I had some squealing happening coming from my brakes a month ago and replaced the front rotors and pads to stop this. However, the noise was also coming from the rear too but I never replaced the rotors and pads due to negligence. The car was still driving fine after replacing the front rotors for a few weeks. But recently it was getting insanely loud when driving without even pressing the brakes probably because the pad was just metal on metal.

Last night, the right rear brake pads were so worn down that the caliper piston popped out and I lost almost all my braking power. I got home thankfully and I went and bought new rotors and pads for the rear. I also removed a caliper from a junkyard from another TL base model. I removed the wheel and I realized that my outer brake pad was gone, there was nothing there anymore and I'm assuming it's because it was sanded down to nothing. The inside one was still fine somehow.

I went ahead and replaced the rotor, pads, and the caliper with the junkyard one. It wasn't giving me any problems when pushing the caliper piston back in. I bled the brake on that side and got a lot of air out until I only saw brake fluid coming out. I never readjusted the ebrake shoe thingy on that side though but I thought that I didn't need to side the wheel was moving fine.

On the left rear side, I didn't replace the caliper since it wasn't messed up. The brake pads were in way better and even condition compared to the right side which was weird. I replaced everything but had to also mess with the ebrake drum shoe thing and got it to work so the rotor would spin a decent amount freely. I bled that side too a bit but it was just liquid anyways. I've also added more fluid to the master cylinder.

So here's the problem, I test drive the car, the brake pedal needs to be pushed all the way in for any kind of braking to happen. Its got more stopping power but I still need to push it all the way in. Definitely mushy too. The car moves slightly to the left now when I brake and don't touch the steering wheel.

My front left rotor and rear right one are both insanely hot too whilst the other two are just fine. I don't know if I installed anything wrong but I've done this before on a different car and it went well. I didn't lube up the guide pins for the calipers so I'm not sure if that was a problem but that's just extra info. I did use copper lubricant for the pads. Can anyone explain what could've possibly gone wrong? I'm assuming 2 of my calipers are seized but I don't know. I never bled the front brakes btw. Thank you!

 

After opening up a closed hydraulic system (removing a caliper) it's best to bleed all 4 corners. You never know where an air bubble could have floated off into, hence a mushy brake pedal.

If the pads of 1 caliper are wearing crazy unevenly like you said, it's most likely a frozen guide pin(s) causing the caliper to not be able to "float" on the pins evenly when the pedal is depressed. You absolutely should have lubed the guide pins, you should ALWAYS do this whenever the caliper comes off.

 

Just my opinion, but you have left your brakes go to the point where they are unsafe and you should probably seek a good mechanic to do a total brake system overhaul. Your skills in simply recognizing a fault and then repairing the vehicle seem to be terribly lacking; evidence of that is your statement “…the right rear brake pads were so worn down that the caliper piston popped out and I lost almost all my braking power.”

 

I'll definitely bleed all the brakes this time. I'll also lube the pins, I did not know they were that important. My front left rotor was fine before the repair, do you think not bleeding the front after replacing the rear caliper might be the reason why I've got an issue there now?

 

I don't see how I my skills are lacking though? The caliper piston did pop out so I deducted that I need to replace it with the rotors and pads.

 

Perhaps that was an amazing grasp of the obvious. For your safety and the safety of others, get a professional involved.

 

Just needed to file down the pads a bit more and bleed every brake. Car works perfectly fine now. Thanks for being a jackass though, very helpful.

 

1.) It is obvious you ignored clear signs there were issues with your brakes and had a hard failure of a part that should have never been allowed to fail in that manner
-- You allowed your pads to wear way beyond their limits and one fell off causing the piston to come out
-- You didn't realize the guide pins were critical - this is key to proper operation of floating caliper brakes
-- You didn't realize you needed to bleed your entire brake system after replacing a caliper
-- It is very obvious that this is not something you have tackled well in the past.....you need to do more research on exactly how to do brake work...or take it to a professional
-- just swapping pads/parts isn't all there is to brake service....I have been doing my own brake work for the past 30 years...I for sure don't do it perfectly every time either...but I also know that I have my limits and pay a shop to do work sometimes when I am in over my head
-- what is done is done, let's move on past that now
2.) Pull all calipers apart to inspect the guide pins
3.) Remove guide pins, boots, etc
4.) Inspect for damage and replace any parts that are damaged
5.) Clean and lubricate the guide pins with the proper grease
6.) Install guide pins and boots
7.) Confirm pins all slide freely
8.) Clean and lube all metal contact points of pads
8.) Reassemble
9.) Bleed each caliper individually
-- there is a correct order...which I don't recall off the top of my head
-- bleed until the fluid is nice and clean
-- don't let the master cylinder get low on fluid or you will have to start over again
-- I found it "handy" to bleed during periods of snow since I could take it out on a test drive and get ABS to engage...then bleed again (or you just buy the correct scan tool to be able to cycle the ABS)
10.) Test basic brake functions and pedal feel
11.) If acceptable, go for a small test drive
12.) Get an IR gun to compare temps of each brake rotor
-- front rotors should both be similar
-- rear rotors should both be similar
-- If a great variance between each side, you still have a sticky caliper
-- could be a collapsed flex line or a stuck caliper

 

File down the pads? WTF?
I'm the only Jackass here.

 

i filed down the tips so it fits in better. I ordered the correct parts but they were a tight fit.

 

I was planning on replacing everything soon but I live in Canada and was waiting for a friend to come back from work so I could use his garage cause it's insanely cold out. I didnt want to spend extra money going to a mechanic either. I already stated the fact that I neglected the pads. I totally understand that what I did was wrong but I didn't ask for people to be assholes in the comments. I just asked what went wrong and what I could've done better. My front left rotor was overheating because of high fluid pressure since as soon as the bleeder valve opened up, liquid shot out. Pretty sure filing down helped with the rear pads on the right cause it was stuck in place and wasn't moving freely and it's not overheating anymore.

 

Proper pads should never need to be filed down. The only time I have ever heard anyone filing anything down on brakes for a TL is related to the parking brake shoes.

Something isn’t right if you had to modify the pads to get things to fit.
- incorrect pads
- incorrect rotor
- dirty caliper/piston
- rusted/worn rotor

 

Also my front calipers were already lubed. I just forgot to do the rear ones by the time I had the tires back on hence why I asked if it was worth it.

 

I got them from canadian tire and had the same problem with the front pads a few weeks ago. I've never encountered this issue before but i just filed down their tips and the car brakes fine now.