck in neutral, maybe throw some chocks under the wheel while you're letting the brake pressure off at the bleeder port. Then you can get back in put it in drive and see if it'll Roll free or if it's still dragging

 

I'd do new hoses both sides and see how it goes. Pretty cheap.

 

If the hoses do not turn out to be your problem, check to see if the caliper's pistons are seizing in their bores.

 

Thanks for rhe help guys, can you recommend which hoses to replace the flexible rubber hoses on there now? Whats the best way to check if caliper is sticking, just have someone slowly push the brake pedal and watch the caliper pistons?

 

I can't help you with this part. I built my own with Aeroquip parts.

Pretty much. Start with the rotor being able to turn relatively freely, have your helper step on the brakes, then watch for the pistons sucking back in a little bit when the helper gets off the pedal. Test by turning the rotor to see if it goes back to being able to turn relatively freely.. As @SkySkiJason pointed out in another thread, check for rotor/pad wear as well. Excessively worn rotors/pads can allow the piston to stick out too far and jam.

 

thanks for the tips FordTruckNoob, I will check those out

 

You can remove wheel and attempt to compress caliper with a smal prybar. The pistons should be able to be pushed all the way into bores pretty easily. ‘Stuck’ pistons require caliper replacement.

You can try opening bleeder screw if pistons appear stuck to rule out a bad hose.

I also forgot to mention you should always change all of the brake fluid each time the brakes are serviced.

I do this by slurping all of the fluid from reservoir and filling with fresh fluid (from an unopened/new bottle of fluid), then open all caliper bleeders and let it ‘gravity bleed’ until the new fluid comes out. Don’t let reservoir run dry!!

Brake fluid is hygroscopic and will absorb moisture over time. Contaminated brake fluid is corrosive to carbon steel and shortens caliper and other component’s lifespan.

 

I have a new set of braided sstl ones I'm not using.

 

Since this is a brake thread, it doesn’t hurt to mention you can check caliper slide pins without even jacking the truck up.

Loosen (don’t need to remove) caliper slide pin bolts. Use the bolt to push slide pin in and pull it back out.

Slides easy? You’re good to go!!

Sticky or Stuck?? Maintenance req’d...

 

Thats great Dan👍, I will pm you for the particulars, thank you

 

thanks to all who replied, i appreciate it! I will try out a few of these test and post back hope its not the calipers. Being that my other problem was when I applied the brakes it pulled hard to the right, im thinking the left caliper may be getting stuck and not allowing the left caliper to fully close. Like aawlberninf350 said , might be a good idea to change the front lines and go from there if its not to expensive

 

I can tell that prior to my coil spring swap, I had a front wheel that would get smoking hot....so much so that I pulled over to see if it was on fire...it pulled like the dickens too. I thought I was going to need a tow. I pushed the brake pedal as hard as I could and rolled slowly...it freed up. But it would come and go. I pt a new line on that side...maybe helped a little...long enough to get the front swapped.

 

hope yours was better than mine. Had EXACTLY the same symptoms recently. Had to do both calipers and lines.
noticed the pistons were a little “sticky” when changing pads and rotors about 8k ago (difficult to compress) and thought it was just a super duty thing. Considering the age I should have known better... lines also were deteriorating to point of causing the inner lining to make the dreaded valve effect.. not sure if this is correct but I was always told to replace both sides when doing calipers and lines. Honestly they both needed it and the other was about to go and be right back to the same spot.

 

what did you end up swapping? The caliper?