Rear brake calipers siezed?
11-13-2009, 07:54 PM
#1
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Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 164
Rear brake calipers siezed?
To start off since I've owned the car my e-brake has barely ever worked. Today I was driving and noticed that it felt like there was some drag like the breaks were stuck or I was pulling a boat lol. As day progressed I began to smell burning breaks, everyone knows that smell
. Anyway I get out and see my rotors are glowing orange like an F1 car! At this point I know somthing is wrong with the calipers. The e-brake feels disconnected now. No pressure whatsoever. Should I rebuild them or buy remanufactured ones? Thanks guys!
. Anyway I get out and see my rotors are glowing orange like an F1 car! At this point I know somthing is wrong with the calipers. The e-brake feels disconnected now. No pressure whatsoever. Should I rebuild them or buy remanufactured ones? Thanks guys!
11-14-2009, 05:31 AM
#3
I bought remaned Pro-Stop calipers for my 4th gen in the rear. Same thing happened to me with the original caliper seizing, and the rear brake dragging. The reman caliper was a nissan part, just with new hardware. I've been happy with my decision so far.
11-14-2009, 06:10 AM
#4
Rebuilding rear calipers can be difficult due to the parking brake mechanism. Examine the exploded parts diagram from the service manual before you undertake rebuilding. New (or reman) calipers are the easy button solution which I always favor.
11-14-2009, 09:08 AM
#5
This happend on my 5.5 gen a few months ago on the driver side rear. Fortunately i have D/S rotors and smelled the smoke at a stoplight before things got really nasty such as warping rotors or even worse burning off the wheel bearing grease and freezing the wheel. I bought a new one at advance autoparts and gave them my old one for a discount.
Its a common problem with the maxima according to a mechanic friend of mine. Shouldnt matter what you replace it with, but now would be a good time to consider a BBK or some new rotors?
Its a common problem with the maxima according to a mechanic friend of mine. Shouldnt matter what you replace it with, but now would be a good time to consider a BBK or some new rotors?
11-14-2009, 10:37 AM
#6
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Before you replace them, it may just be the parking break mechanism hanging up. Take the wheel off and move the parking break mechanism back and forth by hand and lube it with some WD-40 or some white lithium grease. Work it back and forth after lubricating. It may fix you problem and save you some $$.
11-14-2009, 04:17 PM
#7
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Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 164
Before you replace them, it may just be the parking break mechanism hanging up. Take the wheel off and move the parking break mechanism back and forth by hand and lube it with some WD-40 or some white lithium grease. Work it back and forth after lubricating. It may fix you problem and save you some $$.
11-15-2009, 08:04 PM
#8
Whichever option you go with, make sure you lubricate well. Last time I did my brakes, the bottom sliding pins on 3 out of 4 of my calipers seemed seized. Only the one that had the caliper replaced recently was fine.
11-16-2009, 07:20 PM
#12
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Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 164
alright guys thanks for the help you were right the mechanism was hung up but the weird thing is the drivers side cable does not move very much probably cause the part with he spring on it is sized. Gonna bleed the brakes also.
11-17-2009, 08:18 PM
#17
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Montreal
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A couple of weeks ago I cleaned and relubed the 4 calipers. I am always surprised about the rear wheels calipers pins being always seized everytime I service them. The last time I lubed them was only 12 months ago, yet, they seized in that short period of time. I must have caught them early, because the rear rotors had a good appereance, no rust.
This time the pins were very hard to pull out, I had to remove the caliper brackets, take the brackets on the bench, and clamp in the vise to remove the pins.
Upon re-assembly, I removed the small plastic sleeves in both pins (can't remember if upper or lower pin). This plastic sleeve was making it difficult to reinsert the pins into the caliper. Now the caliper pins have much free play without the plastic sleeve, maybe it will prevent future seizing. I used coopper antiseize grease as pin lubricant as a trial. Before I was using the green caliper grease. I also gently filed the brake pad stubs that go in the pad retainer clips, to make them move freely and have them apply normal pressure on the rotors when braking.
I know cars with rear disc brakes have a tendency to have the rear calipers seize, but it seems my Maxima experience is frequent seizing. I live in a rust country, that does not help it.
This time the pins were very hard to pull out, I had to remove the caliper brackets, take the brackets on the bench, and clamp in the vise to remove the pins.
Upon re-assembly, I removed the small plastic sleeves in both pins (can't remember if upper or lower pin). This plastic sleeve was making it difficult to reinsert the pins into the caliper. Now the caliper pins have much free play without the plastic sleeve, maybe it will prevent future seizing. I used coopper antiseize grease as pin lubricant as a trial. Before I was using the green caliper grease. I also gently filed the brake pad stubs that go in the pad retainer clips, to make them move freely and have them apply normal pressure on the rotors when braking.
I know cars with rear disc brakes have a tendency to have the rear calipers seize, but it seems my Maxima experience is frequent seizing. I live in a rust country, that does not help it.
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