1994 Dodge Caravan Drivers Side Brake Locks Up

Thank you for providing lots of good details. First eliminate the possibility of contaminated brake fluid. Inspect the rubber seals under the reservoir caps. If they are blown up and mushy, there is petroleum product in the fluid. That's a nasty repair.

Next, open the bleeder screw of the stuck caliper. You'll see a little spurt of fluid and the wheel will turn freely. You should also notice the brake pedal is higher and harder than normal. Grab a large channel lock pliers and look at the metal bracket crimped around the center of the rubber brake hose. Rust buildup inside that crimp has constricted the hose. Fluid can be forced past the crimp by the high pedal pressure, but it can't release back to the reservoir. Use the pliers to open the crimp just a little. If the hose is frayed anyplace, it should be replaced, but if it's in good shape, just fix the bracket.

Caradiodoc

No, it's not weird. Well, ok, but I'll tell you what's more weird:

I have an '89 Grand Voyager that's just sitting for the day, (that will never come), that my '88 Grand Caravan dies. Drove the '89 after it had been sitting for a year, and right away it had a real high, hard pedal, and the dragging brakes. Had my students pour over it for hours without my intervention. Gives them a real sense of accomplishment, (I didn't know what the problem was). They noticed right away that the right caliper released when they opened the bleeder screw. Eventually, that's how we found the rusted bracket I mentioned in my previous post. Peeled the crimp open just a little; no more problem.

We read about hoses becoming a check valve all the time, but never actually see one. In 16 years as a mechanic, nine at a really nice family-owned Chrysler dealership, specializing in suspension & alignment, and brakes, I never found a constricted hose once. Here's the weird part. Two weeks after finding my hose, a welding teacher came in telling me about one of her students having a brake problem he couldn't figure out. It was a Neon with the same style bracket and had the same problem. Two rusted brackets in two weeks. Two rusted brackets in 25 years! Now that's the first thing I suspect, especially living up here in Wisconsin, the road salt capital of the world!

One note though. This problem will not necessarily cause a pull. Logic would dictate otherwise if your experience is with older rear wheel drive cars, but the scrub radius, (an alignment angle) is modified on front wheel drive cars to cause a wheel to steer toward the center of the car when braking. That is done to prevent a severe brake pull when one half of the split-diagonal hydraulic system springs a leak. I would never admit that I've been driving my '88 almost every day for the last three months with an internally-leaking master cylinder. Only the right front and left rear brakes are working, and there is no hint of a pull. Not even a telltale twitch in the steering wheel. It even stops fairly well. The only symptom is the low pedal and the warning light telling me how stupid I am to keep driving.

Caradiodoc

Funny you should mention the rear heater hose. I assume you're talking about a minivan. We had a huge problem up here in cold weather. The o-ring inside the plastic quick connect fitting would shrink up and leak. Would have a green puddle by the right rear tire. The only repair approved by Chrysler for warranty repairs was to use a pair of new superceded hoses that each had TWO rubber o-rings that would shrink and leak. For vehicles out of warranty, we just threw them away and ran bulk rubber heater hose with regular clamps. That made a permanent repair.

I had a '70 Coronet once. Took the oil pan off, unbolted the busted connecting rod, put a mirror on the ground, and watched it run on seven cylinders! Body was perfect. Sorry now I hauled it to the junk yard. :(

So, notzorro. Now that we're totally off the subject, have you made progress?

Caradiodoc