4

The car began to lose speed and I immediately got to the side of the road.The car was losing power. I noticed smoke from the wheel while still in the car once I stopped. in reverse and drive the car wouldn't move in. Neutral the car wouldn't move even while attempting to push it from the back. The front wheels seem to be locked. Pedal high wait 10 mins he was fine pedal soft and drove fine.

My stepdad who is an older man mechanic said buy both calipers but he only checked the left side the one that i seen smoking. The right side just today started screeching with or without the brake applied.

What could be the problem?

What should I do?

Improve this question
7
  • 1
    The first thing you should do is stop driving the car before you get killed. You're experiencing some pretty serious problems that could put you and other people in a life threatening situation. First thing. Stop driving. Hopefully you will get some good responses that will help you fix the problems. Good luck.
    – DucatiKiller
    Commented Apr 27, 2016 at 6:05
  • Thank u really hoping someone can let me know what i need to buy to fix it
    – KDee Underwood
    Commented Apr 27, 2016 at 7:07
  • While you were experiencing the problem, was the brake pedal up (in the normal off position) or was it down as though the brakes were on?
    – HandyHowie
    Commented Apr 27, 2016 at 7:21
  • HandyHowie it was up in the normal position just real hard when pressed
    – KDee Underwood
    Commented Apr 27, 2016 at 7:58
  • Was the car pulling to the left when it started to loose speed?
    – HandyHowie
    Commented Apr 27, 2016 at 9:02

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

There are three common ways for disc brakes to stick, and what you were experiencing is definitely symptomatic of stuck brakes.

  1. The caliper slides might be rusted
  2. The piston in the caliper is getting crooked in the bore and not retracting
  3. The brake hose has collapsed internally and is not releasing pressure

The easiest thing to inspect is the pins, but stuck pins usually just lead to uneven or crooked wear on brake pads. Still if the caliper frame does not slide on the pins they should be replaced (provided they are replaceable).

Any time I have a problem with a stuck caliper and the pins are ruled out I first disconnect the hose from the caliper and try to retract the piston with a C-clamp. There should be little to no resistance, and if there is then the caliper piston is sticking. It's best to replace the caliper if this is the problem.

If the piston retracts easily, then the brake hose should be replaced. With the symptoms you're describing this is my first suspicion.

The squealing could be a symptom of your stuck brakes, but could also be the wear tab on your pads. After smoking as much as you described I would be surprised if the pads had any material left on them.

Finally, with what happened to your brakes, it is probably a good idea to replace the brake pads. Because the rotor was probably overheated and then clamped in a single spot with the pads, there's a good chance that a hard spot developed, which will lead to surface runout which you will feel as a pulsing when braking. Because of this, if you're going to have everything apart anyway you should probably replace the rotors.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .