Right rear brake sticking

greiswig · **Posted:** Sun Jan 03, 2016 9:13 pm

Hi, all, and happy 2016!

I changed rotors and pads on all four corners of my 2005 CRD this weekend, and all seemed well until I took a short trip. Right rear corner is overheating. So I tried bleeding that line in particular, and didn't get any obvious bubbles out of the fluid even after pumping probably half a pint of fluid through that line. It is still sticking. The guide pins move very freely, and the rotor doesn't seem to be sticking in the parking brake shoes.

So...my theories so far are:
1. Caliper itself sticking, and it is worse now because the piston is much farther in an before changing the pads,
2. Air in the master cylinder or somewhere else? But not sure how it got in all of a sudden. I did pull some fluid out of the reservior as I was doing the job just so that it wouldn't overflow as I pushed the calipers in.
3. Brake line failure? But if it has failed internally, how likely is it to still allow me to bleed that line easily?

Any thoughts or expertise? And if I am going to order a new line or caliper, thoughts on here to get them quickly?

Thanks!

06NHLibertyCRD · **Joined:** Sun Jan 03, 2016 11:48 am **Posts:** 34

I've had to replace both front and the right rear calipers due to sticking.

greiswig · **Posted:** Mon Jan 04, 2016 9:36 pm

Answering my own, hoping to help somebody else out.

Bought a rebuilt for $40 from O'Reilly. Installed. Bled. After watching the way that caliper retracts so easily from the rotor, I started wondering about the other calipers. So I took a short trip and used a non-contact thermometer on the rotors. The rotor with the new caliper is running completely cool now, about 20 degrees above ambient. The other rotors are all running about 20 degrees higher than that one, making me think that the other three are all sticking to a degree. 150k miles on them, so...maybe time.

papaindigo · **Posted:** Tue Jan 05, 2016 10:37 am

The plastic or phenolic (sp?) caliper pistons have a nasty habit of swelling over time and sticking in the bore commonly after a brake job

surpdlr · **Posted:** Tue Jan 05, 2016 10:38 am

For what it is worth, On my 06 at about 55k a year and a half ago during a PA state inspection my mechanic decided that the Master Cylinder was bad, due to what he thought were spongy brakes. Not feeling like an argument I let him make himself feel good and replace the master cylinder. Made him happy, and got me an inspection sticker good for another year.

A year later I noticed the left rear caliper seemed to be dragging (smelled hot when I got of the Liberty...) also noticed that the not even year old pads on the rear Axel were shot on the left side :evil:

. Replaced Pads again, and the left rear caliper. At that point, I thought I was having trouble bleeding the new caliper, since the brakes then always felt like they needed to be bled more

. Been wrenching for 35 years on OLD Military Vehicles, so I thought I knew how to bleed brakes and was more than a bit baffled by this! SO while contemplating this development I notice the right rear is dragging (Not as bad as the left) but dragging all the same. OK, if one was bad, another seems to be going bad, how are the 2 fronts (Hanging just a bit it turned out, but not enough to be obvious)? Not feeling like doing this one wheel at a time on the next 3, I put 3 new calipers on the rest of the way round, and new front Pads. Brakes bled up great, and solved ALL the issues I was having.

I would say if 1 is hanging, as you found by temp, the other 3 will not be far behind! Best to replace them ALL on your schedule, instead of their schedule!

At my next PA state inspection, I mentioned this caliper replacement to the mechanic, and he says, yup, He had to replace all 4 calipers on his sisters Gas Liberty recently, they were ALL hanging a bit also! My take on this is that it's probably not a mileage thing as much as maybe a time thing, after about 8 years (at least here in the RUST Belt), Liberty brake calipers need to be replaced. Thanks PA for all the SALT and Sodium / Magnesium Chloride on the roads in the winter or what ever is in the new pre-treat for winter road conditions, it’s a BIG help for my vehicles..... NOT!!!!

RenKJ · **Joined:** Sat Jan 24, 2015 4:45 am **Posts:** 96

Had to replace my fronts to remanned due to one side sticking from a warped piston, figured id just do both, gona be doing overhaul with hardware and ebrake on the rear this spring so hopefully they don't start dragging afterwards

flash7210 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 15, 2016 8:40 pm

I just installed new pads and discs at all four wheels.
Noticed that the passenger side rear wheel is getting really hot and smelly.
I guess it time for new rear calipers.
Can anyone reccomend a good source for caipers?

Autoanything.com has a pair or PowerStop performance calipers S4754 for $80.
Does that seem like a good deal?

buddy357 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 15, 2016 8:55 pm

Funny, I recently noticed something similar. A couple months back I changed the rear rotors and pads but didn't really drive the jeep much. I heard something in the right rear when I would drive the first couple miles during and after braking but not once it was warm. We had a lot of snow a couple weeks back and the right rear was sticking badly enough to squeal. I am waiting for warmer temps before I change the rear calipers. I guess I'll have to re-do the rear rotors and pad as well.

LibertyFever · **Posted:** Tue Feb 16, 2016 5:07 pm

Could it be possible that the Ebrake is dragging and that the problems are not with the brake calibers?

I've had a lot of issues with the Ebrake hardware seizing,
probably because I don't use it often enough.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

TURBO-DIESEL-FREAK · **Joined:** Sat Apr 17, 2010 3:29 pm **Posts:** 1167

LibertyFever wrote:

Could it be possible that the Ebrake is dragging and that the problems are not with the brake calibers?

I've had a lot of issues with the Ebrake hardware seizing,
probably because I don't use it often enough.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

It is entirely possible that the problem lies with the emergency/park brake.

Apparently, the hardware for the park brakes is held to the backing plate, and either the pins or the backing plate itself can rust out. The problem is the backing plate is the one part of the entire rear disc assembly that has to be purchased from the dealer. They sell those backing plates as an "assembly" and charge huge money for them.

I am looking to see if I can manufacture a replacement rear backing plate that would be made out of slightly heavier stainless steel. I believe I can do this very cost-effectively, and can market a better backing plate that will never rust out.

greiswig, have your rear brakes checked at an independent brake shop, and see if the problem is the rear backing plates and/or the pins that hold the parking brake hardware in place.

Right rear brake sticking

Who is online