Brakes Sticking

[jmahler]

I have a 4. 5 3500 4x4 Larime and am having intermintent problem where the drivers left caliper will appear to be hanging up. Had smoke rolling this weekend. Took apart and don't see that the caliper is sticking. Has anyone had this problem? I tried to loosen the bleeder, but it broke. I have a rebuilt caliper on it's way, but wonder if anyone has had this problem and found if it was a caliper or ABS controller?

Thanks!

 

[jelag]

You need to look closely at the boot around the piston... if this boot is pulled away or damaged some dirt will get behind the boot...

If anytime over the life of the truck you've got the brakes very hot, the heat will move through the pad, to the piston and than on to the boot... . when the boot is overheated the life drops way off... My BIL's truck had the brakes done on the front 4 or so times before I looked at it... . they guys kept putting on pads... one look found the boots bad and a lot of dirt behind them... . we overhauled the calipers and took care of his problem...

The dirt behind the boot will not allow the piston to retract into the caliper when the brakes are released... .

You didn't say if it was your left front or rear... if its a rear brake the emergency brake shoes could be hanging up from either not releasing the parking brake, or the shoes are worn out and the hardware is loose in the drum...

 

[jmahler]

It is the front left. I replaced the pads after the smoking instance, but had ordered a rebuild caliper, because of the broken bleeder. I will install as the boots were cracked. I wanted make sure not to look for anything else like a hose or ABS control vavle.

Thanks!

 

[smitty3500]

I too recently on my truck have had very randomly, the driver rear caliper sticking on my truck. With the price of fuel I have not been driving it much. The driver rear will stick at the most random times and then seem to free up. The past two times I have driven it it has been fine but with pulling both rear wheels on that side you can see the rotor and pads have gotten hot but they have never "smoked".



I have about 50% of pad at all 4 corners at this time. A new rear caliper from Dodge is less then 100 and Mopar VL pads are less then 40. Before the next long tow in May I am going to put a caliper on and rear pads on both sides of the rear. I will let you know if that solves the problem.

 

[rbattelle]

I tried to loosen the bleeder, but it broke.

Grrrrrrr $*@)% Dodge!!!

Jelag is right (obviously, he owns a brake shop) - the caliper is probably hanging up. I had it happen many years ago on a Ford.

Jelag - any suggestions for keeping the boot in good shape? Preventative boot maintenance?

Ryan

 

[CIverson]

Just had this happen on my rear calipers. After sitting not beind driven for about 3weeks while getting the trans replaced, ONe day one side would stick on the way to work in the morning, next morning the other side.



I brought it in to get fixed and they put on new calipers, and hoses. Seems ok now, I will see on the way in to work today if it is fixed or not.

 

[jmahler]

I replaced the caliper last night and drove to work this morning, but still the same thing. I am going to order the hose, to eliminate a possibilty. I have to order the hose, because no one had in stock. I will replace this next if there is something on the inside causing problems. I have heard of this issue at work with things like this, but had never seen it.

 

[Little Bill]

I had a flexible brake line pinched off on a Ford once. Cause was corrosion buildup on the inside of a steel clamp that held the line to back plate. Wouldn't release pressure from the caliper when brakes were disengaged.

 

[jelag]

We actually re-manufacturer HD Clutches and brakes for Class 5 and above trucks... . and Manufacturer new HD clutches... As well as being a PacBrake Dist... .

What we see is heat damage..... on some trucks we actually install a piece of friction between the piston and pad to prevent the heat from moving to the piston and boot... but on light pickups there is not the room for this... .

Remember to wire brush and the metal to metal surfaces where the caliper floats on the backing plate, we install some very nasty grease, that won't wash off..... very, very thin film... ... if the caliper can't float more problems will occur...

Watch your braking... . long down hill with a large trailer will usually over heat the brakes, might cause some fade and push that heat into the boot... . my daughters MIL drives her truck (auto) with 2 feet, resting her left foot on the brake pedal and the right foot on the throttle... her husband gave up years ago trying to brake the habit so he just pays the repair bill once a year to do the brakes... usually under 30K miles... .

Use a very little bit of anti-sieze on the bleeder when you install it... the brake fluid will draw water and cause rust... a very little bit of prevention on the bleeder, keeping it out of the caliper will allow you to remove that bleeder months later or years later... .

Bleed out the dirty fluid and moisture once a year no matter what the mileage... .

I personally have not seen a bad hose or ABS system problem in at least 5 years... if a hose goes bad it usually will balloon and allow the system to not brake correctly...

I test for this problem by taking the truck to a slight grade, and stop the truck and release the brakes... I look to see if it will start to roll under its own weight... . if it does the brake pads are released... I've done this so often with the old fords we used to own that I now do it a habit with everything we own... always get to a stop light and put the automatic in N or the stick in N and release the clutch and brake... . and wait to see if it will start to roll.....

Hope all this helps..... I can write more if necessary...

Added later... ... disc brake pads always drag... . when you release the brake pedal the pressure in the brake system drops to zero... the piston will release and the caliper should float on the backing plate... . but some pad drag will always be there... . thats why I suggested the roll test above... . the engineers who designed these systems, left the piston out and the caliper center, unlike brake shoes which retract because of spring pressure... by not fully retracting the delay from smashing the pedal to brake application is reduced by a fraction of a second... . that means short stopping distance which might save you some day...

 

[jmahler]

I heard a sqweeking noise this morning when I realized they were still draging. I started to drive a loading ramp and put in neutral. The truck rolled to the bottom and stopped. It did not roll across the parking lot like exspected. I am doing the front hoses next as my brother in law has seen a internal failure of the hose, which will not allow the oil to return. The hoses will be in Wed. so I will install and try.

 

[rbattelle]

my daughters MIL drives her truck (auto) with 2 feet, resting her left foot on the brake pedal and the right foot on the throttle...

Everyone who drives behind this woman wants to tear their hair out. #@$%!

Good tips, jelag, thanks!

Ryan

 

[betterthanstock]

I dobut a bad hose could hold in pressure for more than a fraction of a second.



Most likely, the caliper cannot freely slide in the slot, like it's supposed to.





Have you greased up the sliders? Use some emery cloth or a file if there is any ridge developed that tends to keep one side of the caliper locked up.

Were the pads on one side thinner than the other?



What about a bad (loose) wheel bearing?

 

[jmahler]

The sliders was one of the first things I looked at. I also replaced the pads clips when I installed the new rebuilt caliper. I just don's see anything visibly. I have had two people tell me about the brake hose. One of which was a technician at a brake shop. I figured I would replace and see.

 

[jmahler]

Well I can't tell for sure what corrected the problem. I cleaned and lubed the pad clips. I went ahead and changed the hose any way, because I had bought it. I did not see anything visably, but everything seems to be working right now.