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Some questions about brakes and other things.
Topic Started: Apr 29 2015, 09:50 PM (579 Views)
dayle1960
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Fastest Hampster EVER

So this morning while going to work I noticed my brakes were dragging a bit. Rolled down the window and heard the familiar sound of rotors and pads making a rump, rump, rump sound. So after work I went to my local Oreillys for some rotors and pads. Got the rotors, $20 each :banghead but they didn't have the pads. :banghead Drove down to Autozone and they had what I needed.

So I started to pull the tires off and came to the drivers rear and got the lugs off. The tire did not budge. :O I figured a light tap with a 16# sledge hammer would solve that problem. I hit the rim a couple of times and nothing happened. :ermm: I got a better grip on the sledge and whacked it good. Nada. So now I'm getting tired of this and put some real effort behind the sledge. About ten licks later nothing happens. The wheel is seized to the hub. Got out the PB blaster and squirted the spindle area and then smacked it again with the sledge. About ten times and the tire finally releases from the hub.

Is this normal? The hub was very rusty and the spindle area looked like it seized to the rim. I've never seen that but the only thing which comes to mind was if I had driven the car in a salt bath for a year. Terrible rust, and around here we don't use too much salt on our roads during the winter. Just for a couple of weeks per year. This is a head scratcher for sure.

Next, while pulling the calipers I noticed the pins which are covered by a rubber sleeve. Is there a spring which goes inside of the sleeve and around the pin so the caliper can release to an open state? Seems that either I did the install of the brake system wrong or I missed a part. Do the rubber sleeves act as the spring to keep the pads off of the rotor?

I took a quick trip around the block to test my handiwork and noticed that the pedal went to the floor very easily. I then stomped on the brakes and they seemed....mushy. These tests were done at about 10mph. Kinda like there was air in the lines. But I know I bled all of the air out of the lines. What could have I missed?

Thanks for your input. :cheers
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RONNIEREDLINE
METRO MAD MAN

hey dale
sometimes when you have a sticking caliper, check the brake hoses themselves, the hoses are a 2 layer system for safety, the inner layer collpases and acts as a check valve so that the fluid can go to the caliper, but it cant release, so it makes your caliper drag. i knew this and still forgot about it, and had to do it twice on my pass side, because of a bad hose.

another thing, no matter what car it is, if you can take off the rotor after removing the caliper, and you dont have to remove a center nut holding the caliper, then you have to torque the wheels by spec, other wise it will warp your rotors . (floating rotors.)

there is no spring i am aware off inside the sliders of the calipers around the slide pins, the piston slides back out to release the rotor, but it slides a little bit, you cant hardly see it. no springs in any of them ive ever seen, in most cars. make sure there good and lubed up and a good boot keeps it sealed off from water, salt etc... the boots in no way act like a spring, they just seal.

as for the sticking wheels to the drums or rotors, yes ive had this happen to me on my metro, after a few bumps with a 5 plb sledge it comes off, but im hitting it from the inside of the wheel, all i can say is sand the inner hole to your wheels and also sand the outside diameter of the drum or rotor area.
if you do it by hand you shouldnt hurt it, just make it slide on and off easily.

a mushy pedal means air in the lines being compressed when hitting the brake pedal, no air, harder pedal.

hope i helped.
redline
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RONNIEREDLINE
METRO MAD MAN

get a one man brake bleeder system there a cheap cup that doesnt let air in when you push the brake, you get air in them when letting off the pedal to go tighten the bleeder, put enough in the bottom of the cup before you begin, this way the air comes out when going in, but the air floats to the top and sucks back in fluid, you will see when you get the kit, there cheap, like 10 bucks or so, keeps from having to call the wife to pump the brakes for ya, also try gravity bleeding them, ive opened the bleeder and just let it drain till no more air bubbles, works most of the time but not all, ive done it alot and it worked most of the time.
when gravity bleeding keep the master cylinder full, watch it at all times, keep the cap off so it doesnt form a vaccuum inside the master cylinder and prevent easy flow of the fluid.
trying to help
redline
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Old Man


With that much rust hanging around, did you take the rear brake mechanism apart, clean, paint, and re install? Any new parts in the rear?

Sounds like the automatic adjusters have rusted up and quit working??
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RONNIEREDLINE
METRO MAD MAN

another good idea is to you anti seize on the inner part of the hub and the inner radius of the wheel.
don't get anti seize on the threads of the lug nuts, but putting anti seize on the 2 parts of the wheel that mate together it solves the problem of the wheel sticking to the drums/brakes etc..
worked for me and no other problems .
just letting ya know
redline
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