Brake callipers siezed

Yuvan

Active member
Howsit gents,

About two weeks ago on a friday i was on my way from work when i felt my car holding back, so i pulled off to check, couldnt find anything wrong, so drove to a safe place 2kms down the H'way on the N1 at the shell and saw some smoke come of the left front tire, the brakes seemed to have "melted"

I couldnt even touch the rim, it was flippen hot, so i jacked the car up...and the disk seemed not to move, so with a long screw driver i managed to release the pads apart from the disk, upon pressing the brake the calliper refused to move to make contact with the disk once again, so i figured i take it easy to get home and sort out there.

Upon removing the calliper, i couldnt get the piston pushed back, thats when i figured its siezed, tried clamps, hammering excessively but nothing doing, the other side seemed to brake fine. anyways after some phone calls i struggled to get a brake service kit so purchased a 2nd calliper from bemows, i fit it on, all seemed ok. When i decided to bleed the system i noticed the other side(that was working fine) has now siezed as well.....WTF!

Has any1 experienced this problem on an E36?? Please can i be offered some advice??

Apreciated!
 

Yuvan

Active member
Fordkoppie said:
Then the hammer weren’t big enough :rollsmile:
Sorry, but i have no valuable input

LOL, i see that!
Any1???

P1000 said:
Replace, along with brake lines and fluid as well as wheel bearing.

Well the disks spin free once i squeeze a little gap between the pad and disk, besides the bearing were replaced before when i purchased the car, so i doubt its the bearings. Brake lines...mmmm...maybe thats the cause but wont it affect the back as well???

I can drive the car with only the back brakes and she stops fine, but dont wanna do that.

Spoke to a mech, he says it is possible that the psiton can sieze bit that usally never happens!

 

veridico

///Member
Piston can seize. On my Jeep, the brake lines were corroded on the inside, and it would let through some pressure and then not return it, so the caliper would seize on the disc. Replacing your brake lines could help.

Also your ABS pump/sensor could be faulty, unplug the fuse for your ABS and check if it comes right.
 

Raybimmer

New member
If you take the caliper off and put a wooden block between the piston and caliper and tramp the brake the piston will move out . Check for score marks and rust ( water in old brake fluid-it does collect moisture from the air .) The piston should move back a small distance when the brakes are released . You amy have a small piece of rubber coming off the inner lining of the brake hose and it acts like a one way flap - not very common but happens at high mileage/old age .
Is there a leak from the piston seals , then no suction to pull piston back .
I do not suspect wheel bearing .
 

moranor@axis

///Member
Official Advertiser
i think P1000 is saying you should do the wheel bearing because it probably got over heated by the brake...
 

Bryden02

New member
Get a set of caliper repair kits (caliper seals) from the agents and replace them first, before doing any other diagnosis.
Then carry out a full brake flush.
BMW's spec on brake flushes is every 4 years
Its unlikely the ABS pump or ABS control unit is defective if there is no warning light on ( this systerm is very sensitive to malfunctions).
Check and inspect all brake lines under front wheel arches for kinks or damage.
Wheel bearings cant cause brakes to bind.(Unless theres excessive play)
Start with the seals and flush first.

Also check if the brake pads are fitting correctly in the caliper carrier, if the wrong pads are fitted and were forced into the carrier it could also cause binding and overheating of brakes.

Good luck

One more thing, the reason why the brake fluid flush is every 4 years or less. is due to the fact that if is not flushed on a regular basis the moisture/water in the brake lines start corroding the lines from the inside. The corrosion particles then starts causing premature wear on the calipers seals.
 

Yuvan

Active member
Doomsdaya said:
Yuvan is this on the vert or 320i ? are you running OEM pads & disks ?

Its on my 320i buddy, the 328i is having to work through the traffic this past two weeks now that the 320i has faulty brakes. I had OEM pads fitted to the car along with high quality but not OEM disks from Beemows, all was perfect been running the car like that for a while.
 

Yuvan

Active member
Raybimmer said:
If you take the caliper off and put a wooden block between the piston and caliper and tramp the brake the piston will move out . Check for score marks and rust ( water in old brake fluid-it does collect moisture from the air .) The piston should move back a small distance when the brakes are released . You amy have a small piece of rubber coming off the inner lining of the brake hose and it acts like a one way flap - not very common but happens at high mileage/old age .
Is there a leak from the piston seals , then no suction to pull piston back .
I do not suspect wheel bearing .

I will check that out, thanks for the tip buddy!!!!! :thumbs:
 

The K-Man

New member
I agree totally with Bryden02. I had the same problem on an Isuzu bakkie a while ago. You might experience blockage in the line of the siezed caliper as well, so expect some trouble on bleeding unless you have a pressure bleeder.
 

Yuvan

Active member
The K-Man said:
I agree totally with Bryden02. I had the same problem on an Isuzu bakkie a while ago. You might experience blockage in the line of the siezed caliper as well, so expect some trouble on bleeding unless you have a pressure bleeder.

Yip Im like "Eish" here!!!
 

The K-Man

New member
Sorry to use your thread bru, but i would like to post one and don't know how.
I overhaul clutches and would like to advertise here. I reline the plate, skim the flywheel and recon the pressure plate for +-R750.
Can you guys tell me how to post your own thread please?

The K-Man
 

Yuvan

Active member
thanks gents for all the input and advice, it appreciated.:thumbs:

i managed to sort out the issue, i took the piston out and guess what....it was filled with sand/mud for some strange reason, wonder how the hell it got in there :fencelook:

anywayz i cleaned it out, sanded the piston abit put in a new rubber and all seems to be fine now!
 

Elcamino

New member
Also remember that old brake fluid draws in moisture from the atmosphere and that tends to boil under working conditions which causes a build up of brake pressure so renewing brake fluid every 2 years is important:flyfun:[/b]
 
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