flint54 Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 So I'm tooling down the road, minding my own business, when I feel the truck start tugging to the left. Not drastic, but insistent, like a flat tire. Look out the window, tire is not flat. Jerk the wheel both ways, nothing feels loose. Starts pulling harder, so I pull over. Get out and there's smoke coming from the wheel well. Grab the extinguisher (everyone carries one - right?) just in case. Wheel is way too hot to touch. Jack up the front, loosen the lugs, and wait an hour before I can touch anything. The smoke was from the balljoint grease - that's how hot it was. Nothing obvious, except wheel, hub, caliper, and rotor hotter than hell. Cannot rotate the wheel. Pull it off. Cannot rotate the hub -even with a tire iron. Open the bleeder on the caliper and press a bit of fluid out. I can rotate the hub, with some effort. Pull off the caliper. The halves slide freely on the guide pins. Look at the knuckle where the pad lugs engage. Smooth and no "hangup" divots. I'm thinking something caused the caliper piston to stick - but why? Put it all back together and drove home without incident. Guess I gotta spring for new calipers, even though I'm gearing up for the (eventual) dual piston mod. Any other thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepNewb Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 My buddy had this issue on his old school Toyota FJ. Both front calipers siezed up and we had to take both of them apart, clean them out and reassemble. Didn't have a problem after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Probably your calipers have the phenolic (read plastic) pistons that are more prone to seizing in their bore than the metal ones. I've rebuilt calipers where the piston crumbled when you tried to remove it. If you can find them, recommend you get the calipers with metal pistons, a bit more expensive but it's worth it to me. Or rebuild 'em yourself with a kit that has metal pistons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I have had a smoking hot wheel from both sticking brakes, as well as a seized unit bearing. Once I ignored a consistent pulling to the right, 20 miles later my right front wheel came off while going 60 mph. :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Time to replace the calipers. Calipers are only $20 when you bring in the old one for core. It will lock up again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffN Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Rubber hoses can cause that also, make sure when you work on your brakes the caliper is supported and not hanging from the rubber hoses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now