Brake Caliper sticking, not releasing properly causing wheel shake. What can I do? Help appreciated!

Lately when driving down the highway I been noticing a significant
amount of wheel shake. This happens about 1 or 2 times during about a
30 minute trip, lasting about 5 minutes each time. I thought it was
my bushings or tie rod, but turned out to be my brake on the left
front was not releasing properly, causing my rotor to overheat and
then warp and shake the wheel.

I heard it could be a Collapsed brake hose, or the caliper needs to be
replaced.

I looked at it myself and felt the hoses, they seem to be fine to me,
but I'm no mechanic.

Has anyone had a similar problem? What can I do to fix this?

I really don't want to buy a new caliper, they don't come cheap for
Honda's.

-- Something to add..... the other day when coming into town, from the
highway.... the first set of lights... my brake pedal sunk almost to
the floor. Could this whole problem just be air in my brake lines?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

you need to find a competent mechanic - whoever told you that stuff
about sticking brakes causing wheel shake was blowing smoke. collapsed
brake line is also utter rubbish.

1. get the wheel balanced properly.
2. check for work/damaged ball joints & bushings.
3. ensure shock is not blown.
4. service brakes using honda parts.
5. replace master cylinder - that's why the pedal is sinking.

 

The brake is sticking, I came home today and my rotor was glowing
red.. smoking... etc.
When it gets hot I suppose it warps causing intense shake... and it
worsens the longer I drive.

 

then why are you driving it???

jeepers, at the risk of sounding like a jerk, apart from this being
f-ing dangerous, the money you've wasted in excess gas consumption would
probably have paid for the repair already!

1. get the caliper fixed because it's seized. you can service the
existing caliper if it's not too badly rusted. or you can simply
replace the whole thing.
2. get the master cylinder fixed because it's leaking.

you probably also need to get pads and maybe disks replaced if they're
too worn. possibly bearing too if it's cooked.

bottom line, if you can't do this yourself, you need to find someone
competent to do it for you. stay away from the "collapsed brake line"
guy. and if you can't afford to repair the car, get rid of it. you're
a hazard to yourself, and worse, other road users.

 

This is a brand new caliper put on in January, it must have been a
junk part put on at the garage. Ever since they put them on I've
noticed some pull to one side while braking, and now the thing is
totally messed... It does slowly release, seems okay on the highway,
but in town, constantly braking, it gets jammed tight to the rotor.
Im hoping to have this fixed next week. How much labor am I looking
at? If its a pretty easy job I may try and do it myself.

 

you definitely need to know what you're doing before undertaking work
like this. at the least, go to tegger.com and buy the honda service
manual from helminc.com.

 

Calipers ought to be replaced in axle pairs. Replacing only one is a
guarantee of pulling.

A caliper sticking like that is usually due to the piston mot moving
freely in its bore.

You can check like this:
1) Remove caliper from mount bracket;
2) Hold it, or hang it up so it doesn't dangle from the hydraulic hose;
3) Have a helper step on the brake pedal while you watch the piston;
4) If car is less than five years old, pedal may be pressed to the
floor. If car is more than five years old, press pedal only as far as it
does in normal usage;
5) Piston should move out of bore about 1/16" or 1/8" or so when pedal
is pressed;
6) When pedal is released, piston should move BACK IN slightly. Not
much, but enough to notice.

If the piston does NOT move back in -- however little -- then the
caliper was badly built or the piston is gummed up/rusted.

If the piston is sticking but is not gummed up, you can lubricate the
piston with Sil-Glyde or other silicone grease. Ask me how.

 

I had the same problem. The Honda mechanic properly diagnosed the
problem as being the rack and pinion was loose. Luckily it was
adjustable, and he straightened it out. Now no more shaking. The front
left brake was engaged everytime the rack and pinion steering was
vibrating. Problem solved!

