sticky brake...

[adi]

hi all.. i've got a sticky brake on the right hand side.. sticky as in it sometimes doesnt work at all.. so stuck 'off' presumably.

Now then.. im a brake fool.. so dont know what to do ... i've got to change the fluid anyway so tthought i'd do the brake at the same time..

I reckon its a stuck caliper? do i just take it apart and grease it up with some copper stuff?

[Sean.W]

hi all.. i've got a sticky brake on the right hand side.. sticky as in it sometimes doesnt work at all.. so stuck 'off' presumably.

Now then.. im a brake fool.. so dont know what to do ... i've got to change the fluid anyway so tthought i'd do the brake at the same time..

I reckon its a stuck caliper? do i just take it apart and grease it up with some copper stuff?

It depends on whats sticking mate :banghead: it could either be the slides or the actual piston that`s the culprit :yes: either one should become apparant once you start to strip it all down , i think you can get a caliper overhaul kit from Toyota but i`ve never been down that road personally so i`m not sure exactly what you get in this kit :no:
I assume this is what caused your flat tyre sunday morning then ? :rant:

[nigel w]

Don't grease the caliper with the copper stuff!!

[adi]

not sure whether it caused it or not.. the tyre peeps couldn't find out why it went down.. there was no apparent puncure so i dont know what caused it. Either way its nackered and i'm fitting two new fronts on friday.
The brake might have done it i guess.. but its been sticking for over a year on and off :D i just thought its about time i did something about it... Its only an occasional stick which i guess makes it harder to pinpoint.

besides which my idling problem has gone away thanks to the traffic jam on sunday, so i've got a new lease of life for fixing things on the car :D

PS How's the rad situation?

[Sean.W]

PS How's the rad situation?

Don`t go there :banghead: , lol

I`m assuming the worse and it`s done it`s head gasket , but to be honest i`ve been getting some really strange symptoms from it :confused:

It was fine sitting in the traffic leaving silverstone but within 10 or so miles of sitting at a steady 70/80 mph on the M1 the temp gauge began to flutter up to 3/4 and quickly back to 1/2 again , then once home it sat bubbling out thro the expansion bottle again :crybaby:

I`ve been keeping an eye on it for the last couple of days and it`s doing a few things now that i had`nt noticed before ( i can hear the rad cap hissing once the engine is warm , it blows loads of bubbles out the top of the rad when i`m topping it up with the engine running , if you hold the revs at 1500/2000 rpm wilst stationary it sounds like i`ve got a water fall behind the dash/bulkhead , it seems to take longer to warm up to normal temperature in the morning and finally when you turn the engine off after a good run i can hear what sounds like running water coming from around the thermostat housing area ) oh nearly forgot i also get a nice puff of blue oil smoke when firing her up now as well !!!

Mind , since monday i`ve hardly had to put any water in her !

I`ve got a new thermostat and a better radiator to try just need to get a new rad cap as well , may as well try the cheap options first before ripping the head off .

Sods law it`s happened now while `im skint and looking like i won`t have a job after the end of this month :rant:

[adi]

yep sods law.. i hate to say it but it sounds very much like a BHG.

[Karma Supra]

Adi, Caliper re built kit for the fronts is about £60 from Mr. T. it includes the piston seal and locating ring, and all slider/moving part seals.

I had a seized (shut) front offisde on teh MR2 the other day.. pulled that disk off and left the other on and pressed the brake... all the preasure went to that piston (well both they have 2 per caliper) and it un jamed.., squeased it back in with a G clamp and a bit of wood and did it again and again... when the piston is out and the seal is stretched... check for tears or rips... if there are none, pull of the calipers slider, clean it and grease it.. (copper grease).. while the pads are out clean out the anti squeal pads on the caliper side and put a thin film of copper grease on them (not on the bit that goes on the disk :P) and put them back together. Job should be done!!!!

Change the fluid by bleading and topping up with new untill it runs clear :notworthy

[nigel w]

Copper grease is not intended for lubrication.

At high temps (i.e. around your brakes) most of the grease is driven out of the compound and leaves the copper to form a weak and breakable bond between the surfaces to which its been applied

You put it on the back of brake pads so that it stops the pad vibrating and causing your brakes to squeal. Or you put it on bolt threads so you can undo them easily later. It will not do your caliper sliders any good, or anything else that needs to move regularly, to lubricate them with copper grease.

[imoyes]

At high temps (i.e. around your brakes) most of the grease is driven out of the compound and leaves the copper to form a weak and breakable bond between the surfaces to which its been applied

It doesn't actually take a lot to start to drive the grease out either. I schlerp (technical term meaning "spread like butter onto warm toast") it on electrical contacts and earth points before I do them up and it makes a much better contact. :)

[Tony Donovan]

hi all.. i've got a sticky brake on the right hand side.. sticky as in it sometimes doesnt work at all.. so stuck 'off' presumably.

Now then.. im a brake fool.. so dont know what to do ... i've got to change the fluid anyway so tthought i'd do the brake at the same time..

I reckon its a stuck caliper? do i just take it apart and grease it up with some copper stuff?

If it's the piston stuck, try driving it out on the pedal (limit the travel with a G-cramp), lift the rubber boot and brush the piston with brake fluid, cramp it back in fully, pedal it out again, in again, out again, etc...

[adi]

cheers all.. i'll give it a try :D

[Adam W]

I finally got around to fixing my stuck rear caliper the other day. The rubber seal around the caliper looked fine but moisture had got in there while it had been standing and the part of the piston bore just upstream of the hydraulic seal was all rusted up and stopping the piston moving back in the bore when I lifted off the brake pedal. I cleaned all the rust out and reassembled and it's working fine now, no more brake smoke when I come to a stop.