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brake caliper locked up?

Crewdude007

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Bel Air, MD
I took my rig out for a spin two days ago and it appears the front drivers brake caliper locked up. The truck was pulling to the left, and there was a bad smell. When I got out to look, it was actually smoking! I haven't had a chance to take things apart yet, but is there any point in trying to salvage this part? Should I just replace it and move on? I'm pretty sure the pads are shot now, but what about the rotor? Should I replace it too?
 
common problem. Happened to my old yj and my xj. Go to the auto parts store and get a reman. caliper. They only cost like $13 each. I wouldn't worry about the pads and rotor. Check them and see if they look chewed up, though. I've never had to replace pads or rotors when calipers have locked up.
 
The hose could be eroded inside preventing fluid from flowing back as well. I would replace the hose, pads and caliper, and maybe the other side as well. You can try to reuse the rotor.
 
if you got it hot enough to be smoking and stinking, you will want to change the hose. The inner liner can very easily separate from the outter rubber and cause future caliper release problems. It may or may not have caused the initial problem, but unless you want to bleed everything again, I'd say just change it at the same time and call it good.
 
Another cause/problem with this is with old brake fluid. If you have old brake fluid, it likely has moisture in it. If you do a lot of stopping (in trafffic, on the trail maybe) this builds heat in the braking system (which is normal to a point), which transfers to your fluid. Water (moisture) in the fluid will expand when heated, thus causing the pistons to move towards the rotors and allowing even more heat build-up, which in turn will lock the brakes up completely.

It is one of the reasons mfg's recommend flushing the brake fluid every 2 years. Most vehicles have never had it done.

Of course, if you have recently flushed the fluid, it is likely a caliper/piston problem as stated. They are cheap to replace as a unit, and while youare at it, you should flush the fluid.
 
I've had this happen also....I tried to move the caliper in and out using a clamp but it just happened again. The cool thing about it was after driving on it for a few miles I could cook my dinner in the rotor.
 
Forgot to mention in my original post that this truck has a 6" lift and a rear axle swap that were both done less than a year ago. Extended brake lines were added and most of the fluid was bled out b/c of the new lines and new rear axle. Thanks all for the advice. I'm going to replace both front calipers this weekend just to be on the safe side.
 
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