Hot Rotors, What Do You Think???

[JohnHaggerty]

Folks,

I just took a 20 minute round trip and picked up a yard of fill dirt. While loading I'm smelled something but didn't investigate. At home once parked it smelled and was making noise. Front right rotor was at 680 deg F and front left at 180 deg F. What's your thoughts? Are parts still OK if it doesn't happen again? What would have caused the pads to apparently hang up? How might it be related to the last time driven was thru 6 foot tall farm meadow (weed field). I'll let it cool overnight and take a short trip tomorrow to see if it still acts up.

Thanks,
John

 

[Prairie Dog]

Had the same thing happen to me and I ignored it. Later I had to be towed home because the caliper was totally locked up.
Replace the calipers and pads on that axle now and make sure the rotors weren't damaged either.

 

[cerberusiam]

Yep, caliper is hanging. The next time it might be on fire when you find it.

 

[JohnHaggerty]

Would you change both calipers? Of course both set of pads. Any brand suggestions for the calipers?

 

[Prairie Dog]

I got mine at Orielly's.
If you end up replacing rotors, I highly recommend Bosch. They are extremely well made, balanced and have a coating that keeps them from rusting on the edges and in the fins.

 

[BLNRAY]

Would you change both calipers? Of course both set of pads. Any brand suggestions for the calipers?

my policy on brakes or suspension,also a rule of a shop I worked in,if you replace something on one side replace the other also.you want both sides of your truck stopping at the same rate.

 

[Prairie Dog]

my policy on brakes or suspension,also a rule of a shop I worked in,if you replace something on one side replace the other also.you want both sides of your truck stopping at the same rate.

Absolutely!

 

[mwilson]

my policy on brakes or suspension,also a rule of a shop I worked in,if you replace something on one side replace the other also.you want both sides of your truck stopping at the same rate.

X3!!!

Mike.

 

[mwilson]

Would you change both calipers? Of course both set of pads. Any brand suggestions for the calipers?

Though not as frequent an issue, a bad rubber brake hose from the frame to the caliper will do almost the same thing. The internal lining of the hose will go bad and act like a check valve and will not let the pressure off.
I watched a wheelbarrow full of money get thrown at a Lincoln Continental one time over a bad $10.00 rubber line to the right rear caliper.

Something to consider if the caliper replacement does not cure the problem.

Mike.

 

[JohnHaggerty]

Ouch $$$$. OK so both rotors, calipers and pads it is. Any more brand name suggestions for parts? This truck sure knows how to nickel and dime me!

Thanks!

 

[mwilson]

The rotors rarely fail on these trucks unless abused badly. I will be really surprised if you hurt yours. Check them over.
As far as the brake pads go to the dealer and get the OEM pads, not the value line ones. The OEM pads are over $100.00 but are just the right mix for these trucks.
Mine brake pads are at 135,000 miles and are original. There is no affordable aftermarket pad that will rival that kind of wear in my opinion.
Reman calipers are a crapshoot lately. Someone may have more input on that.

 

[mwilson]

What part of the country are you in??? A corrosive road chemical treatment climate??

Or is it hot, dry and dusty??

 

[seafish]

Like mwilson said, it MIGHT be the brake line(s) failing internally. I have never had it happen, but have read about it more then once on these and other vehicles.

Also, X2 on the Mopar Premium pads as a solid choice for your replacement brake pads.

 

[JohnHaggerty]

Wasn't what I had planned for today, but I'm into it. Getting the wheel off was a buster, but I got it. Got caliper off. Like I said before measured temperature at 680 F and it shows by the melted adhesive on the out side of the pads. For now I'm thinking one caliper and a pair of new pads (OEM still look great so I'll probably go Mopar for pads. Don't know where the caliper is coming from yet.

 

[BLoging]

Though not as frequent an issue, a bad rubber brake hose from the frame to the caliper will do almost the same thing. The internal lining of the hose will go bad and act like a check valve and will not let the pressure off.
I watched a wheelbarrow full of money get thrown at a Lincoln Continental one time over a bad $10.00 rubber line to the right rear caliper.

Something to consider if the caliper replacement does not cure the problem.

Mike.

I have had this done the rubber hose swell on a dodge Dakota and roosted a set of rotors and calipers twice all because of hose, the first time just replaced the rotors and calipers and pads and less than 2,000 miles the same thing again so I just pull one caliper off and tried to push the piston back and broke a c-clamp trying so I did the hose's and new caliper's rotor's and pads and then no more issue's until I traded it in on the truck I got now.

so try pushing the piston back in and if it pushes hard then pull the caliper off the hose and see if brake fluid will flow out the hose

 

[JR]

You've definitely cooked your brake fluid at that temperature, whatever you do DO NOT push any old fluid back into the system. Brake fluid really should be flushed every 2 years to keep your brake system clean and trouble free from the inside. If it has been several years since it was replaced you've likely got moisture in the fluid which leads to corrosion. This alone will cause calipers and wheel cylinders to fail in extreme circumstances. Make sure you flush the old stuff out before you connect the lines to the new calipers or you will contaminate them from the get go.

 

[jelag]

I was in the clutch and brake business for 20 years.. if in fact you had the pads to 680*F for any length of time you've cooked out the resins that bind the material together... even the semi-metallic pads can't withstand that temperature without damage... pure metallic friction, like the metallic (ceramic) friction used in clutches can withstand 1000*F now and than... but the cold facts are that the semi-metallic can't... so the pads are shot on the one side.. if you had the exact same brand of pad so that the coefficient of friction was the same, side to side you could get by with repairing one side... but you can't just buy 1/2 set of pads... what might be a surprise is that some off road equipment, you can purchase one out of a set of 8 pads per axle....

Its my guess that you've also damaged the boot between the piston and the caliper.. once this fails... has a hole, is pulled loose, has a cut, its only a matter of time before dirt gets behind the boot and will lock the movement of the piston....

You are bleeding the brakes at least once every 18 months, expelling the dirty/damaged fluid out of the caliper and replacing with clean fresh fluid... you should use at least 1 quart during this flush... and you NEVER, that is NEVER compress the piston for new pads and push the dirty brake fluid back into the ABS and Master... you ALWAYS open the bleeder and expel this fluid out of the caliper...

 

[Prairie Dog]

When my calipers hung up the temp were in that range too. Upon removing the pads (factory) you could see large cracks along the edge. They were "toast". Besides, why would anyone install new calipers and move the old pads to them - pads just aren't that expensive.
It takes me 1 full qt to completely bleed the system.

 

[AKorn]

Ouch $$$$. OK so both rotors, calipers and pads it is. Any more brand name suggestions for parts? This truck sure knows how to nickel and dime me!

Thanks!

And dont forget to replace the flexible brake lines along with the calipers. They should cost less than $20. I recently did a rear brake job, and got all my parts from Rockauto.com. Most of my parts were of the Centric brand - pretty good reputation for quality.

 

[ACerf]

Folks,

I just took a 20 minute round trip and picked up a yard of fill dirt. While loading I'm smelled something but didn't investigate. At home once parked it smelled and was making noise. Front right rotor was at 680 deg F and front left at 180 deg F. What's your thoughts? Are parts still OK if it doesn't happen again? What would have caused the pads to apparently hang up? How might it be related to the last time driven was thru 6 foot tall farm meadow (weed field). I'll let it cool overnight and take a short trip tomorrow to see if it still acts up.

Thanks,
John

Sounds to me like your Calipers locked against the rotor. I had this happen to me on both sides. Had to replace; Calipers, Rotors and Pads