Rear Caliper Issue & 96 Brake Upgrade

[JRA2000TL]

Dumb question....if you do the 96 brake upgrade, is that only for the fronts or does it include the rears also? Reason I ask is that today I've figured out my right rear caliper is sticking or hanging. I'm not sure if the car has the correct year specific parts on the rear since the PO did the 96 brake upgrade. The fronts have the FN74 brackets, so they are, in fact, 96.

After reading the required parts for the upgrade, it looks like he would have had to upgrade the hub assemblies in the front. I was debating on replacing these with the wheel bearings as I've had an odd card-in-spokes noise I can't track down in the front. It can be felt in the gas pedal too.

Either way, I will need a right rear caliper. In a fit of road rage today as someone pulled in front of me with no signal, I took off hard in the car and slammed on brakes. The car dove and rotated toward the left. My brother noticed a cloud of heat/smoke from the RR wheel. Problem diagnosed. Caliper looks to be about 72 bucks. I hope I don't need to do a 4 wheel brake flush...PITA.

Oh yeah....also, my ABS light is on and they don't work. Is this because of the upgrade?

 

[sho'noffmtx]

Most people dont upgrade the rear brakes and the only one ive seen they kept the stock caliper and just replaced the rotor and made a custom braket to fit it. so ods are that its stock

 

[frosho]

The 96 upgrade is only for the fronts.

The only way I could see the upgrade causing your ABS problem is if the PO forgot to plug in the sensors, so it might be worth it to check them. I think there's a way to pull codes for the ABS too, might want to look into that.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

How do you know that you need a RR caliper and don't just need to free up, clean up, and **** the sliding pins? That's the most common reason they fail, and the first thing I'd check before buying a caliper. Worse case you might only need to spring for a new pair of slider pins and some grease, still a whole lot cheaper than a caliper.

WRT to the ABS, start by reading the ABS codes to see why the light is on.

 

[hawkeye18]

The ABS connector is right next to the EEC connector and works in much the same fashion.

 

[SHOtime2511]

when you do fix the issue i would suggest you flush the brake fluid anyway.
chances are its never been done....

 

[JRA2000TL]

Seized slider pins are a PITA! Just did rear brake pads on my brother's 03 Acura CL. One of the pins was stuck. I have no vice and no torch, so we just took a mallet and smacked the **** out of it until it moved in about 1/2cm, just enough to get the assembly back together. We still couldn't get it to move easily.

Before I tackle the rear brakes on the SHO, I take it I need to go buy a vice or a torch. Hitting it with a hammer doesn't always do the trick very well.

 

[frosho]

Do you know if anyone has replaced the rubber brake lines? They're often the cause of sticky calipers, too. There's a bracket on them that can corrode and pinch the line, causing it to hold pressure in the caliper. Easiest way to check them is to bleed the rear brakes. If the fluid comes out easy, the line is fine. If it doesn't want to bleed, or does so very slowly, you have a blockage somewhere.

 

[JRA2000TL]

Not sure. I haven't had a chance to pull the rear wheel off and look yet. I did front pads/rotors on my friend's car yesterday; then, my brother and I did rear pads on his car. By then it was too late to mess with the SHO.

I may need to loosen the bleeder screw and check the lines if that's the case.

 

[sho'noffmtx]

Seized slider pins are a PITA! Just did rear brake pads on my brother's 03 Acura CL. One of the pins was stuck. I have no vice and no torch, so we just took a mallet and smacked the **** out of it until it moved in about 1/2cm, just enough to get the assembly back together. We still couldn't get it to move easily.

Before I tackle the rear brakes on the SHO, I take it I need to go buy a vice or a torch. Hitting it with a hammer doesn't always do the trick very well.

if you just left it stuck your going to be taking it apart again very soon. the pins need to move freely or your going to smoke your new brake pads.

Yes, i couldnt live with out a torch. it doesnt need to be a super nice self igniting one but i personally recomend getting the MAPP gas. its hotter!

 

[JRA2000TL]

if you just left it stuck your going to be takingcit apart again very soon. the pins need to move freely or your going to smoke your new brake pads.

