sticky calipers

[slantscamp]

ok, well this is a new one to me. i just rebuilt my whole front end. suspension and brakes. i drove my car to work the last two days. about 100 miles or so with no problems. well today i thought i would take my girlfriend out in my car to show her how good it handles and everything now. well as im getting on the freeway i notice my car start pulling to the right. followed by the smell of burning brakes. this confused me because i didnt touch the brakes. i was getting on the freeway. so i stopped and loooked under my car to see the problem. well my wheel was smoking. since i was mad i said screw it i will just drive it home. so im driving down the freeway about 40 and eventually it goes away. but wait for it........ then my left one starts sticking. what the hell? so after having a police officer follow me and tell me my brakes are going out. and people staring at me with a smoking front wheel, i finally get home. i let my brakes cool, took the wheels off and pulled the calipers and everything. the only thing i noticed was it looked like i might have put too much disc brake quite on because it ended up all over but i dont think that would be a problem. i know it was a real tight fit with the new rotors and pads but i just figured they would just break in. even after driving home with my brakes stuck on they were still hard to get back on. i dont know what could be wrong. so i put it back together and it drives fine. drove it around about 20 miles up and down hills. no problems. but i dont trust it to drive to work now and since shes my daily driver that could be a problem. anyone have any ideas? thanks.

 

[demon seed]

I had the same thing happen to old Aspen RT I had and it turned out to be that the caliper pistons were seizing in the cylinder cuss of crud buildup. New pistons and honed the cylinders smooth.

 

[Longgone]

Your car seems to have the problem a lot of the Kelsey Hayes brakes did, seizing of the piston in the caliper. This is common in KH brakes if they`re not used enough, but your car is probably single piston which is rare for those. You also mention it`s your daily driver.? I would lube the slides on those calipers, check the condition of your pads, and last, check the rotors for warpage. Make sure you didn`t cook the grease right out of your wheel bearing too. You might end up turning your rotors and replacing your pads. Mostly make sure the piston moves smoothly in the caliper.

 

[slantscamp]

thanks for the replys guys. is there anything i can do to clean up these pads since they are brand new. only about 100 miles on them. scuff them with sand paper or something. i drove my car to work today and she was fine. today was really hot too so i thought she might act up, but no problems whatsoever. i did clean all that disc brake quiet goo off. i figured squeky brakes dont seem like that big a deal compared to stuck brakes.

 

[mullinax95]

thanks for the replys guys. is there anything i can do to clean up these pads since they are brand new. only about 100 miles on them. scuff them with sand paper or something. i drove my car to work today and she was fine. today was really hot too so i thought she might act up, but no problems whatsoever. i did clean all that disc brake quiet goo off. i figured squeky brakes dont seem like that big a deal compared to stuck brakes.

If they are squeaky then you have glazed the pad surface. You can sand that off with sandpaper and it should go away, but if not might need to just get another set. It is a very good practice when you put new pads on a vehicle to take it easy for awhile on stopping and let the pads "work" themselves to the rotor.