Hey guys I have had cruddy braking for a while, doesnt seem like the brakes disengage fully while going through traffic and today I lifted the front to do that ball joint/ bearing check and theyre okay, but I noticed caliper must be hanging up because the tires did not want to spin freely and I could hear the pad rubbing on the rotor as it turned, full force turn and the tire wouldnt make a full revolution so I think the calipers are stuck, I'm planning on replacing them, but now I'm scared because I don't know if that excessive heat in the wheels could have hurt and of the bearings in there, I'm sure my rotors must be warped however when I brake the truck doesnt shake so I might be lucky, this is a problem I need to address immediatly (atleast it is IMO) are they're any quirks I should know about for doing the front brakes on a dual? its pretty much just pulling tire, taking out the two bolts, disconnecting brake line and reassemble? also is there any funny business to know about with the front rotors for my truck?

 

Disc brake calipers always drag on the rotors, they are designed to do so - if your calipers were indeed hanging up then as you drive you'd smell the overheating friction material on the pads and you may see some smoke as well, while other drivers passing you would see a glowing rotor,and in the worst case both you and they may see some flames and such.

Also if your rotors were warped she'd be shaking pretty good during braking, no shake - no warp. Replacing front rotors on a 4x4 ruck is a mess, it requires disassembly of the locking hubs and quite a lot of hammer action and I'd say it ain't for the faint of heart...

 

well from what your telling me it is normal I think maybe I need to bleed them, last month when I was talking about working on my brakes I only ended up bleeding the rears because the wheel cylinders were in good shape I'm afraid to touch the front because I think the bleeders will break off, the brake fluid is black, I'm just making problems for myself prolonging this I'm sure, looks like its time to just try and snap them loose worse case scenario I was planning on calipers anyway lol

 

black or discolored brake fluid is no no no good. bleed them. just get a 3/8 box end wrench on them. or better yet for starters, get a 6 point socket. less chance it will strip. and if it does strip still, just get a set of vicegrips on them, and go to your auto parts place and get new bleeder valves.

 

okay I think the bleeders are 10mm, which is good because I have a 10mm deepwell for a 3/8 drive, so I think I'll use socket method, I'll attempt this in the evening tomorrow, I'll apply PB blaster every few hours to hopefully loosen the corrosion up, now when I apply the 3/8 breaker bar on the socket should I do a steady turn or should I hit the breaker bar with a hammer to try and "shock" it

 

steady. you sure its 10mm? i know on mine a 3/8 fits with 0 slack.

 

i just did mine this morning. damn master cylinder blew out on me.

 

crud I sure hope its 10mm because I don't have a 3/8 deepwell lol!

 

You'll want to use a 6 point socket ...

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

I had a sticky caliper on my 85, it would cause the truck to pull to the left and make a fair amount of smoke. It didn't warp the rotor though which surpirsed me. There should be some drag, but you should still be able to spin the wheel fairly easily.

 

you may have just found one of,if not your worst, fuel economy killer.
i remember you saying it wasn't doing very well.
it will be interesting to see what you find.you might have a bad wheel bearing.
its not all that bad to remove hubs etc.i just did it again yesterday lol.
anyway,once those calipers are off,see if it spins freely then.

 

crap guys, I need to move my plow today, so I go and pickup the new D-pin I needed, got back to my house, all wiring is setup and I'm ready to go get it, just for laughs I touch my wheel that wasnt turning freely yesterday and its much hotter than the driver side, so I lift the front end, and try to spin the driver side wheel, spins fairly well, try to spin the passenger side and it doesnt budge.... now I'm screwed because I need to get my plow by monday but I don't wanna drive the 30 miles with it on the front and my caliper hanging up, I also have noticed the steering wheel shaking alot when I'm above 40mph I wonder if this could be why, tie rod ends are new and ball joints and bearings must be okay because I checked em twice in the last day with the truck lifted, advance auto has $47 calipers should I go pick em up? and flush my brake system aswell, new pads I'm guessing aswell, my goodness am I angry I have no budget left to keep throwing at this thing, I also looked behind the caliper and theres no torx bits, just two silver pin things that I've never seen in my life, ........what fun for fourth of july weekend lol

 

I think I'm only getting one caliper and see what happens because I don't have another $50 bux right now I would like to do both but the driver side seems good, I'll change the pads on both sides but the drvier caliper will have to wait a few weeks, please let me know what these silver pin things are on the back, I didnt see any torx or socket bits back there

 

powerstroker,
it may not be your caliper at all.what you need to do is jack the tire up off the ground,and try moving the tire in/out from the top/bottom know what i mean?
if you have a lot of play there,it's likely the trouble (wheel bearing/either outer or inner or both.)

the caliper is held in by those two pins top/bottom.
you place a flat head screwdriver (big enough so it contacts each part of it) and tap it out(either way-i think inward is easiest.) spray it with WD-40 first.
at least take it off and then see if you can spin the wheel/hub first before just guessing its the caliper causing the problems.
the problem seems like wheel bearings to me.likely they are stock,and never got repacked before.they will dry up and seize,causing the the whole hub to heat up like mad,and cause poor fuel economy due to their resistance.

when calipers go bad,they generally just stop working.they can do what you describe,but the brake pad will just heat up and burn up,then you have your gap(well,no more excess pressure anyway) between them again see.
what your thinking,is that it somehow is keeping adding pressure.i suppose it can,and just not release,and every time you step on the brake it keeps its pressure.but the smell of a burning brake pad or shoe is very strong and cant go unnoticed.

so in other words.don't spend $50 bucks yet.just check the wheel bearings using the tire for slop,and pull the caliper if you have to,then see whats actually needed.

replacing parts as a diagnoses is for people who haven't found FTE yet.

 

I've already done the bearing check twice last night annd today Up down Up down and then I did right-left right-left NO slop at all,, I just pulled the tire off and spun it and can see it rubbing, there is much more resistance in the tire after actually pressing the brakes, what do you guys think? please answer back!!!