Yes, i couldnt live with out a torch. it doesnt need to be a super nice self igniting one but i personally recomend getting the MAPP gas. its hotter!

Yeah we put the cheapy $30 pads on there, so that will buy him some time. His rear pads were basically gone--97k on the original rears. I figure we'll need to take it apart again and mess with it soon. It was Sunday night, getting dark, brother's car was torn down in the garage, and he had school the next morning. He needed his car to drive and most of the parts houses were closed by then.

 

[Bob Gervais]

Yeah we put the cheapy $30 pads on there, so that will buy him some time. His rear pads were basically gone--97k on the original rears. I figure we'll need to take it apart again and mess with it soon. It was Sunday night, getting dark, brother's car was torn down in the garage, and he had school the next morning. He needed his car to drive and most of the parts houses were closed by then.

I would suggest, in your brother's case and yours if the problem turns out to be slider pins, to check on pricing for the whole caliper bracket. I've found that it's cheaper and easier in the long run to replace the bracket/slider pin assy. Rock Auto and Autozone seem to have good pricing on these.

 

[sperold]

I think Frosho is on the right track. That clip that holds the line to the body rusts and swells and wont let the fluid (pressure) back out once you force it into the rear assembly. It happened on my 90. My rear slicer was always hot after a drive before it got changed.

 

[shonuffmine]

I had the same problem with my 90,both calipers were locked up,i popped the slotted line clips off,drove 1000 back to detroit then replaced the lines!

 

[hawkeye18]

FWIW, the brake lines swelling up on the rear is a very well known and docmented problem with all taurii (TAKE THAT, FORD PR! I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY!), not just SHOs. The only real solution is either replacing them like every 30,000 miles... or getting stainless steel lines.

Personally, the latter choice is a good one for more than just swelling reasons!

 

[Shoman594]

Do you know if anyone has replaced the rubber brake lines? They're often the cause of sticky calipers, too. There's a bracket on them that can corrode and pinch the line, causing it to hold pressure in the caliper.

I wanted to quote this for effect as this is an often over looked problem on the rear brakes. It is also more widespread now.

 

[JRA2000TL]

I'm assuming if it's a rubber line, it's somewhat of a simple fix then? Not a fan of bleeding brakes as it's a 2 person job and I don't have a lift, so doing a 4 wheel brake flush is really a pain. I'll have to bleed the lines of course if I'm replacing one. I'll probably do a search and read up a bit more on the "how to" before I just go in there and start taking crap apart. I've been better about using little bags for bolts, labels, and pictures so I don't forget where stuff goes.

 

[K-Dawg]

Ok, bleeding/flushing the brakes is not hard and doesn't require a lift. If you haven't done it since you've owned the car, it should be done. I put the front of the car on jackstands when I do it.

Your ABS issue could be due to a number of things, and is probably the reason your tire locked up during your panic stop.

Your diagnosis might be off a little. I'm not convinced that your brakes are seized, given what you've said in this thread.

 

[JRA2000TL]

I pulled the wheel off, pulled the caliper bolts out...slider pins are fine and move freely. I wiggled the rubber brake hose around and unscrewed it from the caliper....doesn't seem pinched or anything, although I didn't have a helper to press the brake while I watched fluid come out. I was going to pull the whole caliper off, but decided not to mess with it today. The e-brake bracket or something with a spring is mounted on there too. I put it back together and cleaned the assembly with brake cleaner and test drove it. It's still locking up, not surprisingly since I didn't do anything other than clean it, check the pins, and wiggle the rubber hose around.

When my brother is over to help, I will unhook that line and see how the fluid comes out. Otherwise, I'm betting on a stuck caliper. Pads look good. 75% left.

 

[kumba]

Mine had a problem where the tone rings are cracked/rusted/broke teeth and it causes the ABS to go off at whacky times. If it goes off while hitting a corner I have had it lock a wheel before. I just pulled the fuse for the ABS Motor from the high-current fuse panel under the hood. It was #7 I believe. I'd verify in the owners manual or fuse box first. Was a big 20 or 30-amp fuse.

I'm personally fine driving without ABS. Just waiting for the ABS bulb to burn out in the dash.