Intermittent Stuck Drivers Side Rear Caliper

[jgillott]

Yesterday I had my driver's side rear caliper hang up on my '07. It was stuck bad enough that I could feel it dragging and it made that brake and wheel extremely hot until I could get it off of the highway. I went to start working on it tonight and it is a free as could be. Took it on a test run of approximately 30 miles and again it is operating correctly, not dragging at all and the truck is stopping as it should.

I've had my fair share of caliper issues over the years and once they stuck, they didn't free themselves again. Entire rear brake system is just over a year old with approx 20K on the parts. Last time around, I did both calipers, all hardware, all parking brake parts, new lines, flushed fluid like I always do, etc.

Any idea what could cause one caliper to hang up that hard only to release again. One additional note, when I first felt that wheel hanging up, it was pulsing harshly, almost as if the ABS would have been attempting to do something with that wheel.

Anyway, any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

 

[mwilson]

Sure it wasn't the parking brake shoes piling up in there??? That would pulse as well plus create some serious rotor / wheel heat....

 

[jgillott]

I'm fairly certain that everything is intact. I'll have to pull that side to see for sure, but the parking brake is working perfectly, good pedal feel, releasing as it should, etc.

 

[JR]

This is simply your inner conscious telling you it's time for a new truck

 

[jgillott]

This is simply your inner conscious telling you it's time for a new truck

It that the truth. Should have sold the thing 3 weeks ago.

There is another thread going on here with someone looking for a 3rd gen. I wanted to reply "are you insane?" But, I was good and offered some constructive advice.

 

[LHirshman]

I've had that problem before. In my case, the bracket that the pads sit it (the caliper attaches to this as well) rusted underneath the stainless steel sliders that the pads ride on. The rust expands the sliders and binds the pad. On my last brake job, I bought new brackets and coated the machined surface that the slider rest on with anti-seize. I have not had the problem since.

This was my problem, with the way rust attacks every piece of steel on these truck, there maybe 100 other places to look for the cause of your problem.

 

[jgillott]

Thanks for your reply. I replaced all of the hardware the last time I did the back brakes. They probably have just shy of 20K on them but 2 winter salt seasons. I have no doubt that you are correct and that is probably the issue.

I will also add that I had something fail in the rear end itself. I have a bad vibration that I need to track down, but it is not able to be driven at this time. I don't know if I have 2 separate problems or if they are both related. I'll let you know what I find, but it will be at least a few weeks before I get it on the lift and torn apart.

 

[brods]

The rebuilt rear caliper on my truck lasted 4 years and 24K miles before it started hanging. The bores of the caliper between the inner seal and the outer dust boot were badly rusted. There were corresponding rust stains and indentations on the plastic pistons. The bore of the caliper inside of the inner seal was free of corrosion. Whether the rust was from water getting past the dust boot or brake fluid seepage past the inner seal or both, I don't know.

 

[Blakers]

My rear calipers stick now and then, but only when I do a lot of running on wet sloppy dirt roads. It seems the front wheels throw the fine gravel and grit right up into the rear calipers where it hangs them up. Poor design I guess. When I tended gas wells with my truck they were always hanging up. Sometimes they'd free up, and sometimes I'd have to spray the garden hose on them to get the grit out.

 

[jgillott]

You all are absolutely correct. Rusty water seeping around the seal. As mentioned above, my trucks see gravel/muddy access roads on a daily basis so all I can think of is the dirt and grime building up in there and causing the corrosion. It's still up on the lift so I'll snap a picture of it if I think about it.

I'm just surprised that I can't get more life out if a caliper than this. But, I guess I am not exactly using it in the easiest of environments.

 

[Blakers]

I don't think the dirt and grit is actually causing corrosion so much as it jambs up the mechanism and prevents the calipers from sliding freely. Just hosing them out with some clean water seemed to help mine. The bad part is when it's 20° out and everything is packed tight with frozen gritty mud and you can't do much about it. For me it was on a daily basis as that was how I made my living.

 

[Wayne M.]

What I would have done- right there on the road- if I had the wrench- would be to crack the bleeder screw. That'll indicate if there's a bad hose or similar if it loosened up and/or spat out fluid under pressure.

 

[jgillott]

That's one of the first things I did Wayne. Fluid flows great, its only been in there a little over a year and is still clean and clear. All lines were replaced the last time I went through this, so I'm assuming that they are still OK. You never know though, and I will continue to look those things over.

One side question for you, do you know if there is anything controlled electronically via the ABS system that could be holding pressure on those rear wheels? With as many gremlins that I have, nothing would surprise me. And being that this started as an intermittent problem, I'm trying to figure out what came first the binding or the corrosion. I doubt if this could be a possibility, but I'm just trying to explore all possibilities.

