BigDaveS2K

Hoping someone can give me some advice....

Got back from a long drive home this afternoon to find my front driver side wheel extremely hot. Obvious problem occured to be a siezed brake caliper and judging by the heat of the brakes it seemed to make sense.

Searching on here a lot of others with this problem have experienced, as you'd expect that the car will not roll freely or bizzare brake feel. My car rolls with no probs and i can't say i have noticed it under braking, it was the heat of the wheel that gave it away.

Anyone think its likely not to be the caliper?

Am going to have the caliper off to see if i can free the piston as that seems to have worked for some.

So I am pretty inexperienced as far as brakes go so be gentle.....When I push the piston back in I have read that i need to take loosen bleeder screw but do I then need to bleed the brakes afterwards?

Thanks, Dave

SeaHawk

I had a seized caliper..same symptoms though also with a grating noise.Got new discs and pads and the caliper's been freed up, though I'm told could happen again.This was a month ago.

sharksfinn

Hi i would say it seized unfortunatley, i just had the same problem my pads were getting a bit low had them changed and the dealer freed the pistons for free at the same time. You can rebuild them i think there are some photos from other members in some recent posts. It is a big problem with the car unfortunatly.

Owen_1987

after a long drive the alloy wheel will feel very hot (feel opposite wheels for comparrison) and there will be quite a strong smell of burnt brake pads.

I did a how to guide on it a few months ago so you could try finding that, although i'm sure there are other good guides on here aswell

DaveB

I had a few seized calipers early on. The fix that I performed was to take the pads out, wind the piston out as much as you dare (you'll need an X-shaped tool to do this as the piston has a grooved cross on it), I squeezed as much silicone grease as I could between the piston seal and the piston, then wound the piston fully in. I then wound the piston fully out then fully in a few times to ensure the grease lined the caliper bore until the piston wound in and out nice and smoothly. You'll probably find it's a bit tight to wind to start with but after the grease has worked it's way in, it's a lot smoother. This happen 3 years ago and since the fix then, I've had no probs at all. I didn't need to remove the piston from the car or waorry about brake fluid bleeding at all. If you go too long with the problem you're potentially risking warping the discs which will give you a feeling of "brake judder" when you brake. This is simply because only a few sections of the disc contact with pads in each revolution rather than the disc always being in full contact with the pads.

Maybe there are a few more experienced heads that have done something different but that worked for me. Hope that helps.

Owen_1987

Check the sliders are moving freely because people over look these.

If it is the caliper piston that is seized then I would completly re- build the caliper, change the seals and piston (if it's pitted).

I personally wouldn't advise doing the above as it would be a gamble because it will probably happen again.

lower

The front calipers don't wind in and out. They just push straight in and out. Its the rears that wind because of the handbrake mechanism.

punchdrunk

My driver's side front is also seized. It will free itself after vigorous braking - the problem appears after the car has been left idle for a few days or so. The car will not roll down/up a slope and the disc will be hotter than the other 3. TGM tried to fix it for me but the caliper wouldn't push in or out. The heat has also warped the disc.

I too am on the look out for a replcement.

BigDaveS2K

Thanks for the responses its much appreciated.

I think where the car rolls and this fine under braking its likely to be a bit lazy rather than siezed on. As a result I am going to give it a go in working the piston back and forth to see if that can free it up a little first.

So i can push the piston in, thats obvious however to push it out is it a case of pumping the pedal? Also the other thing that confuzzles me is if i work the piston in does that not work the fluid back up into the resevoir? I had read that doing that is bad for the ABS? I can take the bleer screw out but if i loose fluid that would mean i need to bleed the brakes??

lower

There's no problem pushing the piston back. It will push fluid back into the reservoir but it won't damage the abs.

To be honest, once they seize they are usually on their way out and need replacing or refurbing.

Your only chance is to push the piston almost all the way out, lift the dust cover on the piston and clean out any crap and muck, then push the piston back in and check that it operates smoothly.

Chances are the piston has corroded and this is why it has seized or is seizing.