Front Brake Seals Melted

[Adriel]

So, since not progressing on the A/C conversion, moved to checking the pads. Make a long story short, several issues:
Rotors hard to move by hand and do not spin freely
No clearance between pad and rotor
Hose had to be pinched, fluid pushed out of the caliper, in order to keep the pads from returning and locking them in the caliper
Pads have 0,2mm of pad left before needing to be replaced
Seals melted onto the back of the pads
Pads glazed

In short, both sides not acting properly and have had severe heat. I can see one caliper sticking, but both?

I have not had recent brake steer, down on power below 40M.P.H., and excellent, meaning above average, fuel economy.

The master cylinder was recently replaced, so confused.

My help says fine, just toss in pads and be done. Is this right?

Thank y'all in advance!

[t walgamuth]

Sounds normal....the pads don't actually retract and turning them by hand without a wheel on it is not very easy. If they aren't getting hot I'd not worry with it. I don't know about the melted seals though....can you provide a pic?

[Adriel]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

Sounds normal....the pads don't actually retract and turning them by hand without a wheel on it is not very easy. If they aren't getting hot I'd not worry with it. I don't know about the melted seals though....can you provide a pic?

Tom, thank you so very much!

Loading pictures on the Macintosh.

[Adriel]

Here are the pictures.

[Diesel911]

I don't agree what some of what was said. The Deflection of the Caliper Seal supposed to pull the Caliper Piston back a smige and if that was not enough any pay on the Wheel Bearings or wobble in the Caliper while it is turning is going to also push that pads away.

Besides the Caliper Seal becoming stiff over time a muck of rust develops inside of the caliper that keeps the Piston from returning properly.

And then there is issues with the Hoses.

It is also possible for the retun ports inside of the Master Cylinder get blocked.

The caption from the Thumbnail Pic: "The action of the Piston Seal the Piston. The distance the Piston actually moves is exaggerated fpr emphasis (Ford Motor Company)."

So the distortion/deflection of the rubber Piston Seal helps to pull the Piston.

[Diesel911]

You don't have to take the Caliper (splitting the Caliper) apart but it is a lot easier to work on that way.

In this thread I posted some Kit numbers form Centric which is for the ATE Calipers that are on mine front and rear. Both front and Reak Kit have the square crossection O-ring that goes between the Caliper halves but only the Front Kit had new Heat Shields.

If you have Bendix Calipers you will have to research if Centric has a kit for them

In post #15, 03-16-2010 I said "I did this about 3-4 weeks" I beleive I did that with FTE Kits which nad no O-ring in the kit if you split the Calipers. I just reused them.

In Post #80, 05-30-2016 "I said Yesterday I insalled the Centric Front Caliper Repair Kit 143.35007 for ATE Brakes. The fit was good." A week later I rebuilt the other 3 Clipers with the Centrick Kits.
Also my Calipers Postons were not retracting as they should. I actually had one Rotor that was badly worn on one side and not so badly on the other. I replaced all Rotors as it was faster to do that also 2 of the Rotors did not look like here would be enough left on them to be reused.

Looks like I got 6 Years use out of the first Caliper reseal/rebuild.

Splitting Brake Calipers?

[Adriel]

Originally Posted by Diesel911

I don't agree what some of what was said. The Deflection of the Caliper Seal supposed to pull the Caliper Piston back a smige and if that was not enough any pay on the Wheel Bearings or wobble in the Caliper while it is turning is going to also push that pads away.

Besides the Caliper Seal becoming stiff over time a muck of rust develops inside of the caliper that keeps the Piston from returning properly.

And then there is issues with the Hoses.

It is also possible for the retun ports inside of the Master Cylinder get blocked.

The caption from the Thumbnail Pic: "The action of the Piston Seal the Piston. The distance the Piston actually moves is exaggerated fpr emphasis (Ford Motor Company)."

So the distortion/deflection of the rubber Piston Seal helps to pull the Piston.

Hey 911, thank you for the reply!

That's what I heard at a Volkswagen tech session about the seal pulling back. Also mentioned at least on the Volkswagens, excessive wear can cause the pistons to extend too far and get cocked of center, causing the seal to get messed up.

Interesting mention hoses. Chatting with Tram, just had me open the bleeder and see if that helped with the drag, which did a little. However, with the bleeder almost out, getting a erratic dripping. In about 15 seconds, only a few drops. Other side drips also, but not as dramatic. Can both the hoses be bad at one time? Seems odd.

We can look into return ports later.

[Adriel]

Originally Posted by Diesel911

You don't have to take the Caliper (splitting the Caliper) apart but it is a lot easier to work on that way.

In this thread I posted some Kit numbers form Centric which is for the ATE Calipers that are on mine front and rear. Both front and Reak Kit have the square crossection O-ring that goes between the Caliper halves but only the Front Kit had new Heat Shields.

If you have Bendix Calipers you will have to research if Centric has a kit for them

In post #15, 03-16-2010 I said "I did this about 3-4 weeks" I beleive I did that with FTE Kits which nad no O-ring in the kit if you split the Calipers. I just reused them.

In Post #80, 05-30-2016 "I said Yesterday I insalled the Centric Front Caliper Repair Kit 143.35007 for ATE Brakes. The fit was good." A week later I rebuilt the other 3 Clipers with the Centrick Kits.
Also my Calipers Postons were not retracting as they should. I actually had one Rotor that was badly worn on one side and not so badly on the other. I replaced all Rotors as it was faster to do that also 2 of the Rotors did not look like here would be enough left on them to be reused.

Looks like I got 6 Years use out of the first Caliper reseal/rebuild.

Splitting Brake Calipers?

Good information!

So, in the picture, the two halves are split. Are you saying not to do this and can replace the seals with them together?

Did you hone?

I have a set of Ate from the '79 that are clean and no rust, plus looks like good pads, so assuming they are newer and if did need calipers, just use those.

Tram and I are thinking to try hoses first since best answer. Then can move from there.