Today I was driving around...but not spirited or anything. I thought I smelled brakes or something, so I pulled over to take a look. My rear brakes were smoking and the entire wheel was too hot to touch.

After searching the forums, it seems that there are a few recommendations as to what needs fixed/replaced after excessive brake heating (e.g. replace rotors and pads, bleed off boiled fluid, etc.)

My question is what all do I need to be concerned about when I take the car to the dealer? I know they're going to jerk me around so I want to know what I should request they do (in addition to fixing the primary problem). Any idea if this stuff should be covered under warrantee?

 

I'd start by making sure the e-brake isn't engaged/stuck.

 

smoking rear?? i haven't seem smoking rear... it usually front brake that burns off...

check if ur abs sensor is okay. sometimes excessive heat can cause melt down.

 

I checked the e-brake right away and it was down the whole way. I worked it up and down a few times in and attempt to maybe free it up if it was stuck. It feels normal when engaging and disengaging.

After letting the brakes cool for 1/2 hour or so, I drove a short distance to see if they would start smoking again. No Smoke, but the whole wheel was still very warm. I drove the rest of the way home, using the brakes as little as possible. The wheels were still hot, but not too hot to hold my hand on.

I'll make sure the ABS sensor is checked out by the dealer.

Thanks for the advice

Anyone else have any suggestions?

 

if you know how to do your brakes, remove the rear calipers and grease the slide pins. use a high temp synthetic grease like Mobile 1 /Valvoline in the tube kinda like a caulk tube. based on several post, it seems the slide pins on the rear calipers likes to stick after awhile.

 

^^I'm guessing you're right. I already suspected that as the problem since last time I had it apart, I noticed the little rubber boots were starting to wear out and dirt and water could get inside. I just haven't gotten around to replacing the boots and greasing the pins yet.

I know it would be easy enough for me to grease the pins and all. My main question was concerning other problem areas that resulted due to the excessive heat.

I'm going to have the dealer bleed the lines and check the ABS sensors. If the dealer won't cover the pads and rotors under warrantee, is it absolutely necessary to replace them if they look and feel fine?

Thanks for all your help!

 

2slow Posted on Jul 31 2006, 07:14 PM
New grease will make it work for now but IMO you should replace the boots too asap. And check the sliding pins for wear.
Dont "go cheap" on brakes

The ABS sensor would most likely be ok, it doens hurt to test it though.

The high temp would have reached the wheel / hub bearings too.
70 C is allready way to hot to touch, but does nothing to a bearing.

 

Thanks for the advise Spitfire! I will definitely get the boots replaced and the pins well greased.

Would you say that replacing the pads and rotors is a must? ...or does it depend?

 

The easy way out for me would be : it depends.

IMO : getting hot will not destroy a rear rotor.
It could have boiled brake fluid, you are having it changed =
It may have put a "glaze" on the pads, that may wear off.
As you stated in your post it worked ok after you used the e-brake a coupe of times so it didn't get any hotter afterwards.
Depending on the thicknes of the pads one could decide to get new ones while the dealer is working on the calipers, same goes for the rotors.
Allthough rear rotors don't wear that fast, so they are most likely ok.

You mentioned you allready had the calipers apart.
Changing rotors & pads and changing brake fluid isn't a difficult job.
The same goes for changing the boots on the calipers.
Invest some $$ in a service manual.
Have a read in the stickies on top of UTH.
You could start by changing the boots and brake fluid.
Then if the braking isn't what it used to be: change pads.
The money saved by doing things yourself may buy you brand new rear rotors?

Besides : its fun, working on your car

 

I just experienced a similar problem on my 2001. I'm curious as to what resolved your problem. I was thinking that my parking brake was out of adjustment, and that was causing the rear brakes to stay engaged while driving. I was hoping to fix the problem by adjusting the parking brake to give some more slack. Any thoughts as to whether this will likely resolve my problem. I don't think that I got things so hot as to cause any damage.