changed the brakes and rotor out, installation went smoothly except for my front passenger caliper keeps getting stuck. I took it out and redid just in case and caliper is still sticking, I bleed it twice as well and redid everything again and still getting stuck. any suggestions??

 

If it is getting stuck sounds like it needs to get replaced or rebuilt.

It also can be dangerous to drive around with a malfunctioning caliper, if it seizes up it can do serious damage to your vehicle.

If you replace your caliper you also have to replace the other one, ~~always replace in pairs~~!

 

Are the new pads sitting freely on the caliper ? Slides and contact points must be smooth,clean and lubed.

Did you bleed the brake using the proper sequence ? Starting at driver's side front, then passenger side front, next the passenger rear, and finally the driver's rear. Try that.

The caliper piston can be rebuilt. Maybe the hose is kinked or restricted ?

 

i bled the passenger side one yesterday, the piston comes out and everything as i pressed on brakes when off the rotor and the piston comes out its just not retracting back in, keeps my passenger locked up pretty tight. i took apart and bled it yesterday at least 3 times and still getting stuck. since its a 99 i was thinking of changing the brake lines and fluid anyway since most likely it has never been changed. any sure way to find out if caliper needs to be replaced??

 

With everything bolted back together, (except keep the wheel off), step hard on the brake pedal, let up and immediately go and see if it released. If the rotor is hard, or impossible to turn by hand, open the bleeder. If the drag on the rotor doesn't change, you need a caliper. This assumes that the pads move freely in their mounts, and that the caliper slide pins/bolts are lubed and and moving freely as well. If the caliper releases when you open the bleeder, you've got a hydraulic problem; typically the brake hose.

 

i tried doing the bleeder screw to see if it would let up and still not able to turn wheel stays locked. where and what is this slider pin, i've seen it mentioned when reading around. Also anyone had luck with the rebuild kits, there like $3 on Rockauto and those with kids know every penny counts.

 

The slider pin's located on the caliper where the retaining bolts screw in. Take off the rubber boot and remove the pin. It may be tight or froze. Spray some penetrating oil inside. Once ya get the pin out....clean it up with emery cloth and lube or anti-seize. It's critical that everything is clean, lubed and works freely.

If nothing seems to help, consider replacing the brake hose and either rebuild the caliper's cyl or buy a fully reconditioned caliper. Depends on your level of frustration at this point.

 

to rebuild or not = is there pitting, scarring of the piston or the cylinder for it in the caliper? = toss it

brake fluid NEEDS to be changed max every 3 years,,every year for performance drivers or wet weather
brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air, that compresses and gets pushed down to caliper with no escape = rots away metal
leaves a spongy feel to the pedal

 

i'll be checking the condition this weekend on the troubled caliper, if I rebuild do you guys suggest rebuilding both front ones?? or should I go with the not broke don't fix it?

 

Yeah, if the calipers are both the old originals....clean them up and rebuild both of them for peace of mind. Once ya have the tools out, go for it !!! It's just a matter of your time.

Be sure to bleed in the proper sequence: Driver Front > Passenger Front > Passenger Rear > Driver Rear.

 

couple questions fellas..
How do the rear brakes work on our cars??
reason i was asking was because i was changing the front brake lines and didnt know how the rears worked and how often there changed and used as far as distribution between front and back.

how should i go about flushing the fluid out?? didnt know if i just open up a bleeder and pump the brakes until its out and than refill and bleed the line..

really appreciate the help fellas you guys are an awesome source of knowledge!!

 

If your front caliper issue is resolved and everything is installed correctly.

Start with the drivers front then passenger front passenger rear and drivers rear in that order.

Open the master cylinder and make sure it never goes empty during the bleeding process.

A brake bleeder kit from lets say harbor freight tools for about 15 bucks will help you out a ton.

Note: Make sure that all bubbles are out when bleeding the brakes and reservoir never empty.

 

Took off the calipers today but when I took the piston out, only the outer seal was there, the thin smaller seal that came with my kit wasn't in either caliper.. Its a 99 I know somethings are different, so does it just have the outer seal or it should have had the thin one as well?

 

Just reading between the lines makes me think you should get a pair of reman calipers. What you're describing doesn't make sense. There's some critical information missing.

 

Ok let me rephrase steps. I bought rebuild kit came with a thin seal and the outer rubber boot but when I disassembled the calipers and took the piston out there was no little seal just the outer boot. Did the 99 not have the thinner seal?

 

Pretty much every caliper has the square-cut ring that seals the piston to the caliper housing, and a dust boot. There is no way your caliper could work without the square cut ring. It would have been leaking profusely, and your brake pedal would be on the floor. Are you talking about the dust boot and ring on the caliper slide bolts?

 

Wow weird but yea no seal was behind the piston on either side.

 

Yeah man....wow, weird !!! hmm, makes ya wonder.

 

As far as the brake fluid, how would i go about the whole procedure since i'm not really touching the back breaks.. Do i just refill and bleed the front ones?? Appreciate the help fellas.

 

You have to bleed all calipers.

