Mercury Sable Rear Wheel Locked

MERCURY SABLE
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BEAR300T
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
My daughter just called me and she has a 90s sable. It is front wheel drive. The drivers side rear wheel is locked up, the other side spins. I had her check the emergency brake, it was ok. The only thing I can think of is the brake is possibly locked up. She lives 2 hrs away and I have my baby home sick so I cannot even go up there right now. Nobody there is very knowledgable about vehicles and I cannot get there to check it out. Any suggestions?
Nov 16, 2006 at 2:56 AM
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MERLIN2021
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
  • 17,250 POSTS
Well I need to know if it's rear disc or drum brakes?
Rear disc brakes...if you open the bleeder screw, you might be able to free the wheel, then close the screw and put a new hose on it and bleed it. To bleed it make sure while this work is done the master cylinder does not run out of fluid.Then open the bleeder screw till fluid comes out. If opening the bleeder does not free the wheel then caliper is frozen and must be changed. If it's drum brakes you need to back off the adjuster til the wheel spins free.
I don't know where in this country you could be that no one can tell her this? Brakes are the number 1 saftey device on a car...If an unqualified person does this work...It could be dissasterous...
Mar 8, 2007 at 8:24 AM

Suggested Repair

Identify whether the rear brakes are disc or drum. On disc brakes, open the bleeder to see if the wheel frees; if it does, replace the brake hose and bleed the system without letting the master cylinder run dry. If it does not free, replace the frozen caliper. On drum brakes, back off the adjuster until the wheel spins freely. Have a qualified person perform the brake work.

Conversation Summary

The owner reports a 1990s front-wheel-drive Mercury Sable with the driver-side rear wheel locked while the other side spins. The emergency brake was checked and was not applied. The expert advises identifying disc versus drum rear brakes. For discs, opening the bleeder may free the wheel, after which the hose should be replaced and the system bled; if not, the caliper is frozen and must be replaced. For drums, back off the adjuster until the wheel turns freely. Qualified brake work is recommended.

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