So I got my Rotora rotors and AEM pads installed today, and as I was pulling out, my driver rear caliper locked........great. With the TL being not drieveable, I had to leave it at the dealership and have my girlfriend come get me. I noticed heat marks on my calipers about a week ago, but since the pads were so worn down, it didnt do much. With the new pads it made it a lot worse.....I am so pissed.

 

Parking brake stuck maybe? Maybe one of the brake shoes in the drum broke loose and locked the wheel up?

 

I don't think its the parking brake because its only one wheel. I don't know. I hope they find what it is tomorrow, I already miss my TL..

 

Well if the shoe material broke loose it would hold just 1 wheel.

 

Hmmm. I'll have to mention that to the mechanic, thanks.

 

It was the lower slider pin on the driver rear caliper. Thank god it was a 12 dollar fix!

 

Good news.

BTW, what dealership did you go to?

 

I work at Royal Gate Dodge. But the news isnt all good. Now on the front rotors, the outer pads are only wearing on the top and the inner pads are only wearing on the bottom. WTF. AND it appears that my passenger pad is rubbing full time. Im so sick of this crap. Whats going on??

 

OK- so to go back to the start- the dealer installed aftermarket brakes for you.

It SEEMS like they may not have done too good a job as the pin problem you described.
If the calipers themselves have RUST/Contamination inside them from water- they can get stuck sideways and not push out correctly- or may not retract fully
Or if they were shoved in crooked instead of retracted properly, that would cause a problem.
Was everything properly lubed with brake caliper grease?
You would be surprised how lazy many techs there are, and dont bother to do a job 100%
The OLD brake pads would be the real info on wear pattern

Note to all: Brake Fluid is like a magnet to water/moisture.
It should be FLUSHED every year! More often if you do track days or fun run driving style
Failure to keep the fluid fresh, clean and dry, can kill your ABS controller and calipers

 

You need to rectify the issue ASAP or else you will ruin those rotors. A pad that is constantly making contact with the rotor is going to generate a lot of heat and it will kill any rotor.

 

I tried greasing up everything, and no go. The mechanic says he has never seen brakes do this before. (great). Im calling AEM tomorrow to make sure I even was sent the correct pads. Im getting extremely impatient with this. I havent had my car since Thursday. I mean really, a brake job isnt hard. I think im about to snap.

 

The caliper needs to be inspected for proper movement and retraction
If its piston is crooked or hung up that would explain a lot

 

So I called AEM today.......AEM doesnt even make brake pads for my car. I was sent 95-98 TL pads. So I called performancecenter.com and told them that their website is wrong. They checked it and told me I was right. They are sending me a shipping label and giving me a refund. People are stupid.

 

i was gonan say, ur the first person who owned aem pads, they never made em for 2nd gen tls...

 

Ooops!

Maybe you should try some Hawk HPS
they make pads for our car

 

I thought about that when I ordered them and wondered why. Now I know!

 

funny this should come up, because when i did my rear pads last year my passenger rear caliper locked up right after, and i didn't do anything wrong to cause it. the piston simply would not retract. i flushed the fluid, no go. checked the seals, no go. so in the end i bit the bullet and got a new caliper from autozone for $50 IIRC. kinda wierd how i could never figure it out though....

SSTS

 

Its VERY easy to get the piston retracted at a slight angle if using anything but a proper tool. Even then- things happen
If that occurs- other bad things follow
Big pliers, prybars or other brute force methods are bad for any car.

When commenting to a friend how my RF caliper appears to be going out, they replied- anyone drives ANY car THAT hard- you have to expect to wear out some parts!!
I do like the idea up switching to some Legend/NSX dual piston calipers though!

 

I got some different pads, put the car on a lift at work, and changed them in about 45 min. They work great, I love the rotors. What a nightmare tho. Glad I woke up. lol Thanks everyone for your help!