Drivers front
Passenger front
Passenger rear
Drivers rear

Note: All bubbles have to be out before you move on to next one. Crack the master cylinder nevet letting it empty.

 

So changed all the seals out this weekend, what a bitch those boots are to put in. Wifey had to go to work so only had a chance to briefly bleed the brakes did the drivers than the passengers, alot of air was in the passenger one. Before the passenger one was sticking, now its mildly sticking, thinking i need a little more bleeding done, would air cause it to not retract completely, cause i can spin the rotor with a little force but its not completely locked how it was before.

 

Your almost there. If there is a lot of air bubbles in the front there probably a lot in all the lines. When you finish bleeding all lines you will see a firmer pedal and better all around braking.

 

I'd bet that you weren't able to remove all the rust. The caliper bore has to be free of rust as well as the caliper slide bolts, and the pad mounts. If you don't have abrasive blasting equipment it's hard to get it all.

 

Sometimes it is enough to replace the brake fluid, while squeezing the way to the caliper and drain all the liquid from it.

I helped.

 

Had taken a flathead to the crusty parts and took a wire brush and scrapped as best i could. planning to bleed this weekend, needed to get towers to raise the back so i can bleed them all instead of just the front. that one getting stuck blew tons of air the first couple times i bleed it.

 

Freakin a! If its not one thing it's another. So bleed all four calipers and when I put it in reverse or drive wheels are spinning smoothly. So took it for a spin and they seemed to work fine heard them scrapping a pinch but thought it was rust wearing off since I'm in Florida by beach. But when I stopped one rotor was smoking the other super hot so put it on towers and put in reverse and both are spinning freely. So I accelerate and they start grabbing with acceleration. Any clues?

 

Bad news first in addition to your caliper being fried so are your rotors. Double check your work when you put the caliper back on did you twist the brake line? Also when you repaired the caliper did the piston move back freely into the caliper?

 

...As TLer trash suggested previously.....may save ya some grief, IMO !!!

 

A friend mentioned a proportion valve? With a little tension yes they moved freely.

 

So went and bought two calipers, drivers side stays stuck when put in gear. Took it out noticed the seal was loose, so went and exchanged it. Noticed too the slider pin was real tight too, so cleaned it again and lubed it even more but still caliper stays stuck, wtf! Any clues?

 

^^^Back to square 1..... or post 5. If the caliper frees up when you open the bleeder, the problem is brake hydraulics. Unless the bleeder is plugged solid, and not able to release pressure, you've already eliminated the hydraulic system. Did the replacement caliper come with the mounting bracket? If the slide pins are real tight, it sounds like a defective reman caliper. I still think we're missing a piece of critical information.

 

Yeah, unless the mounting hardware is binding.....what's left, huh....?

Perhaps the upper and lower caliper pins got mixed up, IDK ???
Buy new hardware and hoses if all else fails !!! Gotta be gettin' old by now.

 

Luckily the reman calipers came with all new hardware. Only thing that is not new are the brackets and the hoses. Ordering the hoses tomorrow, so frustrating feels like one thing after another. Gone threw 3 big bottles of brake fluid trying to get my brakes done so system is definitely flushed lol, as cleaned the master cylinder filter was super dirty. Hopefully hoses work miss freaking driving my car.

What's the best way to bleed? Was having wifey pump five times and I open valve, am I suppose to close it quick once fluid and bubbles fly out.

I had also bought a 1 man bleeder but reading the instructions was saying almost the same thing I was doing with wifey..

Thanks for the help fellas

 

When you get the lines installed you will have to bleed them again. Those brake bleeders at the big box auto parts stores don`t always have the best reputation for working right. Harbor freight tools sells one that has worked great for me.

Keep it flowing and the bleeder screw open until you see no bubbles. Then close the bleeder screw and move on to the next tire.

The last time you do it shouldn`t be that bad because after three big bottles I`m pretty sure most if not all the bubbles are out.

 

The harbor freight one is the one I got, stupid magnet. I was doing it with the bottle at first than thought let me do it old school, thought I might have been doing it wrong. Will retry once lines come in.

 

Harbor freight is actually easier to use, just pump and let it flow.

When your lines come in bleed the brakes one last and be done with it.

 

I'm going to stop and get a wire brush today, that sliding pin getting stuck was bothering me, cause it was loose when i moved it up and down but if pushed down all the way it needed quite a bit of pressure to unstick, so going to clean it out with a wire brush and clean it up. If not i'll probably go ahead and order the bracket as well when i order the lines today.

Would the brake lines cause the caliper to stick like that even though it flows fluid out of it when i disconnect it??

also anyway to avoid all the fluid coming out when i take off the brake line, or should i just let drain and reuse the already new fluid??

 

also just to be sure which direction does the clip that is on the pads go, i have them on the bottom??

 

So disassembled everything greased everything up good and the pins sliding freely again. Bleed the lines really good but yet still getting stuck on drivers side. Only thing I can think of is the rotor having gotten messed up when i test drove it last time since that one was smoking.

 

So changed the rotor and still getting stuck, the last caliper I had taken back cause the seal was broken, this one has an indentation around the cylinder wall near the piston seal so taking this one back as well.