Stuck Calipers....

[sapharage41653]

Could someone describe to me what exactly a frozen caliper will sound like? Will it cause vibrations in the floor, a loud grinding/moaning, what? Is there any physical evidence to look for? thanks!

 

[BlknBlue2G]

It wont sound too loud, pretty much like your brakes would normally sound. UNLESS, the rotor is chewed up which is when it will sound awful, horrible grinding noise. I think the car will pull slightly to one side with a locked caliper when moving slow with no hands on the wheel. Try to push the piston back into the caliper . If it moves then you are money.

 

[sapharage41653]

Reason I'm asking is because I have this type of noise coming from my front drivers side wheel and my caliper is locked. I can jack the car up and spin the wheel freely but it won't even rotate half a turn by itself. Thanks!

 

[blackgstspyder]

take off the caliper and see if your pads are wearing normally....i had a sticking caliper on one of my old civics and it caused the pad to wear alot faster. i just don't see how it would spin freely?¿?¿

 

[sapharage41653]

take off the caliper and see if your pads are wearing normally....i had a sticking caliper on one of my old civics and it caused the pad to wear alot faster. i just don't see how it would spin freely?¿?¿

No, all i meant was that it was hard for it to spin. I took them apart and cleaned them with some synthetic caliper grease and it seems to be alot better now. We'll see if my noise goes away.

 

[blackgstspyder]

good...see if its fixed

 

[JonathanPhelps]

if the noise does not go away, beware of possible wear bearing replacement needed. check for and metal shavings on the backside of the wheel hub.

 

[sapharage41653]

I took off the calipers and cleaned them with synthetic caliper grease. Still does the noise. Didn't at first but after awhile it started. Wheel isn't stuck anymore but noise is still there makes me think its not a caliper. It has to be a wheel bearing. When the car is jacked up and you spin the wheel it does not make this noise. Its something to do with the weight on the wheels. Has to be a wheel bearing.....?

 

[GSXanimal]

Could someone describe to me what exactly a frozen caliper will sound like? Will it cause vibrations in the floor, a loud grinding/moaning, what? Is there any physical evidence to look for? thanks!

I have had many stuck calipers on my eclipse and believe me the rim gets really hot after driving,I have replaced both front bearings also and they made a slight grinding noise when they were going bad, and when I lifted the car I could feel play in them when I grabbed the tire and wiggled it back and forth. Hope this helps

 

[blackgstspyder]

did u test the wheel bearings?

 

[sapharage41653]

Crazy solution but it worked. All wheel bearings are good. It ended up being the brake pads on the drivers side rear. The caliper was frozen and heated up the pads so bad that they cracked in several places. Those were brand new pads too! I put new pads on and viola! Noise elliminated. Now I need a new caliper.