Dragging brakes, is my caliper shot?

[byronnash]

My brakes started smoking on the way home from work. The pedal got real soft and they seemed to be dragging. I took off the wheels and saw that one of the calipers seemed to be leaking fluid. [see photo]. I'm a complete newbie here but willing to get dirty. Can anyone point me to some links for how to take this stuff apart and diagnose?

[vstech]

ooooh.
get a 17mm socket and a 1/2" wratchet and remove the two bolts holding the caliper to the spindle.
then take the 7/16" line off the flex hose, and the metal clip off the flex hose connection.
you should get a NAPA or better 7/16" "line wrench" not a cheapie, or an open wrench.
then take the caliper to your nearest import parts house. and get a rebuilt one and a new pair of flex lines.
reverse the procedure, and bleed the lines.
no. wait, that's not a good idea. if you remove the parts first, by the time you get back, you will have no fluid in your MC... hmmmm
ok, take the 14mm line off the caliper, and tie it up as high as you can.
it'll still drip a little fluid, but it should'nt drain your MC.
it's a good idea to change both sides at the same time, but that's your money calling...
at the least, flush ALL the lines with new fluid.

[Chad300tdt]

A piece of plastic wrap under the reservoir cap helps keep the fluid from dripping fairly well.

[vstech]

Originally Posted by Chad300tdt

A piece of plastic wrap under the reservoir cap helps keep the fluid from dripping fairly well.

good tip!
that makes sense because the caps are vented.

[byronnash]

I just pulled off the calipers and one side is completely melted. I'll upload a photo in a bit. How much do the rebuilts run? The new ones on fastlane are very expensive. Also, do these things just fail or do I need to find what caused the lockup?

[vstech]

they get water in the lines, and the cylinders rust, then the caliper binds into the rust.
so flush all your fluid out ASAP and prevent this issue with the back calipers!
flush the fluid every 2 years!

[byronnash]

Here's the photo. It seems like the reservoir is empty. I wonder if all the fluid boiled off or something. The brakes were very soft right before I got home.

[TnBob]

That level of damage would indicate a real problem potential with your rotor too. The rotor should be very shiny silver not blued or scarred !

[byronnash]

I went ahead and ordered pretty much everything for the rear brakes. Calipers, pads, rotors, hoses, and the parking brake. I didn't have a chance to look at the rotors this morning but from what I remember last night they weren't smooth. They looked pretty old and rusty anyway.

[vstech]

well, they will look rusty in a few months anyway. don't take that into account. it's the surface condition and the thickness of the rotor that come into play.
before you order all this stuff, you might wanna order items from a same year SD instead.
better cooling potential, and bolt on upgrade.

[byronnash]

Hm, I didn't know the SD had different brakes. I can send the rotors back if they don't need replacing since I need to send the old calipers back anyway.

[vstech]

yeah, they are the same size caliper pistons, and the same diameter rotors, but the rotors are vented to handle longer breaking times before boiling the fluid... you get no better stopping power, just better cooling of the components.

[benhogan]

Originally Posted by byronnash

Here's the photo. It seems like the reservoir is empty. I wonder if all the fluid boiled off or something. The brakes were very soft right before I got home.

from the picture...does it even matter how much a rebuilt one costs?

[byronnash]

Not sure I understand your question benhogan?

[benhogan]

the picture looks pretty bad. you need new calipers.