New left-rear caliper sticking

[92ShoOff]

So after getting my entire suspension and everything back together last week I took the car out for a drive and found that my left rear caliper was sticking pretty badly. I remembered that I had rotated the linkage on that caliper to release the parking brake cable AFTER I had removed the caliper from the rotor. So I figured that what I did was equivalent to depressing the brake pedal with the caliper off and went and got a new caliper since my other one was still under warranty.

Well I took the car back out after installing the new caliper and it was still sticking... but just not as bad as the old one was before. I had to have the car aligned and ready for a 450 mile roundtrip drive so I decided to let the mechanic who was going to do the alignment figure it out. Well on the way to the shop the caliper didn't even heat up at all. Before you could smell the material and feel the heat coming off the wheel. The shop wanted way too much money to figure out my issue, but they suggested that this was happening because I ran my parking brake cable UNDER my control arms instead of over them. So I got the car home today and brought the cable up over the control arms. Before I drove the car I tested the parking brake pedal and it was no longer stiff like it had been before. It was feeling the way it normally did prior to the caliper issue so I took it for another drive.

The caliper is STILL sticking a little and I can't figure out what the issue is. After getting the car back in the garage I tested the parking brake pedal again and it was back to being really stiff and not seeming to have any slack. Does anyone have any idea what I'm doing wrong here or what the problem sounds like? I do not have the rear proportioning valve attached to the new control arms because the mechanic that did my alignment suggested that I just leave it how it is because it's not applying any pressure with it just sitting there. Could that be the issue? Thanks guys!

-Andrew

 

[Mr Anonymous]

You could have a collapsed brake line going to that caliper. How easy (or difficult) was it to bleed the line with the new caliper?

 

[Denny]

I'm thinking collapsed line as well. Did any fluid come out when you replaced the caliper?

 

[92ShoOff]

Okay well this was my first time attempting to bleed the brakes on my own so I'm not sure if I did it correctly, but when the pedal was down and I opened the bleeder nothing came out. I tried several times and nothing at all. Crap I wonder which line is collapsed then. Any ideas fellas?

Thanks for you help!

 

[Denny]

Yup, line has collapsed or caliper is bad. If you remove the hose from the caliper and nothing comes out, bad hose, bad :hpoop:

 

[92ShoOff]

Hmmm... well actually I'm pretty sure fluid was coming out of the line when I took the line off the old caliper to install the new one. After I elevated the fitting at the end and the fluid stopped dripping I went to put it back on the new caliper and fluid still came out of the line. Maybe I just did something wrong when I was attempting to bleed it. Well I guess I'll have to inspect that line from front to back to see if it's kinked or something tomorrow. I'll let you guys know if I figure it out. I really appreciate your help with this issue man.

 

[38SHO]

Id replace both lines, maybe even think about Stainless steel bake lines for all 4 corners.......


As a good rule of thumb if you ever get a locked caliper replace atleast that brake line.

you really need two people to bleed the brakes. after installing them you should open the bleeders til fluid comes out. YOu need to have your brake resavoir lid open and keep fluid in it, its important that it never runs out of fluid. Now I would bleed each wheel on the axel your working on.

YOu need one person on the pedal and one person on the bleeder. Have the bleeder person tell you to hit the brakes. At that time press down half an inch on the pedal. the bleeder will open it up and let fluid squirt out then quickly shut it and inform you its closed so you can release the brake. When he opens the bleeder the pedal will get real soft so don't let it hit the floor board. he should only keep the bleeder open for a second or two. An open end wrench works good on this job. Do atleast each caliper 3 times, more if you don't like the way the pedal is feeling, remeber to keep checking the fluid in the resavoir.

 

[Gadamski]

Id replace both lines, maybe even think about Stainless steel bake lines for all 4 corners.......


As a good rule of thumb if you ever get a locked caliper replace atleast that brake line.

