stuck caliper
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 947
Likes: 1
stuck caliper
I think i have a stuck caliper on my front drivers side, or the bearing is shot. I have been needing to change my pads and rotors for a while now but haven't had the time, powerslots and hawks are sitting in the garage. There is a grinding noise coming from the wheel and it brakes funny, i was in the home depot parking lot the other day and it wouldn't roll forward in gear, like the brakes were stuck on. I'm going to change my pads/rotors tonight. Is there anything i should look for with a stuck caliper/bad bearing? If it turns out to be a stuck caliper can i fix it or do i have to buy a new caliper? Thanks for any info on this.
Post Fiend
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 10,007
Likes: 4
From: Central Florida
Depends on why it's sticking. The caliper rides on pins that allow it slide away from the rotor. If the pins are frozen, or nasty the caliper may not be moving evenly and binding up.
Take a look at your brake fluid. If it's green, it's likely the caliper's piston has corrosion on it as well. I am not sure if you can find a caliper rebuild kit, but the piston sleeve could be cleaned up and the seals replaced to bring it back to life. Otherwise, you need to replace the caliper.
Take a look at your brake fluid. If it's green, it's likely the caliper's piston has corrosion on it as well. I am not sure if you can find a caliper rebuild kit, but the piston sleeve could be cleaned up and the seals replaced to bring it back to life. Otherwise, you need to replace the caliper.
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 42,561
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From: Long Island USA
Also, the pads have a tendency to actually corrode to the caliper bracket - mine did this and caused all sorts of weird braking problems until I took it apart and found out that one pad on each side had rotted to the caliper bracket.
Time to do the brakes and see what's up, and how they act after swapping everything out and cleaning everything up.
If the caliper pistons are seizing up in the bores, there is no repair option but replace the entire caliper. BE CAREFUL - if you get too much air into the system, or let the master run dry, the ABS valve unit will need to be bled, which requires someone with a good scan/diag tool to exercise the valves in the ABS unit and bleed at the same time.
Time to do the brakes and see what's up, and how they act after swapping everything out and cleaning everything up.
If the caliper pistons are seizing up in the bores, there is no repair option but replace the entire caliper. BE CAREFUL - if you get too much air into the system, or let the master run dry, the ABS valve unit will need to be bled, which requires someone with a good scan/diag tool to exercise the valves in the ABS unit and bleed at the same time.
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 301
Likes: 2
From: SoCal
mine did the same thing on the driver side front and what i did was take it apart clean everything out lube the parts and put it back on and it now runs like champ
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Hotshot
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 13,548
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From: Manhattan, KS
I did my brakes a month ago and had a seize caliper piston. It would heat up the brake and pull to the left(driver's side). A rebuilt caliper and bracket at NAPA was about $70 plus a deposit, but that was refunded when I brought in the old caliper. Problem solved.
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Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 947
Likes: 1
Thanks for all the help. I changed the rotors and pads last night and it works like a champ. One of the drivers side pads was wore down pretty good. Is there a sure way to tell if the caliper is sticking? The pistons went in with a c-clamp. Thanks again.
Postmaster
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 3,130
Likes: 3
From: Massachusetts
If only one of the four pads were worn more than others it sounds like a slide pin is siezed. Did you check to see how easily the slide pins moved? You should have taken them apart and used a high temp grease to lube them. That is part of any brake job.
More Turbo
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 530
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From: W. Wisc
Always lube the slide pins when you take the brakes apart. Cheap insurance, and you get a look at them to head off upcoming problems, if there are any. Use a lube rated for brakes (high temp), and don't go overboard or it can blow out the bellows when you reassemble.
-Dave
-Dave
Post Fiend
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 10,007
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From: Central Florida
I would also add, clean out the old as best you can. I wad up a paper towel and twist it in and out until a corner comes out clean. I tried silver nevr-seeze and it didn't work so well. I cleaned it out and replaced it with Green Permatex lube, so far so good.
New User
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
How do you clean the calipers. A mechanic told me that my truck just needed the calipers cleaned.
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