Front driver side brake sticking - what's the cause?

breadbin

The front drivers side brake started sticking this week. I first noticed a loud drone when i drove at around 55mph. Didn't happen all the time but then it gradually got worse. Loud humming started then at lower speeds and when i stopped the car the brake was always red hot and the smell of brake pad burning was mental.

I remember when i changed the brake pads in august I noticed the piston in the caliper was very tight and I nearly broke a good strong C clamp trying to push it back in. I thought at the time I might have to strip it and clean the piston. but i didn't. Got through the NCT fine and has been fine until now.

What I did today though was just take out the brake pads and cleaned all round them and the piston went up a bit easier to be honest. I put the brake pads back in, pumped the pedal and it seems to be ok now. Just wondering what it could be? Do i need new rotors? I got new brake pads in case. It might be a good idea to change the rotors too. They look a bit worse for wear.

Bruthal

Happened on my crv 2 months ago. Exact same thing. I got a tool for pushing back the caliper piston and pushed it right back, then pumped out again with brake pedal, repeated about 10 times. No trouble since.

I put a clear tube on the bleed screw and loosened it for pushing back the piston. Let some fluid into tube. Stops air going into caliper. Tighten again for pushing out with brake pedal.

TOEJOE

Isn't tHere a special lube for the rubber bushes and cylinder when you put them in.

breadbin

i got the special lube for the piston. tub cost 28 quid! the guy in the shop said not to buy it cos i'd only use it once and it wasn't really worth it but i got it anyway just to do it. After watching on youtube i might try Bruthals way first of pushing it in and out to loosen it! although i'd say i'll have to take the piston out sooner than later. it's definitely the piston then do ye think?

rex-x

4 things will make the brakes stick:

1: the piston or seal is damaged, new caliper required, cleaning up etc is only a temp fix
2: the slide pins are stuck. very very common when people us copper grease on them
3: The pads are binding. its very rare to get a set of pads out of the box that don't need filing to move freely in the caliper, if they take any pressure to fit into the carrier then they are too tight! this is probably the most common reason for brake binding, people doing brakes themselves but not really having the experience needed to know what "too tight" is
4: the rubber brake pipe has collapsed inside

breadbin

rex-x wrote: »

4 things will make the brakes stick:

1: the piston or seal is damaged, new caliper required, cleaning up etc is only a temp fix
2: the slide pins are stuck. very very common when people us copper grease on them
3: The pads are binding. its very rare to get a set of pads out of the box that don't need filing to move freely in the caliper, if they take any pressure to fit into the carrier then they are too tight! this is probably the most common reason for brake binding, people doing brakes themselves but not really having the experience needed to know what "too tight" is
4: the rubber brake pipe has collapsed inside

Thanks all. I decided to bring it to a mechanic because I needed the car today. Turns out it was the piston and had a bit of rust and crap on it so needed to be cleaned with wire brush. 40 quid I thought was fair enough. Took him about an hour. He was shocked I was driving on it. Suppose it was a bit stupid. But yeah nothing too hard to manage myself if I had to do it again.

rex-x

breadbin wrote: »

Thanks all. I decided to bring it to a mechanic because I needed the car today. Turns out it was the piston and had a bit of rust and crap on it so needed to be cleaned with wire brush. 40 quid I thought was fair enough. Took him about an hour. He was shocked I was driving on it. Suppose it was a bit stupid. But yeah nothing too hard to manage myself if I had to do it again.

That is nothing but a temporary bodge, it will stick again in the not to distant future

breadbin

rex-x wrote: »

That is nothing but a temporary bodge, it will stick again in the not to distant future

so i should replace the caliper? might be a nice job to get my hands dirty!

dooroy

Would agree with rex-x , this is only a temporary repair.
If the surface of the piston is not pit/rust free (nice and shiny all round) then it will stick again - and it could leave you stuck somewhere ; you press the brake and the piston fails to retract.
You can get new pistons and seals for a lot of calipers ; secondhand ones may not be much better than what you have

CianRyan

If you rebuild the calliper with a new seal it should be alright, it is easier to buy a reconditioned calliper with a surcharge on the old one though, 20 minute job to change it.
I'd recommend replacing your rotors and pads as they've taken a lot of abuse, as has your brake fluid.

While you're at it, have a good look at the rubber seal on the opposite side.


Edit: you sure the drone was your brakes? How is it now that it's not sticking?

greasepalm

sticking brakes can be seen as brake disc overheats and goes red and differs from other side,many a time i have popped piston out of caliper and cleaned out crap under and around where seal fits sometimes using a file or emery paper.
piston if just dirty will be cleaned with my very fine emery board or wet and dry,severe rust or pitting it will be a replacement one as usually the dust cover has perished or holed.
i then wash the rubber seal in hot water using my thumb nail to remove any hard bits and rubber is flexible again,rubber grease and new brake fluid used to push with 2 thumbs to push piston back in with ease then you know it wont stick.

dooroy

What I like about the kits is that you get a new seal , piston and dust seal etc .
If the brake has overheated then its likely that the rubber seal has been affected - hardened etc ; if the piston has any ,even slight , pits they will continue to get worse (and may already have damaged the seal) ; if the dust seal has been damaged then its no longer able to protect the piston .
So you could spend some time cleaning up things etc for a short term fix - if you replace the seal , piston , dust cover etc you have a long term fix .
Fitting some of the kits can be a bit fiddly (dust covers etc) and of course the slot for the seal must be fully cleaned out etc.