I need some advice about funky brakes. I've been driving my car all year
with silicone brake fluid (don't throw things!). Last winter I had put new
parts
everywhere (pipes, hoses master cylinder, wheel cylinders, pads front and
back) everything was replaced except the front calipers which were inspected
prior to the change from castrol, and everything looked like new. The car is
my
daily driver, and I've driven thousands of miles this year without a hitch. In
the last couple of hundred miles, I've noticed that occasionally, the right
front caliper would stick after it got hot. The problem always resolved
spontaneously after a few minutes of rest. I was doing some fast freeway
driving
this weekend, and after some heavy sustained braking, I smelled hot brakes.,
and
noticed that the pedal was rock hard. The pedal has occasionally been pretty
hard in the past, which I've been attributing to a slowly failing booster.
Anyway I pulled off an exit ramp, and after stopping at a light, found that I
could barely move the car. Fortunately, I landed very near a great shop who
let me use their lift. When I got the car up in the air, I found that both
front calipers were completely stuck, I couldn't budge the wheels, and the
right
pad was virtually gone. The owner shook his head in a "we see this all the
time" sort of way when he saw the pink stuff in the master cylinder, and
advised
that I change the silicone out for LMA. I couldn't see how this could help,
but realizing I was 200 miles from home, I was desperate to try something.
When I left the shop the pedal felt great, and I had great brakes. Two miles
down the road the brakes locked up again. Fortunately, I was able to get back
on the highway, and once everything loosened back up and I made it home without
having to use the brakes much. Needless to say, the car is up on blocks
waiting for me to sort this out. Any ideas what is going on? I expect I'll
have to rebuild the calipers, and would appreciate any tips. I can't find much
tech info. on the subject (now that Buckeye is gone). TRF wants $350 for a
pair of rebuilt calipers with stainless pistons. Apple wants $230 with OEM
parts. This seems incredibly expensive. I'd like to do this myself if
possible.
Any detectives out there? Here I go dumping more money. I'm glad I told my
wife not to get me anything for christmas except a TRF gift certificate!
Merry Christmas
Joe Davis
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