Well I think I have a seized or sticky caliper b/c when I came home one night, my left rear tire area did NOT smell good, and the heat coming off was a lot more than other wheels. If it is a seized caliper/sticky caliper how do I got about fixing it?

I can NOT afford to spend a lot of money on it right now, nor do I have the time to take it somewhere. Is there a cheap quick easy fix I could do?

Thanks
Cris

 

Go to pep boys and see how much they want for one. That's the cheapest thing you can do. I have to replace the one on the right with mine. DOH!

If you are real real cheap you can try a junk yard and see how much they want. Should be around 50.00 or so. Mileage may vary with the quality you might get.

 

Yep...same thing happend to me on my 99. Mine just didnt smell, but it made LOTS of noise. Had to get it replaced the entire caliper.

 

same shyt here-mine was rear driver side -what was yours j/w

 

Sorry to hear about the seized calipers - about two months ago, I heard lots of grinding noises from the rear when stopping or moving slowly. After just three miles of driving, both rear disks were too hot to touch - you could feel the heat from two feet away.

This was at the 40K mile marker on my '99 GXE. I had new rotors, calipers, and ceramic pads (Raybestos) installed on the rear, and for luck, Raybestos cermaic pads installed on the front.

"It's always something"

 

youre definitely going to want to think about replacing the pads. If only one side was seized, it might have worn it down so that the two sides are pretty uneven. preventative maintenence. pads are like 40 bucks anyways. and a caliper is only around 50-65 bucks, depending on whether its brand new, or a reman.

 

Since the brake system is hydraulic, if you replace one caliper with a rebuilt caliper, you should replace both sides and not just one side. These are your brakes you are dealing with. If you prolong the repair of them, you will end up trashing your rotors and it will cost you more in the long run. The rotors as they stand now should probably be machined. So you may be looking at two rebuilt calipers, new brake pads and machining the rotors.

 

To be cheap, you gotta at least know how to work on your car. You can find cheap parts, Autozone or Pep Boys. But labor costs money. You need to make time for yourself or else paying someone else to use their own time to fix your car usually means paying them for their time.

I agree with rmurdoch. If it's a bad caliper it needs to be replaced. It's better to get a refurbished one than rebuild your own. If you don't know how to change the caliper, forgot rebuilding your own. If you can't afford this, then you shouldn't drive your car as doing so will only burry you deeper into the expense of replacing parts that will be affected or damaged more the longer you take to repair it.

 

Ok well I took the caliper off and looked at it this morning. I can still turn the piston back into the caliper. So I am guessing its not seized then. Could it be something else?

 

Hand brake cable stuck?

 

I am not sure how to check that, and also if I do go replace this caliper do I need to bleed all the brakes, or just that one???

 

You probably should bleed both rears, but it woudln't hurt to bleed the fronts while you're at it. When were the brakes last bled?

 

Not sure when they were bled last.

Do you still think I need to replace the caliper even though I can turn the piston back into the bore? It takes some effort, but I can do it? Could something else be sticky?

 

Just because the caliper-piston turns doesnt mean its functioning properly. I worked on mine a week ago. Rear pass side. I could turn it, but it wasnt turning by itself. Then again, I had air in the system, which was later bled. I havent taken off the tire, so I cant tell if it now works or not. As you probably know, after a rain, or washing your car, your rotors gets a bit rusty. I took the car for a drive, and came back with clean rotors(although still rusty on the edges), meaning that the pads had contact with the rotor, also meaning that the piston was working. But depending on how hard I brake, it feels like the car pulls to the right (I dont think its noticeable in or out of the car. I alone feel this) This could be an alignment problem or further indication that the piston isnt fuctioning all the time.

Since you already checked the caliper, I guess you did it right. I just thought I should mention to anyone else that unlike the front caliper/piston, the rear piston is threaded, therefore it rotates. You need a special tool from your autostore. If you use a set of plyers, you may be able to accomplish this, but you will probably damage the rubber bearing.

 

So should I go ahead and get a new caliper or not? After I took it apart and worked it around a bit, it seemed to run a bit cooler yesterday, didn't get as hot as before.

 

I'd try it out for awhile before buying a rebuilt caliper. But as I said before, you should buy both rears. I just went through this 6 weeks ago and believe me, don't buy just one.

 

It does seem to be doing better now, and I am going to loosen my parking cable a few turns and clean off that caliper real good and stuff like that. I will also add a dab of grease where the pads sit in the bracket w/ the hope that might help them slide away from the rotor after the pedal is released. I am going to myrtle beach this weekend, so thats why I am kinda stressin over it.

 

Free bump cause I need 15 posts to start a new thread!

 

Don't be reluctant to impart some incisive comments about this situation while you're at it.

 

Well I just took the caliper off the bracket, cleaned and regreased the pins, and cleaned where the pads sit in the bracket and added a lil grease in there. I hope that helps, if not advanced auto parts has a caliper in stock I can go buy I guess.

First a nail in my motorcycle tire and now this... WTF

 

Try some new boots on the bolts too. That helped mine.

 

about 60 a piece for a caliper. i replaced my rears about 1 1/2 months ago. Quite easy to replace yourself...just need time, patience, elbow grease, beer, and a helping hand once in awhile. good luck bud.

 

Yeah advanced auto parts has one in stock and a friend offered to help me bleed teh breaks, so I am covered there. I know this happens to every car, but it could have at least waited a few weeks.

 

Good luck! As they say, **** happens.

Don't be afraid to replace both rear calipers and pads, not just the one side. These are hydraulic brakes and your braking will not be uniform side to side.

 

yea lyke others have said just get both not just one- i had to do the same thing

 

Problem is I can't afford to do both right now. I just don't have the $$, not to mention new pads. I just put new pads on a few thousand miles ago.

 

Well maybe your pads are OK. You should buy the other caliper ASAP, when you have raised the cash.

I see you are a student. Can't you float a loan from your parents or are you in deep doodoo with them over your car already?

If you had a hole in your Nikes, would you only buy one?

 

That nike saying was good!! My dad has offered to help, but I HATE asking them for help. I just graduated this past May and only work part-time waiting tables. Part of me wants to just leave the key in it, break some glass where its parked and when its stolen keep the insurance money. This just caught me at a bad time right now. My motorcycle has a nail in its tire, I get back from europe with only 1/4 tank left in it when I left it with a full tank. Just a bit frustrated right now.

 

Who was driving your car when you were gone? Your family can't be destitute if you just got back from Europe.

I suggest swallowing some pride and getting both calipers and doing the job properly. It's not a lot of money we're talking about here and your dad would surely understand that this is a problem with your brakes.

 

I am not mad about the gas, b/c my mom was in the hospital and my sister used it. My sister drove it (which is what I am not happy about). I don't even want to go there with her.

Normally I wouldn't care about it, but I made plans to go to myrtle beach for the week leaving on Sat. Somehow I get volunteered to take MY car b/c I have 4 doors and my a/c works. Well I tell the "riding partner" that my brakes are having issues and she respsonds "OH MY GOD, I knew this was going happen! We can't take my civic b/c the air doesn't get that cold and I have a slow leak in a tire. You have all week to get it fixed!"

Sorry, just venting some

 

I think it would be cheaper for her to get HER car fixed instead.

 

WEll said my friend!!!