Brake lines or calipers??

Hey guys, the other day I was heading out to go fishing, and about 45 min into my trip my left front brake locked up and started smoking. I let it cool for about 10 min. I crawled under and used my fishing pliers and grabbed the inside pad and saw very slight wiggle. I then grabbed the wheel and was able to rock the jeep, indicating the caliper/brake freed up. I turned around and went home. On my way home the steering pulled left every time when I finished braking and it slowly went away as I drove it. It did this for almost the whole trip home. Then, my right brake started to do the same pulling thing halfway through my trip home. When I got home the right brakes were hot as hell. Sizzling and crackling, just like the left. I pulled the brakes down today when I got time, and I used a pair of large channel locks to compress the piston calipers. They were very tight. I held pressure on the caliper piston with the channel locks and cracked the bleeders. They compressed easier and pushed fluid out. What's going on here? Locking up calipers when heated up? Bad brake lines (which are steel braided and new)? It's a 95 xj. Prob original calipers too.


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I'd bet it's the calipers. I had the same thing happen to me
last year on my 96. Both sides got hot and the driver's side
smoked like there was a fire. New calipers fixed it.

If you install new calipers, install new caliper hoses also.

Has braided stainless lines on already. Less than a year old


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This happened to my sister one time. Just brakes filled the master cylinder with atf and every time it got hot the calipers locked up.

Afireinside said:

This happened to my sister one time. Just brakes filled the master cylinder with atf and every time it got hot the calipers locked up.

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Yeah, not sure how well the seals in a brake system will react to ATF. I've actually heard of this as a shady car lot trick to get the seals in the master cylinder to swell so the brakes work, at least until the calipers start locking up from those seals swelling.