serious brake question

I seek help from the great minds of this group.

My driver side front brake and wheel is getting smoking hot

I have a 93 Chevy 2 wheel drive that needed brake stuff all around. Everything was just worn out and the MC was seeping a slight bit of fluid.

so I put the following on new:

front rotors front bearings/seals front pads rear shoes rear cylinders master cylinder

All was good after the repair except as soon as you applied the brake the steering wheel would turn to the right. It didn't do this with the old parts. I thought perhaps the caliper pistons were warped so I then replaced the calipers.

No change.

Now I've noticed that the driver front wheel is getting so hot that the grease melted out of the upper ball joint. And wheel bearing grease pops from under the bearing cover. If you spit on the wheel after a lot of braking, your spit will boil. The other side is the usual warm - not near that hot.

I popped of the rotor again and checked the bearings. Both looked good so repacked and put it back together. I just drove a very long drive w/o pressing the break and everything stayed cool. Then I went for a short drive with heavy breaking and the damn thing is about to have a nuclear meltdown.

Has anyone seen this problem before? I have got to get this fixed!!!!

Reply to
Roger Houston
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Replace the flexible brake hoses!One is acting like a check valve or "non return" valve causing that brake to stay applied after brake pedal is released.

Reply to
Rolf

I would have to agree... Had the same problem with our Suburban, but it was

*both* sides on the front. Smelled like a brake-lining factory caught on fire... Didn't really notice with the old rotors, but when I put new ones on there, it was really bad... made them blue it was so hot.. Had to tow a '69 Charger 7 hours from NC to VA with the truck like that.... Talk about a lesson in patience! Try not hitting the brakes for 14 hours... it's pretty tough! Replaced the two lines up front and haven't had any problem since..
Reply to
Celica Dude

That is what my dad suggested but I resisted since I've pumped almost a gallon of fluid through the darn thing. But having two engineering degrees I will admit that just because it flows good one way, don't mean it'll flow back the other way. I will put those on after church tomorrow (pouring down rain today) and report back to the experts for addition to the knowledge base.

After I solve the problem, should I replace any other parts due to heat? The new MC got so hot fluid seeped from the reservoir seals. And obviously the new calipers were hot. I'll definitely re-pack the bearings.

What do you think?

I would have to agree... Had the same problem with our Suburban, but it was

*both* sides on the front. Smelled like a brake-lining factory caught on fire... Didn't really notice with the old rotors, but when I put new ones on there, it was really bad... made them blue it was so hot.. Had to tow a '69 Charger 7 hours from NC to VA with the truck like that.... Talk about a lesson in patience! Try not hitting the brakes for 14 hours... it's pretty tough! Replaced the two lines up front and haven't had any problem since..
Reply to
Roger Houston

When you press the brake pedal, you are creating a whole lot of pressure in the lines. If the lines are occluded, they will open when you force fluid through them with your foot, but the caliper mainly relies on the pedal return and the runout in the disc to move the pads away from the disc. If the calipers had something that would force the fluid back at the same pressure it was forced in, or the MC was designed to pull everything back at the same pressure then this wouldn't be a problem until the lines obviously failed.

I would try just replacing the lines and see how that works at first... But definitely keep an eye on the fluid level and whatnot for a while... if the MC continues to leak from anything but the cover gasket, I would definitely replace that as well.

As for the wheel bearings... your ears and tires will let you know if you cooked them, but it sounds like you were paying attention anyway, so I wouldn't worry too much... besides, bearings shouldn't be too expensive... :oD

Reply to
Celica Dude

OK,

I put new hoses on this morning and the steering wheel no longer turns when I apply the brake. I'm going to take it for a longer spin this afternoon to see if the left side (problem side) gets any hotter than the right side. I believe it should be just fine.

Then I'll run it for a month and watch it very closely. (wiping potential leak points regularly and monitoring fluid level)

I think the MC will be ok. One time when the wheel felt like three-mile island, I measured the temp of the fluid in the reservoir an it was only 135 F.

I put new pads this morning also - the left side looked like refractory brick (LOL)

I will replace the left bearings and repack for sure. If I notice inconsistent braking between right and left over the next month, I'll consider replacing the left rotor and caliper when I go in for the re-pack. I know they were 300F or higher. Those parts are less than one of my life insurance premiums ;)

Thanks to the group for the immediate response. Now I don't have to get a rental on Monday.

When you press the brake pedal, you are creating a whole lot of pressure in the lines. If the lines are occluded, they will open when you force fluid through them with your foot, but the caliper mainly relies on the pedal return and the runout in the disc to move the pads away from the disc. If the calipers had something that would force the fluid back at the same pressure it was forced in, or the MC was designed to pull everything back at the same pressure then this wouldn't be a problem until the lines obviously failed.

I would try just replacing the lines and see how that works at first... But definitely keep an eye on the fluid level and whatnot for a while... if the MC continues to leak from anything but the cover gasket, I would definitely replace that as well.

As for the wheel bearings... your ears and tires will let you know if you cooked them, but it sounds like you were paying attention anyway, so I wouldn't worry too much... besides, bearings shouldn't be too expensive... :oD

Reply to
Roger Houston

case closed

I put new hoses on this morning and the steering wheel no longer turns when I apply the brake. I'm going to take it for a longer spin this afternoon to see if the left side (problem side) gets any hotter than the right side. I believe it should be just fine.

Then I'll run it for a month and watch it very closely. (wiping potential leak points regularly and monitoring fluid level)

I think the MC will be ok. One time when the wheel felt like three-mile island, I measured the temp of the fluid in the reservoir an it was only 135 F.

I put new pads this morning also - the left side looked like refractory brick (LOL)

I will replace the left bearings and repack for sure. If I notice inconsistent braking between right and left over the next month, I'll consider replacing the left rotor and caliper when I go in for the re-pack. I know they were 300F or higher. Those parts are less than one of my life insurance premiums ;)

Thanks to the group for the immediate response. Now I don't have to get a rental on Monday.

When you press the brake pedal, you are creating a whole lot of pressure in the lines. If the lines are occluded, they will open when you force fluid through them with your foot, but the caliper mainly relies on the pedal return and the runout in the disc to move the pads away from the disc. If the calipers had something that would force the fluid back at the same pressure it was forced in, or the MC was designed to pull everything back at the same pressure then this wouldn't be a problem until the lines obviously failed.

I would try just replacing the lines and see how that works at first... But definitely keep an eye on the fluid level and whatnot for a while... if the MC continues to leak from anything but the cover gasket, I would definitely replace that as well.

As for the wheel bearings... your ears and tires will let you know if you cooked them, but it sounds like you were paying attention anyway, so I wouldn't worry too much... besides, bearings shouldn't be too expensive... :oD

Reply to
Roger Houston

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