front right brake locks up too early

[AlphaAssault]

The problem is this: under heavy braking, the passenger-side front tire locks up while the rest of the brakes are still allowing the tires to rotate. The first time i really noticed this was in the wet, and the uneven braking sent me into a spin! THAT was fun anyways, thats the problem; and it sounds like the problem should be pretty simple to fix. does anyone know what would cause this? I was thinking a different kind of brake pad between the front right and left wheels.

BRAKE
BRAKING​

 

[architechnik]

There may be air pockets in the other brakes as well. Have you tried bleeding your lines?
What about changing the fluid out altogether?

 

[Avionixx]

Check the rotor out on the right side and see if it looks normal (IE, looks like the left side). Had a guy wear his pads down to the rivets and ate into the rotor, but reused the rotor anyway and had similar results.

 

[Boost92awd]

I would start by bleeding the brakes. But it also sounds like it could be a seized slider.

 

[AlphaAssault]

I have never bled the brakes in this car. is it as simple as popping the brake fluid cap and pumping the brake pedal a few times, or does each brake need to be bled individually?

 

[Boost92awd]

I have never bled the brakes in this car. is it as simple as popping the brake fluid cap and pumping the brake pedal a few times, or does each brake need to be bled individually?

Dont pop the brake fluid cap and pump the brakes, its will squirt brake fluid all over your engine. You need to crakc the bleeder screw on the caliper. Yes you have to do them all seperate. Start with the passanger rear, then driver rear, then passanger front, then driver front. Go in that order. You will need two people to bleed the brakes.

 

[Avionixx]

If you can't muster up another person to help you out, I found that a piece of wood long enough to wedge between the seat and the brake pedal (while depressed) works well.

 

[djjohns55]

Sounds like the caliper is sticking replace the caliper and you should be fine.

 

[Supa Dexta]

I know on my daily driver nissan it's the same thing. Front right locks first. Always has, I just figured it was the way the weight is distributed.

 

[architechnik]

Rules to live by: try the cheapest thing first. Replacing the rotors, pads, or calipers may be inevitable, but first bleed the brakes. There is a little bleeder screw that you uncap and loosen. Place a piece of clear hose over the end and run the line into a bottle with some brake fluid in it. With the end of the hose in the fluid, it will act as a siphon, keeping the fluid moving in the right direction and keeping more air from going back into the brake lines.

You can do it by yourself if you have something to prop the bottle up and make sure that the end of the hose stays submerged in fluid. If you have a small mirror that you can prop up to make sure there aren't any more bubbles coming out, but a video camera works better. You need to keep pumping the brakes and filling the reservoir until you can't see any bubbles or in your case, it might require a full bottle of fluid being cycled through.


It may be that your calipers are not adequately greased, as well. You could try just removing the bolts and greasing them up again, so it slide evenly when the brakes are depressed. You'll pull the caliper off as if you were going to change the rotors and just put a bit of grease inside the boot. It can get pretty messy, so try to keep it away from the rotors and pads as much as possible. If you can get a big plastic syringe (like the ones to give cats and dogs liquid medication), they work quite well.