have to rebuild front brakes after one siezed. Opinions?

[amblerman]

Hi folks.

After a drive to the airport today, I lowered my driver's window to grab parking garage ticket and smell the dreaded hot metal/burning brakes smell.
That explains why my car felt odd on the drive down.

sure enough, drivers front brakes were throwing off copious amounts of heat and giving off that unique smell.

I don't know what actually failed yet (caliper, slide pins, brake hose, etc) but I am currently figuring that I have to replace them all as a precaution anyway. Any opinions on this?
I also suspect my pads are toast and possibly my rotor as well.
I am currently of the opinion that all were damaged to some extent with the prolonged heat but let me know if you have differing opinions. The same here is the pads had plenty of life yet but I am sure those are goners.


If I had to get new calipers, pads and rotors, do people have opinions on the current selections out there? I know there have been stories on here about the quality of rebuilt calipers at this point. Alas, I do not have any spares.

The car in question is a base 99 s70 with a manual. Just a basic commuter car so I'm not looking for any racing gear

thanks
-A

[amblerman]

Oh and is rebuilding potentially heat damaged calipers an option? How do you evaluate a caliper to determine if it is worth rebuilding?

I do know that if the piston or the cavity it rides in is pitted, it might be beyond hope but are there any other reasons why a caliper couldn't be rebuilt?

-A

[abscate]

If you caught it early just replace the caliper and pads. Rotors can get pretty hot before damage or warping

[manovlov]

I would take time to disassemble to control pads. It seems to me that a piston could be "glue" after having pressed the brake pedal. Some dust, and the trick is on.

You're right, lot of stories about brakes here. The lesson i've learned from MVS : OEM, if possible.

I would be interested to see some pictures if you go to disassemble.

Manov

[scot850]

There are lots of threads on here about quality of brakes and associated parts, with most of the re-built stuff on the terrible to really terrible scale. I had some luck with Nugeon branded re-builds I got from Napa at one point and also their own higher end re-built unit. Then there is FCP and the lifetime replacement option. Have to weigh up the cost of shipping them back v's buying locally.

Volvo units are also re-built and have heard mixed reviews from great to just ok.

As to what I would replace, pads for sure, check the run-out on the rotors and the wear. If both ok worth a chance on re-using as per abscate's point earlier. A good look at the caliper will clarify if it is the issue like the seal has melted or the piston has stuck.

Also check the sliding pins are not pitted or badly corroded. Lastly, when was the flexi-hose last changed?

Neil.

[FireFox31]

Stuck calipers have been my biggest problem with my V70, eclipsing my overheated and replaced engine. See my thread about rebuilding and painting calipers for lots of info.

Bottom line: Consider them consumable since they die to rust, buy from FCP, replace every four years under free lifetime warranty. They will be on the brink of failure in four years, so proactive replacement will save you from buying new pads and rotors on both sides (which you should also get from FCP to have that warranty). They fail because the piston heads rust, creating a breach in the boot, allowing in water which rusts the piston inside the caliper bore.

I recently bought Volvo brand front and rear calipers. They arrived with rust already under the clear coat. In about 1.5 years, that rust will bubble up and break the clear coat and make it flake off. I put Cardone calipers on another car. In 1 week, their coating turned to pure rust and looked terrible.

I recommend buying Cardone (since they come with new front brackets) and immediately stripping them to bare metal, then having them professionally stripped, sand blasted, power coated, and clear coated. And have the heads of the pistons sealed with Cerakote. Hopefully that will provide protection against rust so the calipers last longer than four years. Of course, this work costs more, FCP could just replace them when they fail, and you may not have the luxury of waiting to get the brakes coated. For me, I hate the waste associated with replacing brakes so I want my new ones to last as long as possible with professional powder coating.

[cn90]

I wrote a detailed DIY rebuilding brake caliper (new piston seal, new rubber boot) in this forum.

[454cid]

How hot did it get? Did the rotor glow red? I did that once on my truck, and I'm assuming that's why the unit bearing hub needed to be replaced before the other one.

[abscate]

If you touch the rotor with your finger to see if it’s hot, you hear the sizzle of burning flesh 0,314 seconds before the pain is transmitted up the nervous system, after which your kids learn new words.

[BlackBart]

Consider them consumable since they die to rust, buy from FCP, replace every four years under free lifetime warranty. They will be on the brink of failure in four years.....

Thats got to be so frustrating, four years! We just don’t see that out here in the dry square states.