 

[Wayne M.]

One side question for you, do you know if there is anything controlled electronically via the ABS system that could be holding pressure on those rear wheels? .

The rear brakes are on one channel. There is one line to the rear that tees off on the rear, right?
If it were the ABS unit or along the chassis, it would effect both wheels.
Modern cars, and I know, the '17 F Super Dutys have 4 channel brakes. I wonder if the newest Rams do too? This move is to allow traction control.

 

[jgillott]

The rear brakes are on one channel. There is one line to the rear that tees off on the rear, right?
If it were the ABS unit or along the chassis, it would effect both wheels.
Modern cars, and I know, the '17 F Super Dutys have 4 channel brakes. I wonder if the newest Rams do too? This move is to allow traction control.

Yes, one line that is split above the rear axle housing then over to the wheels.

The drivers side caliper has obvious corrosion damage and I'm not discounting that it is probably the root of the issue. However, both sides are dragging. When it first when up on the lift, I had to drive both sides back to get the rear to spin freely. Minor corrosion on the passenger side but nothing that would make you think that it would be hanging up.

Has me thinking now.

 

[brods]

Here is the piston that came out of the left rear rebuilt caliper. Everything else with the brakes looked ok or was a bit too sloppy instead of being bound up. After I pulled the caliper to check it, and in the process had pushed the piston back in a bit, it seemed to work ok for a little while and then hung again. I'm convinced it was the piston hanging in the bore. As mentioned in the earlier post, the inside of the caliper bore was free of corrosion. The rust was in the bore behind the dust boot and outboard of the piston seal. No way prevent it that I can tell, unless there is a better dust boot available than what the rebuilders use.

We live in an area with a lot of dirt roads. I avoid them as much as possible with the truck. The wife drives at least 6 miles on them every weekday, many days double that (and she seems to aim for potholes). We have had a few vehicle makes and the Dodges have been the most prone to corrosion issues, whether it be brakes, body rot or electrical modules. This weekend the rotted through 2008 Dodge minivan will be getting rear calipers... again. Hopefully these Raybestos Opti-cal new calipers will last a bit longer than the rebuilt ones. No complaints about them so far on the truck, but only time will tell.

 

[jgillott]

I'll let you know what they look like when I replace the calipers. I have replacements ordered and should have them Monday or Tuesday. I'm actually hoping that they look the same when I pull them apart. At least I will know that was the problem.

I also need new rotors again from the heat damage.

I have a distinct feeling that I'm just throwing parts at it at this point. As I mentioned earlier, the hardware does have some corrosion on them, but it doesn't seem to be bad enough to be causing the grief that I am having right now. Pads and rotors are destroyed again so they obviously need replacement. No choice but to replace them. We shall see next week if this actually fixes the problem, even temporarily.

I think that I am just going to start going to the ATM, getting out hundreds of dollars, and drive down the road throwing cash out the window........

 

[verk]

I've had that problem before. In my case, the bracket that the pads sit it (the caliper attaches to this as well) rusted underneath the stainless steel sliders that the pads ride on. The rust expands the sliders and binds the pad.

Happened to me as well. I can't remember what I did when I replaced those pads, but I haven't had the problem reoccur since and that was 85,000 miles ago.

At that time the truck had 68,000 miles and I noticed the brake fluid was not clean so I flushed. Now at 155,000 miles I suspect the fluid needs replacing again. And on original calipers and rotors I'm guessing it won't be long before I need a complete brake overhaul. I've seen other threads talking about replacement calipers, but what about the brake lines. Are people doing rigid stainless replacement kits ?

 

[verk]

The rebuilt rear caliper on my truck lasted 4 years and 24K miles before it started hanging. The bores of the caliper between the inner seal and the outer dust boot were badly rusted. There were corresponding rust stains and indentations on the plastic pistons. The bore of the caliper inside of the inner seal was free of corrosion. Whether the rust was from water getting past the dust boot or brake fluid seepage past the inner seal or both, I don't know.

I'm always hearing about problems with rear calipers, but rarely the front. Are these people experiencing problems with rears boaters who often trailer to water? I've been trailering boats in a freshwater lake for the past 10 years without incident so I'm wondering if this is a bigger saltwater problem ?

 

[jgillott]

I'm always hearing about problems with rear calipers, but rarely the front. Are these people experiencing problems with rears boaters who often trailer to water? I've been trailering boats in a freshwater lake for the past 10 years without incident so I'm wondering if this is a bigger saltwater problem ?

I don't own a boat and I've only pulled one to a lake one time for a friend. I think in our case around here in the north east it is the slop and road grime that the back of these trucks get splashed on them on a regular basis.