45shutr

So I was on the freeway today cruising at about 65 when i smelled brakes. The first thing I did was check the e-brake to insure it was down, which it was and then figured it was someone else who had their e brake on. When I got off the freeway I still noticed the smell and got worried but still couldn't see smoke or anything. I kept driving and at the bottom of the hill the car started pulling to the left, like I had a flat tire. At that point the brakes started smoking, I pulled over and stopped, at that point the brakes started smoking and continued smoking for 5 minutes, they were good and hot. I pulled the tire and caliper off after everything cooled down and inspected the caliper bolts, slides and slide boots, and verified that the brakes seals were not leaking and checked for the overall condition of the caliper. And while the bolts and slides were not completly dry they were a little low on lube. At any rate I cleaned everything up and relubed the bolts and slides and bled the caliper before putting the wheel back on in the parking lot. I drove it home with no problems as far as I could tell. I have never seen this before in all my years of foolin around with cars, only heard about it happening, so I don't have a lot of experiance with this sort of thing. Therfore, I have a few questions:

1) This obviously seems like a stuck caliper, but is there anything else that I could be missing that could cause this, like the ABS system or clogged brake line? IDK?

2)If the caliper is the issue and I do have to replace the calipers, does anyone know about the A1 Cardone remaned calipers for about 20 bucks, are they decent parts or are they junk? Or should I spring for the 120 dollar new calipers from OMIX.

Thanks in advance for the input.

freegdr

i have used a1 cardone you stand a 50/50 chance with them try going to a napa or bennet auto should have a better brand as for the brake issue replace both sides when ever doing brake work also do the lines

45shutr

Roger that on replacing both sides at the same time. I would just rebuild the calipers I got but I don't have my compressor and rubber tipped air nozzle anymore to blow the seals out.

freegdr

are the ccups on xj steel or plastic or what ever that other stuff is there made of seeing how hot they got steel cups rebuiold yes the other cups dont think id even chance it you no .

45shutr

I think they are steel. At this point though I am wondering if a bad caliper could even cause this sort of thing. Like I said, I have never seen anything like this in my life.

freegdr

ite either a line or caliper going to case a break to drag like that if it was a master prob both would drag

45shutr

I took it out an drove it today, got it back on the freeway with no problems. The only thing that is a little out of the ordinary is I can still smell burning brakes after I stop the car get out and stick my head next to the wheel. I am hoping that it is just residual brake pad material that is glazed over and needs to wear off the pad. Other than that the temperature of the driverside and passenger side are the same to the touch. I don't know, maybe I fixed it? I think I will change the brake lines and change the brake fluid as it needs it anyhow just to be on the safe side. I will tell ya, I thought that the brake lines were going to melt and catch fire yesterday and burn the Cherokee to the ground, I was a little worried for a second.

45shutr

So, the cleaning and relubing of the driver's side caliper didn't work, it stuck shut again, so I replaced both calipers and brakehoses. The "plastic" pistions you were talking about freegdr are called phenolic pistions, and yes I had them instead of the steel ones like I though I had. I was in the plastics industry for years and phenolic (pronounced fi-nol-ik) is a high temp, high compresive strength resin that can hold up to a lot. But I never would have thought that they would have used in brake pistons, bad choice in my opinion. All that has to happen is a little bit of dirt get inbetween the caliper body and the piston and it is all over because the dirt is going to embed itself in the phenolic piston. Either way I got calipers with steel pistons as replacements. Hopefully this does it.

OldYellowXJ

Could also be a soft line deteriorating from the inside out, and swelling itself shut....



Edit: now that I read your post again, I see you replaced the soft line

45shutr

So after almost two days after replacing my calipers and brake hoses and brake fluid I haven't had any further issues, so I quess either the caliper or brake hose was it.

freegdr

kool at least its fixed

45shutr

That's what I'm saying. Thanks for the input during this ordeal.

OOdynamite

I have the same problem with my driver side front brake, how hard is it to replace the caliper?

45shutr

Very simple, just make sure and replace the caliper on the passenger side as well, and make sure to replace both brakes hoses as well. Don't replace just one side and don't just replace calipers, replace it all at once. Also, when you buy your calipers, make sure to buy calipers with metal pistons, do not buy calipers with the phenolic pistons. Phenolic is for general purposes plastic and is more than likely the cause of the problems you are having now, because your XJ probably has phenolic pistons from the factory. It won't set you back but about a hundred bucks for calipers, hoses and brake fluid. If you need instruction, go and get a Chilton or Haynes manual. This is one of the things that these manuals are actually good for. If you run into problems, just put up a post and someone will have and answer for you.