After having a brake line replaced my calipers.

Tiny
VTCHEVY
  • MEMBER
  • 2002 CHEVROLET SILVERADO
  • 133,000 MILES
After having a brake line replaced my calipers have started to fail. The brake line on the left front was fixed and its caliper froze the next day. I replaced the caliper and the next day the left rear failed. Now the right front has frozen up and needs to be replaced. This has occurred in a weeks time with maybe 100 miles driven? What is going on with my truck?
Tuesday, March 5th, 2013 AT 5:53 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,873 POSTS
How are they failing? Are you unable to get fluid to flow from the bleeder screws? Are they sticking on and dragging?
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Tuesday, March 5th, 2013 AT 6:57 PM
Tiny
VTCHEVY
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
The calipers are sticking and dragging after just a few miles driven. Once the truck sits overnight they seem to release but quickly grab again when driven. The left side calipers are brand new yet the left rear is sticking?
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Sunday, March 17th, 2013 AT 10:18 PM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,873 POSTS
There's two common causes of calipers dragging when new ones don't solve the problem. One is a constricted rubber flex hose and the other is brake fluid contaminated with a petroleum product. When a brake locks up, park on a slight incline, shift to neutral, and put a block about six inches downhill of one of the tires so you don't have to go chasing wildly after it! Start by loosening the steel lines at the master cylinder. If that lets the brakes release, suspect contaminated brake fluid. That's pretty serious and expensive. Also check that something isn't holding the brake pedal down a little like a misadjusted brake light switch.

If they do not release, open a bleeder screw on a caliper. If that lets it release, suspect the hose. That will always affect one front wheel first or the rear pair if they're on a single hydraulic circuit. Pedal pressure will easily force brake fluid past the restriction but the fluid won't release back to the reservoir. As the dragging brake gets hot the fluid expands. That applies the brake even harder and it gets hotter.
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Thursday, March 21st, 2013 AT 1:37 AM

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