 

I've read through this thread and apart from the idea about the rack and
pinion which I have no experience with as a possible cause, I would share an
experience I had. I note in this post you've had a new caliper installed
too. This is what happened to me too. After a new caliper and rotor
installation, the brake was dragging and the wheel was getting very hot
after a drive and burned out the pads rapidly (obviously dragging) -
replaced the caliper, pads, rotor - same thing.... turned out, the mechanic
at the second garage solved it: it was indeed a collapsed hose causing it -
the first mechanic (dealer) when replacing the first caliper was lazy and
rather than letting fluid drip on the garage floor or into a can, squeezed
off the hose with vicegrips and broke the inner tubing causing a flap which
allowed fluid to flow one way when brakes were applied but acted like a
valve stopping fluid from releasing from the caliper. We could see the teeth
marks of the vice grips on the hose. Replaced the hose and everything was
fine.

 

i don't believe that. cut open some brake hose and examine its
construction - there's no mechanism by which that can happen. the
rubber can't cold-weld to itself, the reinforcement cords are fiber, not
metal - it all just springs back into shape. the only possible way to
cause an internal "flap" would be if the interior lining ruptured, and
if that happened, the hose would balloon [and quickly burst] on
hydraulic pressure, not retain pressure sufficient to lock a caliper.

i might add, i've used hose pinch-off when servicing brakes, both
commercial and private vehicles, for more than 20 years - without
problem. it's standard procedure to avoid total hydraulic fluid loss
and subsequent potential airlocks and bleeding problems. not to mention
a messy workshop. you're supposed to use a proper clamp, not vice-grips
obviously, but as i say, it's standard service procedure. among those
with professional training at any rate.

what i /have/ seen is crappy brake pads that don't fit well binding in
calipers, misassembled springs, jammed piston seals, and old calipers
with internal rust externally painted to look "reconditioned". and
plain old wrong-size pistons getting stuck. i've also seen a new
caliper /look/ like it's jammed because if only one is replaced and the
old one isn't operating properly, the new caliper is doing all the work,
hence it overheats.

 

The Master Cylinder may not be faulty.

My bet is, since his rotor is glowing red, that he's boiling the brake
fluid to the point of vaporization, and when he hits the pedal, there's no
*fluid* left in the line/caliper.

Fix/replace the caliper, and take it for a test drive.
And get new rotors and pads while yo9ur at it. No sense using something
that's been abused so badly.

 

Can you do any work yourself?
If so, raise the car on that side and put it on a stand, remove the wheel
and LOOK at the caliper. If you can't see anything, then investigate.

Unfortunately, since you don't *TELL* us what the car is, I'm guessing a
'93 Accord, just because. This procedure is good for '86-95:

http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/0d/1b/f1/0900823d800d1bf1/repairInfoPages.htm

Check out figures 3 and 4 for caliper removal. There is a bolt with a
slide at the bottom, and a pin with a slide at the top.

My bet is the slide has seized in it's bore and is locking the caliper.
I'm surprised you don't have a smoke show to boot!

If you're adventurous, you can remove the slider from the caliper (if it
hasn't *welded* itself in there by now), remove the rubber boot, get some
emery cloth and clean the rust from the bore until it slides readily but
with a small amount of resistance, grease it and put it back together.

I had the same problem with a Supra 2 years ago, and 25,000 miles later
I'm still on the same caliper...

 

Turned out to be just a pinched hose. One of the clamps which holds
the hose tight to the Shock was pinching the hose too tight,
preventing brake fluid from escaping. I replaced the brake pads and
way to go.

I still have a slight shake when braking though, this is likely from
the rotor warping a little from the intense heat when the caliper was
sticking.

 

Wow! Easy fix!

Now, just replace the rotor and you should be good!

However, I did have a rotor warp on a Celica, and for some odd reason, the
shuddering went away about 6 weeks later...

 

ok, that would be an explanation. but there's no way that's going to
happen on its own - it's pure human error. whoever last did you brake
lines was dangerously inept.

google this group for the cure.

 

unlikely to be necessary.

entirely possible - because the wheel eventually seated properly. use a
little anti-seize on the hub face and you'll cure it pretty much every time.

 

I used axle grease on that one. All I had handy at the time.

After almost bending the "frame" on a Grand Voyager last fall using
sledgehammer blows to remove one of the front wheels, you can *bet* I
anti-seize the hub faces!!!