brake caliper sticking?

[2002t4rlewis]

i just got my 02 t4r about a year ago with 67,000...it now has 94,000...i notesed that the brakes were catching in the front so i put new pads and rotors on it and now its back doing the same thing...is the brake caliper sticking?...any input would be nice..thanks..

 

[TechWrench]

i just got my 02 t4r about a year ago with 67,000...it now has 94,000...i notesed that the brakes were catching in the front so i put new pads and rotors on it and now its back doing the same thing...is the brake caliper sticking?...any input would be nice..thanks..

You will have to define what you mean by "the brakes were catching" before I, and most likely anyone else can offer an opinion.

 

[2002t4rlewis]

brakes

when i would apply the brakes...like the slower i got the worse it got..not volint...kinda like chugging...it was like it had a high spot on the break caliper..idk?

 

[TechWrench]

Re: brakes

when i would apply the brakes...like the slower i got the worse it got..not volint...kinda like chugging...it was like it had a high spot on the break caliper..idk?

What you are describing sounds like a warped rotor. Changing the pads will not solve this problem. You either have to have the rotors resurfaced so they run true, or replace the rotors with new ones.

 

[2002t4rlewis]

i changed the pads and rotors not even a year ago

 

[TechWrench]

i changed the pads and rotors not even a year ago

Though not expected, it is not unheard of for rotors to fail much sooner than one would think should be normal. If you do a search on warped rotors, you will find quite a lot of info on this. Some people seem to get good life from their front pads and rotors, and others are replacing them much sooner than what I would consider to be 'normal'. And the possible reasons for premature rotor failure depend on several different variables. Did you replace the pads and rotors with OEM, or after market? (not that I think all after market parts are necessarily bad). Do you use your brakes hard? Do you live in an area where you might get the brakes/rotors hot from use, then drive through cold water or slush which might cause a rotor to warp because of the abrupt temp change? Did the person that installed the new pads/rotors install them correctly? Did the wheels get installed using an air wrench and get over-torqued? Possibly the calipers have a frozen piston or two, which could cause the front pads to not release completely and overheat the rotors?

Since you are not the original owner, you probably don't know for sure if the pads and rotors were already changed once or more time before you got it. You indicated that you put about 24k miles on it in one year. Is that mostly highway driving, or a lot of stop 'n go in traffic. It is going to be hard to pin down the cause of the warped rotors without more information.

 

[2002t4rlewis]

brakes

mosty highway driving to my girl friends house almost every or every other day witch is a 25 mile trip one way...and i installed the pads and rotors...it wasnt my frist time doing this job...

 

[wolfgang]

Running hot brakes thought water or even washing hot brakes after a drive will warp them fast. If you don't install lug nuts in a cross pattern with a torque wrench that too will quickly warp them. Rattle guns used at gas stations will quickly warp them too. Turned rotors warp faster than new ones too.

I had an MGC with chrome wire wheels that I used to take to a quarter high pressure hose car wash to clean the wheels - at time I thought the steam coming off the rotors was cool! (Oops, mean I had a friend that used to do that!)

 

[kimboy]

you might have a frozen caliper. I had both my fronts covered under warranty. Do a search and you'll find a few threads about it.