Stuck caliper?
Thread Starter
3.2Seeno
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 81
Likes: 6
From: North Carolina
Stuck caliper?
Hello all,
I was driving my car yesterday to the gym and when I was driving, all was well, no weird sounds. As I was driving back however, there was this small noise emitting from my wheels, suspension, brakes ( Couldn't place it). Later on, as I kept driving, the sound kept intensifying until finally it just sounds like a school bus braking, however, constantly. When I roll, the car will make the noise. Its like a low squealing noise. I asked my buddy to check out the brakes and he said my back right brake pad looked significantly lower than my left side. Its a horrible sound and I'm just tired of it.
What would cause it? Could it be a stuck caliper? And if it is, do I have to replace the whole caliper or could it just be a simple brake flush, pad change, or caliper fix?
I was driving my car yesterday to the gym and when I was driving, all was well, no weird sounds. As I was driving back however, there was this small noise emitting from my wheels, suspension, brakes ( Couldn't place it). Later on, as I kept driving, the sound kept intensifying until finally it just sounds like a school bus braking, however, constantly. When I roll, the car will make the noise. Its like a low squealing noise. I asked my buddy to check out the brakes and he said my back right brake pad looked significantly lower than my left side. Its a horrible sound and I'm just tired of it.
What would cause it? Could it be a stuck caliper? And if it is, do I have to replace the whole caliper or could it just be a simple brake flush, pad change, or caliper fix?
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 30,487
Likes: 4,417
From: In an igloo
Sounds like it could be a stuck caliper.
The first thing I would do is service all four calipers- it's easy. Once you remove the wheel, you unbolt the caliper (for the rears, I think there are 2 14mm bolts and 2 12mm bolts that need to be removed. I can't tell you about the fronts, as I have the OEM Brembos which differ from the TLs with an auto transmission). Then you can pull the caliper off. Generally what happens is there are two small rubber boots that cover the "slider pin". Sometimes they rip, or grime gets in there and they cause your caliper to stop moving as necessary. What you have to do is pull the boots back, clean up in there and regrease. If it's been too long, you might be screwed and you might have to replace the caliper.
There are a number of threads on how to service the brakes on our cars, on AZ. Dig them up and read through. A few of them even have the pages scanned out of the Acura factory service manual, that walks you through on how to do it all. It really isn't that hard.
In the case that your caliper can't be saved, you'll have to drain the fluid from the line, disconnect the caliper, reconnect a new one, and then bleed all four corners. Oh, and yes, you'll need new brake pads for that corner.. If it's a rear corner, you'll need to replace all pads on the rear. If it's a front corner, you'll need to replace all pads on the front.
The sound you heard is likely your brake pads on that one corner being worn down until the "screamer plate" starts touching the brake disc. It's a warning system to let you know that your brakes are almost done. Don't keep driving like that, because the metal tab keeps digging into your brake disc, making a permanent groove in it. Normally, the sound would only happen when braking, but because your caliper isn't moving and is stuck in place, you're hearing it all the time.
The first thing I would do is service all four calipers- it's easy. Once you remove the wheel, you unbolt the caliper (for the rears, I think there are 2 14mm bolts and 2 12mm bolts that need to be removed. I can't tell you about the fronts, as I have the OEM Brembos which differ from the TLs with an auto transmission). Then you can pull the caliper off. Generally what happens is there are two small rubber boots that cover the "slider pin". Sometimes they rip, or grime gets in there and they cause your caliper to stop moving as necessary. What you have to do is pull the boots back, clean up in there and regrease. If it's been too long, you might be screwed and you might have to replace the caliper.
There are a number of threads on how to service the brakes on our cars, on AZ. Dig them up and read through. A few of them even have the pages scanned out of the Acura factory service manual, that walks you through on how to do it all. It really isn't that hard.
In the case that your caliper can't be saved, you'll have to drain the fluid from the line, disconnect the caliper, reconnect a new one, and then bleed all four corners. Oh, and yes, you'll need new brake pads for that corner.. If it's a rear corner, you'll need to replace all pads on the rear. If it's a front corner, you'll need to replace all pads on the front.
The sound you heard is likely your brake pads on that one corner being worn down until the "screamer plate" starts touching the brake disc. It's a warning system to let you know that your brakes are almost done. Don't keep driving like that, because the metal tab keeps digging into your brake disc, making a permanent groove in it. Normally, the sound would only happen when braking, but because your caliper isn't moving and is stuck in place, you're hearing it all the time.
Check to be certain it's not the pad wear "arm" rubbing against the rotor indicating the pads need to be replaced.
If it were a stuck caliper or collapsed rubber brake hose, the rotor should be considerably hotter than the other side, so you might want to check this after driving.
If the rotor is hotter than the other side, pull the caliper and see if the piston can be pushed in easily, if not, undo the bleeder then try again. If it now goes in easily, rubber hose needs replacement, if still tight and not able the move into the caliper, replace caliper.
If it were a stuck caliper or collapsed rubber brake hose, the rotor should be considerably hotter than the other side, so you might want to check this after driving.
If the rotor is hotter than the other side, pull the caliper and see if the piston can be pushed in easily, if not, undo the bleeder then try again. If it now goes in easily, rubber hose needs replacement, if still tight and not able the move into the caliper, replace caliper.