Front left brake sticking? 1986 GL Wagon 4WD 5spd. hill holder.

Hi,

Do you know the history of the car and its brake maintenance?

At 20 yrs old, if the brakes haven't been flushed on a regular basis, there will be a LOT of crud in the calipers and cylinders. So a sticky piston is hardly out of the question. Are you pretty mechanical? If so, you might want to get rebuild kits for the front calipers and rebuild them. Check, clean and lube everything involved w/ the parking brake system as well--a sticking cable could cause the same kind of drag a sticky piston would.

A "cheap and dirty" fix in the front sometimes involves simply replacing the pads: you have to screw the piston back into the caliper to create the clearance for the thicker new pads, and once in a while just that action will free a sticky piston. Consider it "temporary" though--you've really gotta get the crud out of the system to make the fix last!

At the rear, you may be able to get rebuild kits as well, but considering what cylinders have looked like on similar age cars I've played with, you could be money ahead to simply install new cylinders.

Rick

heelo, my car is 20 and fabulous. no crud, good lines, original calipers/cylinders and possibly fluid. I live in a colder area which does have its benefits. If you find the pads are good, it is the guide to let you know pads are bad, when they aren't. The scraper can dislodge/misalign and be a nuisance. One bolt out of caliper, tip it up , slide pads out and you'll see the scraper. If pads are bad there is grinding. Just squeaking is that scraper I referred to. A chiltons or haynes makes it very easy, I read once, and never have to look again. The crud would require very bad fluid and 150 degrees outside for a decade. I have never heard of such a thing. Something physics like electricity would have to be involved to turn it black like carbon..and that can come from the car itself. That is not a happy car.On a bizarre note, the electrical system likes the wheels/rotors and hubs if the fluid is black, and that goes with a dirty habit of dirty car for long periods of time. oh.. lose the hubcaps it helps, just not pretty to look at.

"Rick Courtright" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@iname.com...

Hi,

Never heard of such a thing? Stick around a while!

Just redid a "senior citizen" '88 Toyota p/u that came from a lady whose husband bought it new and drove it until he passed away--everything in the brake system was original as far as I could tell, and it had only

63k miles. But those were all "around town" miles and the brakes were worn out, front and rear. Brake fluid was jet black, rear cylinders were almost clogged, front calipers had enough crud you could spoon it out. There was a little rust in the calipers, LOTS of rust in the cylinders.

I'd say that vehicle was "pretty typical" of older stuff I've taken apart.

The contamination comes from use: brake fluid absorbs moisture which causes the rust, and brake dust works its way into the cylinders and calipers, which causes the black fluid... 'tis nothing magic.

Rick C