Was driving my 99 xj today around town when suddenly something didnt feel right, thought was power loss, quickly figured out something was dragging and slowing me down. Jeep started pulling to the right, i hit the brakes and pulled hard left, tried driving slowly home and it started pulsating. By this point I'm guessing stuck caliper and heat warping the rotor. Got home, right front wheel was hot hot, lug nuts were too hot to touch when i got them off. Called around, ordered parts, tomorrow getting new Napa pads, rotors, and right side caliper and brake line.
The question is, i had no warning, it just suddenly seized. Never had a caliper do that before. Anyone heard of that happening.?

 

Not uncommon at all.

 

It could also be a brake hose collapsed internally, keeping the caliper engaged. Had that happen to me on an AMC Hornet years ago.

 

Calipers can stick with age its nothing new at all.It has a piston some seals and basicly a cyinder the piston rides in.Age the seals can leak or dirt/brake dust builds up in them and they stop working right.I have had it happen to me once and it happened to my boss at works 2012 f150 about a month ago.

 

Check your knuckle. The calipers groove the knuckles over time and can eventually end up sticking in the grooves.





Not hard to fix if this is the case either. Just have to have a welder and a grinder... or at least have access to them.

 

Hmmmm. I have almost identical grooves in my knuckle. No time to fix that today though.

 

If it's not grooved knuckle I'd bet it's a pitted caliper bore and the piston is sticking.

 

Since you have thrown all the new parts at it already,
I am sure you will fix it.

And never know what it was.

 

A quick diagnosis would have been to crack the caliper bleeder...Fluid under pressure = brake hose collapsed and holding pressure... No fluid pressure = stuck caliper piston...
OK you got me with the "revive an old thread" reply for no apparent reason...lol...

 

you'd still have a blocked bleeder screw in your differential diagnosis