Hey there Folks... Noobie here, I just picked up my '89 SHO, 63K miles, for a song, but it has a few minor issues. One of them was a sticking left rear caliper. I also replaced the caliper, bled the brakes with my son (Budding Jr mechanic that he is) and got plenty of fluid out. I am not familiar enough with the system yet, but for the life of me I can't figure out why my left rear is also hanging, although very very slightly. I'm suspecting the E-brake cable, as I will get a metallic (cold brake-like quiet Scraaaaaaaaaaaaaaape) when hanging a quick left. I don't mean to say it is loud, but there is a soft noise to it that is not consistant with the new caliper and rotor. The bearings are good also. If a brake line was crushed, in my case at least, I'd think the bleeding process would have been almost impossible, and that wouldn't explain the incremental activation when turning, or would it??? Any help?????
I've more questions, but I'll try to plug them into the appropriate sections. Thanks! G

 

[92ShoOff]

Hey guys. I did some inspecting today and found out that after engaging and releasing the parking brake the linkage on that driver's side caliper is not releasing all the way. What's evidently happening is the brake line is hanging up (possibly in the conduit) when I disengage the brake and is not letting all the slack out so the parking brake linkage on the caliper can fully return. The linkage has no problem returning with the cable disconnected so that's definitely not the problem.

Also, to my luck my brake (fluid) lines are fine. I guess I just wasn't opening the bleeder valve enough that day because I got plenty of fluid out of it today. Anyhow, I plan on ordering a new cable from Advance Auto tomorrow hoping that that will take care of my problem. But looking underneath the car it seems as if the left rear cable is one piece from the pedal all the way to the caliper. Is that so?? Is the cable tough to change out on the front section of whatever it connects to (ie: the parking brake pedal itself)??

Thanks,
Andrew

 

[92ShoOff]

Gadamski, welcome to the forum! If you haven't already learned, the people on this forum will have answers to almost ANY question you can come up with. This really is a great community and I hope you like it as much as the rest of us do! So did you figure out YOUR brake issue yet? You might want to try what I was trying and have someone step on the parking brake pedal and release it and then see if you can return the parking brake linkage on the caliper any further that it will return on its own. You may very well coincidentally have the same issue as me, which seems to be a defective brake cable. Keep us updated!

Thanks,
Andrew

 

[Denny]

Aha, yeah those cables were originally what killed my rears. There are three separate cables, one for each rear brake, and the longer one that goes from the footbrake to the rear. I have yet to fix them, I'm still unsure how that big main cable works, even though I've found my car in a different parking spot on two separate occasions because I don't have a working e-brake.

 

[Ishodu]

I just finished replacing all 3 of mine. There are 3 a front, a left rear and a right rear. The front goes though the floor and just under the drivers door it connects to the left rear cable, now this cables is also attached to a bracket that connects the right rear to it. The right rear is the one with the threads and adjustment. This is all from my very short memory so I could have mixed something up.
You may want to remove the cable and see if you can rotate that arm for the parking brake on the caliper and see if it releases with out the cable on it.

 

[Gadamski]

Gadamski, welcome to the forum! If you haven't already learned, the people on this forum will have answers to almost ANY question you can come up with. This really is a great community and I hope you like it as much as the rest of us do! So did you figure out YOUR brake issue yet? You might want to try what I was trying and have someone step on the parking brake pedal and release it and then see if you can return the parking brake linkage on the caliper any further that it will return on its own. You may very well coincidentally have the same issue as me, which seems to be a defective brake cable. Keep us updated!

Thanks,
Andrew

Andrew and all the others, thanks for the welcome. I'll dig into her rear Sunday (Huh??, that didn't sound right did it??? ) and post what I find. I rarely apply the e-brake, especially during winter freeze sessions (Wife cooked my Ranger rear with a frozen E-brake 3 winters ago) but I have been guilty of setting the brake while I warm up the "new to me" SHO, mainly due to the large amount of mosquito repelling smoke I'd discharge from the valve guide seals when it's cold and then driven/revved.... I'm learning!

 

[AREA 91]

I'll dig into her rear Sunday (Huh??, that didn't sound right did it??? )