Brakes are smoking and feel stuck

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antares

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Hey everyone. I have a 2001, and just replaced the pads and rotors today. Went for a little drive and and the brakes felt "stuck". I drove about 2 miles, and there was smoke coming from the brakes.

I am not sure what my next step would be. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Sounds like seized caliper possibly. Can you tell if it’s coming from the front or rear, or the right or left side?
 
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I would say front, and as far as the side. I couldn't tell because it was a bumpy country backroad that I was driving on. Think I should try to bleed them for pressure relief to try to determine if it may be the hose or caliper?

Back brakes could be completely shot too. I have not checked them. I just replaced the front today though.
 
antares said:
I would say front, and as far as the side. I couldn't tell because it was a bumpy country backroad that I was driving on. Think I should try to bleed them for pressure relief to try to determine if it may be the hose or caliper?

Back brakes could be completely shot too. I have not checked them. I just replaced the front today though.
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When you put the new brakes on the front did you replace the caliper? If not and you compressed the pistons back to get enough room for the new pads they are seized in there.


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I’d take things apart starting with the front brakes. It seems like you have at least one caliper that is seized.
 
I'd suggest driving it just long enough for the stuck brake to heat up, but not so long you warp the rotor, then check your brakes temperature with a laser thermometer. The stuck one should be noticeably hotter than the working ones. As for determining weather it's a hose or caliper or something else I don't know how you'd do that. I'm sure someone on here does though.
 
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You might start by first determining which "wheel" is affected by jacking up each corner individually and seeing if you can spin the wheel freely. Do this while they're still "hot". If you let the brakes cool first, the stuck caliper might release (if it is, in fact, a caliper issue), and then you won't be able to tell which one is failing. I had a caliper that would stick from repeated over-use (Seattle traffic). I let it cool down for a couple of hours, and was able to drive home with it. I did replace both calipers, as both had over 250,000 miles on them.
 
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Thanks for the tips. I will try the suggestions and post back tomorrow.
sweld said:
When you put the new brakes on the front did you replace the caliper? If not and you compressed the pistons back to get enough room for the new pads they are seized in there.


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Click to expand...

Yes they were seized. Both really. One worse than the other, but moved back after using a c clamp for a few turns.
 
antares said:
Any way to "un-seize" at least for now, or would they just have to be replaced?
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I'd take it apart and inspect. Sometimes the piston may just be to far in there, but in my case the caliper was actually seized to the point of no repair.
 
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you can buy rebuild kits for the calipers but sometimes just as easy to replace it outright. I know in these parts if you replace a caliper you can take the old one back and return it for the "core charge" and get some money back which helps :)
 
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MrBlaine gave me an education on this when I bought a set of his Black Magic Brakes. Brake systems are suppose to be flushed once a year (who knew? I certainly did not....). Apparently even though it is a "sealed" system brake fluid attracts moisture and dirt like crazy. When you push the piston back in it can dislodge dirt and debris that is inside the caliper. There is only a few thousands of an inch clearance between the "pot" and the piston. With his tutelage I used compressed air on the banjo bolt fitting and gently force the piston completely out of the bore. Place a clean towel/rag to catch the piston so it does not get damaged. Once out clean the inside of the pot really well, he advised against using brake cleaner due to it leaving behind a residue. I used new brake fluid and a nylon brush to scrub it clean. Then coated the piston with brake fluid and pushed it back into the bore nice and straight. Worked like a champ.......
 
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brake hoses can swell up, from what i heard, an cause caliper to seize as he said above. who would have thought:) I can see em braking, but swelling up enough to shut off the fluid to the caliper......thats crazy.....
 
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weldedcambolt said:
brake hoses can swell up, from what i heard, an cause caliper to seize as he said above. who would have thought:) I can see em braking, but swelling up enough to shut off the fluid to the caliper......thats crazy.....
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They break down internally. One of the things that happens is there is enough force from you applying the brakes to push the brake fluid past/through the damage inside the hose, but there is not enough return force when you let off for the fluid to get back past the restriction, so your piston stays extended, and your brakes drag.
 
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Squatch said:
They break down internally. One of the things that happens is there is enough force from you applying the brakes to push the brake fluid past/through the damage inside the hose, but there is not enough return force when you let off for the fluid to get back past the restriction, so your piston stays extended, and your brakes drag.
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ya, i've never seen that happen, until recently. people going batty trying to figure that one out, out there:) throwing on new caliper after new caliper, an then its the line.......:)i had put on a new master cylinder, an shortly after, breaks went out, an I am like, can't be that, it's new, sure enough, it was that new master cylinder went bad, about a year after.
 
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Reviving an old thread. Rotors, pads and front brake lines changed about a year ago. Yesterday, my 1999 TJ was pulling hard to the right and seemed as if I was driving with the brakes on. Got home and there was smoke coming from behind the right front wheel. I suspected a seized caliper. Took it to a shop (I haven't used before, but was recommended). Driving on the way to the shop it rode fine. When the mechanic looked at the brakes the next day, he said all was fine, calipers were smooth. He suspected the brake hoses. When I told him they were new, he said new is not good. It rode fine today.

Here is a video of them smoking...thoughts anyone?
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1SNFUmrdbfbZ3glIDKljL-ubxZbsMIeNV
 
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