On my 97 Caravan occasionaly the driver's side caliper with grab. First symptom is the brake pedal is high and firm then after a few brakings the driver's side is very tight. You can still go but the engine/trans work hard because of the braking. After sitting for about half an hour it is fine again.

It was happening a couple times a week. The first time the mechanic checked the caliper and it looked fine so he replaced brake hose, then it worked fine for a month. Then happened again. Replaced caliper last week. Now has happened twice this week. Only the driver's side goes tight.

Anyone else go through this and know what the cause is??????

Thanks.

 

How about ABS, could that cause this somehow? I think next time it happens I will pull the ABS fuse and see what happens.

 

rsounds to me like its the master cylinder.. try to bleed out ONLY the master cyl and see how it goes.. if not... replace it.. make sure to bench bleed it before you put it in

 

I'm not a mechanic but fromwhat I've seen and read,itseems like any problem with master would result in soft brake pedal. Is that not true?

I'm taking it in to a new shop today to see if they can find anything. I'll update my post if they find anything new.

 

well.. take it for what its worth.. i am a mechanic.. and yes. thats the most common symptom of a master cylinder.. soft pedal.. but then again.. a soft pedal could mean they need bled.. matter of fact.. what your describing... could be one port of the master cylinder.. or proportioning valve.. or caliper.. only 3 things it can be.. UNLESS you have a busted pad... hard to say w/o actually looking at it

 

Are saying with my problem you think master cylinder is still a possibility even with the high hard pedal? The weird thing is that it is not a regular occurance. Hasn't happened now in a week.

I took it to a new shop for some new eyes to look at yesterday. They checked all the brakes, lines/hoses, and scanned rotor temps after driving.They also scanned the ABS system for codes and did hard braking to test it. ABS seemed all good.

So now we just live with it until it happens more often.

 

depends.. how hard is the pedal.. if the pedal is way hard and high.. it very well could be the master cylinder.. same with very soft and low pedal.. but... i will guarantee... its either the master cyl.. or the caliper.. when does it happen... is it really hot out? .. another thing.. open the filler cap on the master cyl... is the rubber gasket 'swollen'? if it is.. dont waiste your time.. someone put oil.. or something other than brake fluid in it.. mastar cyl. has moving parts.. just like anything else... if they are getting hard.. too much friction.. it can freeze up.. if its starting to freeze.. that would explain the hard and high pedal.. actually.. that makes more sense on a hard/high pedal than a grumpy caliper.