Hello All,

I'm having a very odd problem with my 2003 and am hoping to get some insight here. As the title says, the front driver's side tire has been getting very hot on my car lately, even after short drives. (Don't worry, I haven't been driving it since noticing this issue) I noticed that there was a lot of brake dust at that corner as well so I assumed it to be a seized caliper. I then put new calipers, rotors, and pads on the car. Took it for a drive after that and the issue persisted, so my next line item was to replace the brake lines. Surprisingly that didn't work either.

I'm at somewhat of a loss here. I initially assumed that the issue is not a wheel bearing as the car drives just fine. I don't hear any unusual noises or feel any bumpiness in the ride. Business as usual. I also assumed that the issue is not ABS as I have not gotten any ABS lights, nor have I had any weird behavior from the braking system. No fluid leaks, no computer codes, no weird noises. Just a very hot wheel when I drive it to check my work. Does anyone have any insight into what the issue might be here? Is it possible that it is in fact ABS and the computer system is too primitive to know? My next step currently is to pull the ABS fuses and take it for a short drive but I have a feeling that won't fix the problem. Any thoughts?

 

Jack the front end of the car and spin the right and left wheels by hand. Note if there is a big difference in resistance between the two.

 

Jacked the front end up and, predictably, that driver's side wheel required a LOT more force to turn. Passenger's side spun much more freely. Went as far as to disconnect the ABS fuses and the harness that runs to the ABS control module before going around the block. Again, the car drove smoothly. No odd vibrations, no noises. Even had a neighbor confirm that there were no odd noises as I was driving past the house. But the heat came back.

Is it possible for a wheel bearing to go bad and NOT give any vibrations or noises? The only symptom I can recognize is the dragging in that corner.

 

Try removing caliper (keep hose atrached), retry spin by hand. Betting its brake drag.

But all the usual brake suspects were already changed. So its going to be something unusual.

Try googling dragging brakes, and sift through all the caliper and brake hose discussions. Gonna be needle, haystack.

Just search generically, not S2k specifically. Whatever it is highly likely something that could happen to any car.

Do you still have the old pads? Any odd wear patterns? I'm thinking what if caliper mounting points got bent, so caliper cocked in relation to rotor.

If you have a digital vernier caliper, like $15 Harbor Freight, you can measure clearance between caliper and rotor at leading and trailing edges of caliper, both suspension side and wheel side. See if there is a difference forward vs rearward. Verify cocked or not. Might even be able to visually see this.

Was the caliper difficult to slide into place with the new pads in place?

 

When I installed the new calipers I did spin the wheel bearing and there was no resistance. Part of the reason I was hesitant to say wheel bearing at first.

Your suggestion about the mounting points is definitely interesting but I don’t recall any difficulties with the installation or abnormalities with the pads, just that they were very worn down. I’ll inspect when I can and report back.

Does the s2k use some kind of proportioning valve in the front? I really started to notice the issue not long after bleeding my brakes. I’m wondering if some sludge got loosened up but the fluid ran clean when I did the job. So, again, hesitant to point to that.

 

Pull the calipers off the rotors and see how the front wheels spin.