so tonight my front brake jammed on...what now?

[steveo3002]

went out for a ride tonight , got a few miles in and the front brake started to stick...enough to make mucho smoke from the pads

i pulled up and let it cool off , it free'd off enough so i could limp a few miles home

never had this before...should i expect to fix it by working the piston in n out a few times , or is it deffo rebuild time ?

any ideas where i can get a kit to rebuild if req...its a vw vr6 280mm caliper

[dollywobbler]

First consideration - flexi-hoses. They can break up inside and act like a one way valve. Give the throttle and good press and then open the bleed nipple on the caliper. If fluid spurts out and the wheel then turns, you have a likely culprit...

[surprisingskoda]

could be a sticky piston, could need bled, could be wrong sized pads/disc, not enough clearance, has it been sitting long? is it OE? when was the last time the pads were changed? etc...

[<Type desired username here>]

Depends whats sticking. Could be a pad sticking in the caliper, a sticky/jammed piston or a twisted/internally collapsed flexi.
Stripdown (the brakes) before you buy anything!

[steveo3002]

right , pads are good , recently taken apart and cleaned , copper greased etc after the car has been dry stood for some time, although its done a few hundred sinse being on the road again

recent goodridge hoses , and I'm 100% sure its all the right bits n bobs

not spongey at all..why would the need to be bleed cause it to stick?

[DavidB]

Piston has ingress of water and no rusty? Just bleed them either way, it's the only way to make sure everything works.

[steveo3002]

yeah will bleed em regardless ..my guess is its gone rusty

is working the piston in n out likely to fix it ?

[dollywobbler]

Even if it doesn't, getting the pads out and 'exercising' it in and out is free and will hopefully give you some idea what's wrong.

[ChasR]

As DW said, if the piston is to blame, it will go back in not so easily. Refurbing it shouldn't be too difficult (new seals and pistons).

[steveo3002]

if i can get the piston to move in n out...should it aslo turn fairly easy?

I'm guessing push it in with a g clamp or such then press the pedal to move it out again?

[Hitch]

Ive got vr6 brakes on my mk2 golf and when id first fitted them one of the pistons was sticking. Popped the piston out with a compressor, cleaned it up with some fine sandpaper then greased it all back up and slid it back in, didnt need new seals either as there was nothing wrong with them. If you take the piston out just check the seal for any tears/ deterioration. Pretty easy job to do once youve done it.

If you push the piston out with the caliper off the car you should be able to slide it back in again by hand, if not then its the piston sticking.

[Mystery Machine]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but if you are having to ask what to look for on a siezed brake and not sure what to do I would personally advise you get a garage to look at it.

Brakes are probably the most impotant part of the car. If you're not 100% sure about what you're doing then please don't try and fix it yourself. Based on the above comments I would say that you're not 100% and therefore I urge you to take it to a garage (or get someone to help who is confident/competent with fixing brakes)

[Hitch]

Aug 25, 2009 8:15:49 GMT steveo3002 said:

if I can get the piston to move in n out...should it aslo turn fairly easy?

I'm guessing push it in with a g clamp or such then press the pedal to move it out again?

Its easier to tell if its sticking or not with the caliper off the car in my experience so its not under pressure. Also I cant remember if mine did or not but I don't think the piston will turn easily in the caliper anyway.

[steveo3002]

Aug 25, 2009 8:33:02 GMT Mystery Machine said:

Please don't take this the wrong way, but if you are having to ask what to look for on a siezed brake and not sure what to do I would personally advise you get a garage to look at it.

Brakes are probably the most impotant part of the car. If you're not 100% sure about what you're doing then please don't try and fix it yourself. Based on the above comments I would say that you're not 100% and therefore I urge you to take it to a garage (or get someone to help who is confident/competent with fixing brakes)

theres no way a garage is working on my car...i do all my jobs myself and havent died yet

I'm pretty confident doing jobs ive fitted lots of new calipers,pipes,hoses blah blah its just ive never had any caliper problems yet , so trying to gather some advice so I'm better informed when I get it apart

[Mystery Machine]

Aug 25, 2009 8:53:11 GMT steveo3002 said:

...i do all my jobs myself and havent died yet

That's the attitude!

Obviously my comment hit a raw nerve but it wasn't meant that way. Personally I'd rather swallow my pride/ego and get a pro to fix something as important as brakes if I wasn't 100% sure about fixing it myself. Based on your comments above, you obviously aren't 100% sure and for that reason I think you are being a bit narrow minded that you won't even consider a garage ever working on your car.

I'm out.

[steveo3002]

I understand your concerns

I'm 100% happy to work on brakes , its just ive not yet had a caliper apart , so wanted some opinions on what to expect ....if I do have it apart and louse it up I'm happy to admit defeat and purcahse a rebuilt one or whatever it takes to be right

maybe i came accross wrong..I'm not a halfwit idiot with a couple of bent up spanners ...it will be safe