Left front caliper not releasing?

[diablo2184]

Hello again everyone,

i am having an issue with my front left caliper. Seems like the pistons are still holding pressure against the pads. when i come back from driving, you can hear the rotors ticking from being so hot. so today i bled that line and then removed the caliper to compress the pistons. the lower pistons went back in fairly smooth, but the upper piston took quite some muscle to get it to budge. once it broke free, it went all the way back in. i put the caliper back on and pressed the brakes. after i released the pedal, i could not spin the rotor.

is this a bad brake hose or caliper?

also, when i drove the truck last, the pedal started to go all the way to the floor as i was braking. the truck would stop slowly, but the pedal was down to the ground.......bad master cylinder? would that also cause the front left brake to not release?

thanks

 

[Zack2003]

Mine did that last week and it was a bad caliper


EDIT. not the going to the floor thing the caliper not wanting to compress

 

[diablo2184]

yeah im thinking the pedal issue is the master, but i want to figure out what the caliper issue is as well so i can purchase everything all at once.

thanks for replying

 

[Zack2003]

It's a freaky feeling when you're breaks go to the floor my grand cherokee did that about a month ago and it was a bad master cylinder

 

[diablo2184]

but i would like to know what are the symptoms of a bad hose versus a bad caliper?

 

[littleblazer]

A failing hose will make the pedal soft, as in you feel like its not doing anything when you press it, but you still stop. a failing caliper will leak and may not work at all I believe.

 

[diablo2184]

i mean for the sticking caliper.....

should i replace the hose? should i get a caliper repair kit and change the o-ring and caliper dust boot or is that a waste of time and money? just go for a reman caliper? I've never had this issue with any other vehicle before...

 

[littleblazer]

Oh, your choice, I have no expirence woth replacing calipers, but if you replace the caliper, it's not a bad idea to replace the hose with the caliper.

 

[diablo2184]

has anyone rebuilt a caliper? can i maybe lube the piston or clean it out and maybe that will help it retract?

 

[Mounce]

If you're bored and have thirty minutes to kill:

http://youtu.be/I4FzXGrSrmU

I thought that was a pretty good video when I watched it a couple months ago.

 

[diablo2184]

Thanks, I'll check it out

 

[2005tb]

GM has had a known problem with old brake hoses, they swell up inside and will let fluid through under pressure but won't let it return. I had it happen to my GMC chassis on my motorhome.

 

[gmcman]

A collapsing hose will restrict flow, generally noticeable when you hit the brakes and the wheel momentarily turns to one side. This is because one pad is dragging and is hot, thus allowing the other pad to bite harder on initial application. Also sometimes there is a slight delay in application.

A sticking caliper will do the same, how often have you flushed your brake fluid? What color is the fluid? Could be the sliding pins. Any time I had a sticking or dragging brake, I replaced the hoses....along with the caliper if it was bad.

When you replace a brake hose, replace in pairs.

 

[diablo2184]

I just received the truck. I cleaned and lubed the pins and the upper piston seems like it's still sticking.

 

[Sparky]

If one piston sticks but the other doesn't then that pretty much rules out the hose. If it is sticking like that I'd just get a reman caliper from the parts store and swap it out.

 

[lint]

You can take the hose off and blow through it . after the brake fluid is pushed out ,it will be easy to blow air through. if not get a new hose but you will need to bleed that brake again . '' Do not kink the hose on older cars to much when changing pads . this will make small cracks on the inside that can start the swelling of the hose and eventual restriction .
''

 

[Wooluf1952]

GM has had a known problem with old brake hoses, they swell up inside and will let fluid through under pressure but won't let it return. I had it happen to my GMC chassis on my motorhome.

Good first post.


Welcome

In case you haven't heard:
http://gmtnation.com/forums/topic/218-welcome-to-gmtnationcom-heres-the-story/

 

[diablo2184]

just removed the pistons and cleaned them out as well as the caliper. i will be putting it back together, with a caliper rebuild kit, and changing the hose. hopefully this works.

 

[Ric_Whit]

Diablo2184,
Just replace all two caliper piston with new one.
I had the same problem on the right side.
Our caliper piston are made from some type of plastic and they swell.

Replace both piston on both side of your truck (Left and Right) and you are done.

 

[diablo2184]

Yes I purchased a rebuild kit for that caliper and now it's WAY better. Now I need new tires. Had tread separate. One problem after another