I now see why you guys hate the single piston setup, it stinks.

Put on fresh pads and had some brake drag. Took it for a spin and then the piston has locked up onto the rotor. Got it back into the garage and let it cool off and the caliper released. Once it was free, I pushed down on the brake pedal again to see if it would lock up and as expected, it did. I then checked the pressure on the caliper by cracking the bleed line. If there was still pressure then a bunch of fluid would shoot out, and it did not. So the only conclusion left is the piston is sticking in the bore.

So... My plan is to get the little woman to sit behind the wheel and push the piston out with the brake pedal and I will be at the caliper to stop her when its out, then press it back in with the c-clamp. Repeat until free.

Has anyone tried this approach to freeing up a sticky caliper piston?

Not wanting to go get another caliper at this time, would prefer to switch it over to the 2003+ setup (and thats not a quick fix). If I cant free it up and my only choice is to get a new caliper then the upgrade will not happen.

 

You won't get a lot of fluid when you crack open the bleeder, regardless of pressure on the system. (unless someone is stepping on the pedal, of course....) the fluid doesn't compress. So, you might get a bit, but, don't expect much. Question becomes, did the caliper release when you relieved pressure? If not, then yeah, bad caliper, and what you suggest will likely work. Modulating the pedal so as not to blow the piston completely out of the caliper though, that's tough. Use the c-clamp as a stop. Just back it off enough that the piston can move a fair distance, but, not completely blow out. (they are a bitch to get back in......) ((and no, don't ask me how I know that.....))

 

yeah i used a c clamp cycled it several times and no change. looked at the carriers and found wear at the pad contact points so i filed that down in case the pad was hanging on the carrier and no change. i read enough threads that tell me not to mess with it and to just swap to a better setup.

my goal of keeping it going cheap until the rams back is fading fast, pretty pissed atm. never have i ever had brakes cause me this much grief.

 

Goes with the territory. I have had some real doozeys of brake issues..... some real head scratchers. (and pounders against the wall.....) But then, I used to do it for a living.

 

one thing i did not try was to rotate the piston... may still try that tomorrow. if still nogo, idk...

 

How do you know? Happened to me once when I absentmindedly pressed the brake while performing a brake job. It popped right out and rolled around. Was not fun getting it back in.
Might me cheaper just getting a caliper from the JY. If you get this one to work, it might stick on you at the worst time and cost you a tow and a rotor.

 

agreed... and they are something like $10.

years back I rebuilt calipers on a 70 AMX I owned.. 4 piston setup, I dont recall the experience though... I just remember doing it.

 

Brakes are my specialty. I have rebuilt calipers when they were made of unobtainium, but I don't like to do it. You need a special hone to clean the piston bore. Wheel cylinder hones are common, caliper hones are more problematic. If you're SURE it's the caliper and not the flex hose, I'd go with a rebuilt caliper. Between the rebuild kit, if you can get one, the cost of the hone and so on, A rebuilt caliper is ready to go for not much more than you'll spend rebuilding yours. Plus, calipers are REALLY easy to mess the bore up requiring a steel sleeve.

Considering what they do, I never chintz on my brakes. Get a rebuilt, bleed it and call it done..

 

I'm not wanting to stick with the current setup so a quick fix will be what it gets. Will shift over when ready.

 

replacement in hand... lets lets just see if i can get motivated enough to get out there and get in there...