rear wheel locked up

[Eclipse90GSX]

hey guys, as i was driving (Slowly luckily) my rear drivers side wheel locked up. i had to park in hadicap to check it out, when i backed out it spun normal. when i move forward it locks up. its just drivers side rear wheel that locks up and drags the tire. the car is in some random parking lot and i already miss it. I can't even tow it home!

brake? diff?

 

[93_GEE_ES_EX]

Sounds like the transfer case.Take it to the dealer and tell them you need a transfer case recall for your car.

 

[Eclipse90GSX]

if it was the transfer case, wouldnt it lock up all four wheels? and wouldnt it not be able to reverse fine? WTF

 

[toybreaker]

That's kind of a weird one.

Does it make noise? It's possible you caught a rock or something in between the rotor and caliper/pads/carrier. I had a rock get inbetween the carrier and the rotor and it flat stopped the left rear on my car. Of course, I was playing dukes of hazzard on a dirt road at the time, so that might not apply to you....

I would think you could do a quicky visual inspection in the parking lot. Just jack up that corner, safely, (chock BOTH front wheels, as you might have the driveline bound up, and when it releases IT WILL ROLL OFF THE JACK) and pull the offending rear wheel and give everything a look see. Hopefully, the problem will be obvious.

If it's not at the brake end of the system, you can unbolt the halfshaft and check your rear diff. It's possible you have a rear diff internal failure. If the diff is fubar, you can loosen the boot clamp on the inner cv's and remove the hardware at the outer c.v. and remove the axle, leaving the stub/cup still in the diff.

A decision can then be made on if the car can be towed home safely.

If the car has a limited slip rear diff, an internal failure/broken pieces may jam the other side as well, making for some excitement for the tower/towee...please use good judgement. A diff failure could lock up all the wheels/break the transfer case/transmission and etc...

Sometimes, a flatbed tow is the only way to safely retrieve an awd car.

PLEASE, tell us what this problem turns out to be. I'm rather curious.

EDIT, Just read knighteclipse's post, well done, I can see that as well.

 

[knighteclipse1]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=195802&highlight=rear+wheel+lockup
This is the only thing that I could come up with on this subject, I hope it gives you some insight on your problem bro'

 

[Quasimondo]

If the rear wheels locked up, then it's your transfer case. If it's already locking up, then it's already done far. You should start looking for a replacement.

 

[Eclipse90GSX]

okay here's what the caliper looks like... with the ebrake off and not pressing the brake.

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I can't move the wheel even when i jack it up... looks like caliper is stuck?

also only one wheel is locked up. the passenger side rear wheel works fine.

 

[JCMDSM]

Did the breaks creak at all when you pressed them before the wheel was locked up? Sometimes that can indicate a piston sticking inside the caliper. I would pull it off and see if the caliper sticks when you put a C clamp on it. Also compare the color of the rear rotors. If the driver side is darker or more blue than the passenger then it could very likely be a stuck caliper. If that isn't the case I would take at look at the transfer case. If it is leaking fluid through the drain plug on the bottom or if there is evidence of leakage, your transfer case could have failed. That isn't all bad because it would have to be replaced by the dealership for free . Good luck and keep us posted --Jon

 

[PSI NRG]

If its not the T-case grab a rubber mallet and give it a few cracks if its jammed up and if possible take the caliper off and lube the sliders.

 

[toybreaker]

Hey, something looks fishy with where the pads are hitting the rotor.

Is one of the caliper mounting bolts m.i.a.? There's two that mount the caliper carrier onto the rear arm.

There's also two for the sliders as well.

The pads should be hitting the rotor in the shiny area. If you look at the picture carefully, you can see where the pads are now trying to clean up the rusted area towards the center of the rotor.

Or maybe I need glasses...

 

[damnthecops]

i had the exact same problem with my 90 talon.. it ended up being my e brake cables... even though i was disengageing the e brake, the cables didn't release... and i could drive the car fine but after i got up to highway speeds the pads would heat up and expand causeing both my back wheels to lock up... you probably have a bad cable thats not letting the e brake release on the left side... it uses 1 seperate cable to each caliper

 

[Eclipse90GSX]

okay found out what the problem was. when u apply a braking force, the whole caliper swings about the top bolt and caused the pads to wear unenvenly. this caused one of the pads to wear out at an extreme angle and in due time locked up against the rotor....

upper bolt is supposed ot be a bolt or a recessed bolt??? mines a recessed bolt...i cant get to it with a socket... like this...

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[toybreaker]

I think I understand your question...

The caliper itself floats on pins that are attatched to the carrier. They are both removable, but only one unbolts from the outside.

The bottom pin has a thru bolt, that can be removed with a wrench/socket by just reaching around and unthreading it.

The caliper can now be pivoted up. The e-brake cable will resist you. Take the funky little horse shoe clip off the e-brake cable shroud.I usually pull the little booty off of the the lip on the shroud, and slide it up the cable out of the way, to prevent from vandalhosifying it. Then pull the housing towards the front of the car, out of the bracket, whilst simultaneously operating the e-brake bellcrank on the caliper to give you cable slack.

Now, you can pivot the caliper up, and slide it off the top pin. The top pin threads into the carrier. You'll understand it as soon as you see it.

I hope that helps. I can see how it could be confusing to try and figure this out in a parking lot. I would strongly recommend purchasing a chiltons/haynes manual, or maybe try and find an exploded diagram to guide you.

Good luck, and let us know what you find.

 

[GTM]

Hey, something looks fishy with where the pads are hitting the rotor.

Is one of the caliper mounting bolts m.i.a.? There's two that mount the caliper carrier onto the rear arm.

There's also two for the sliders as well.

The pads should be hitting the rotor in the shiny area. If you look at the picture carefully, you can see where the pads are now trying to clean up the rusted area towards the center of the rotor.

Or maybe I need glasses...

No glasses necessary, you spotted it also.

I agree something is going on with the caloper and bolts. It almost looks like the caliper has not been floating for the pad looks new on the outside or it was installed incorrectly. However he had a pict from the top and both pads appeared to be even with the outside diameter. ?????

The other thing that didn't look right is the bolt with the ebrake spring, is that the normal position or has it also unscrewed??

Cheers,
GTM

 

[Eclipse90GSX]

yup, the pads look normal but they werent. the inside pad was so worn out at the edge that it was bare metal and was rubbing against the rotor. the rotor had grooves in it like a record player. i'll take some pictures of it later. this uneven wera was because the whole caliper assembly was not put together right. the top bolt is incorrect.