front brakes

[David Clary]

So heres an odd one.

Driving from Washington State to Arizona.

Got into Oregon and my front calipers froze up.

When I stopped the smoke was just pouring off both front brakes.

Happened to be close to a Ford garage and the guys were great! Newberg Oregon ford is the best.

I am kind of confused about what happened. Its a 2001 sportrac with 36000 miles. We bought it new. As you can see we don't put on a lot of miles. We also live on the coast but the truck is always garaged. So anyway Newberg replaced both calipers. Kinda came to the thought that the problem was caused by lack of use.

Just seems odd but......could be right. Sure works fine now. Any thoughts?:banghead:

 

[RedRanger 7]

Pistons in the calipers become pitted in time, causing a tight fit in cailiper bore, and can become jammed in bore.

Also for people who remove their master cylinder caps, the brake fluid absorbs moisture out of the air and can cause brake lines to rust on the inside :fire: .



Happy Halloween :supercool: Dave up in Vancouver,B.C.

 

[Gavin Allan]

The rear calipers on my '08 Limited froze up at different times. Fortunately they were under warranty.



Seems to be a problematic design here by Ford.

 

[Richard L]

RedRanger is correct. Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air, but you don't even have to remove the cap since there is an air vent in the cap.



The moisture absorbed by the brake fluid will gradually collect at the lowest part of the brake system which happens to be the calipers (on disc brakes) and brake cylinders (on drum brakes). This moisture will start to corrode the cylinder bores of the calipers (or wheel cylinders) and can seize the pistons or prevent them from retracting.



I suspect that your 2001 Sport Trac with 36K miles is probably on the original brakes and never had the brake fluid flushed. Your occasional driving was just enough to get the moisture in the brake fluid past the master cylinder and down to the calipers.



I always recommend that you flush your old brake fluid every 2-3 years or with every brake job....whichever comes first. Now you know why.



....Rich

 

[John Zuber]

We recently had an issue with our Chrysler minivan. Driving in the mountains I ended up using my brakes more than I should. When we stopped for gas I could tell that both front wheels were hot..but they seemed ok. Getting back on the roadway one of the front calipers stuck in the "brake" position. I think the piston got too hot, and unfortunately it got stuck as I was using the brakes. When I realized I had a problem, I was able to cool the wheel down and the piston released itself and all was well. I rebulit both calipers after returning home from vacation.



And by the way, the pistons are not steel, but some sort of plastic material. The cylinder bores were very clean with no rust, and the seals looked ok, even with the heat. I flush fluid every few years, so I was highly surprised when this problem occured. Looking at the Chrysler forum, I see lots of posts concerning this issue, which may be related to having non-metal pistons.

 

[Richard L]

John Z,

The fact that you flushed the fluid every few years is why the caliper bores where clean and smooth. I suspect that itybitybob has not flushed the fluid in the 10+ years and 36K miles, and he is running the same old fluid...which has got to be pretty gross by now.



I suspect that in your case, the sticking calipers may have been excess heat causing the calipers to stick on on the slide pins and not, because of the pistons sticking. The plastic used in caliper pistons does not react or expand to heat as much as steel/cast iron...and if anything, the caliper bore would have expanded and made the piston move easier?



...Rich

 

[John Zuber]

I suspect that in your case, the sticking calipers may have been excess heat causing the calipers to stick on on the slide pins and not, because of the pistons sticking. The plastic used in caliper pistons does not react or expand to heat as much as steel/cast iron...and if anything, the caliper bore would have expanded and made the piston move easier?

Well, I wish I knew what really happened. The slide pins were perfectly clean and all had excellent lub. Of course I cleaned each one and used the caliper hi-temp grease. I still think it was a piston/bore issue rather than slide pins...and I'm hoping I never encounter it again.

 

[Wes Davis]

Man that is a low mileage Sport Trac for the year!

 

[Richard L]

John Z,

I don't know what to tell you what the problem was with your brakes without examining them myself.



I had a Dodge mini-van myself and know they were prone to sticking calipers...In fact that was the first vehicle I had so much problems with the brakes. That's when I always bought rebuilt calipers every time it needed a brake job. I could get the rebuilt calipers for $19.99 and they came with a 50K mile warranty. At about 40K-45K miles I would take them back and get a new set of rebuilt calipers at no charge, and new pads to do another brake job..:grin:. I think Chrysler had some real problems with the brakes on the early mini-vans (mine was a 1986 model) and perhaps it still continues in the new models???



...Rich