Weird brake problem?

[Pipemaster]

Im going to list exactly what happened and whats happening. I know nothing more. Im just trying to figure out why its happening.

In the records for my car, the brakes were serviced at normal times on three sides. But on the right front side, they are replaced in half the time every time. And it was the whole assembly every time. Calipers, Rotors, pads, etc. that was 4 years ago on the right front side. There has only been around 2000 miles on them. But, recently they went out. That side was taken to bare metal. To the point i could poke holes in the back of the rotor. But, every other side is in perfect shape. Clearly, the PO didnt figure out what was problem. But i want to. Because, we’re having to replace the entire assembly again too.

[Pipemaster]

Oh, and the PO had what looked to be the ABS relay disconnected.

[drkshdw]

Since the caliper has been replaced I would start at the master cylinder and the brake line going to that caliper. Maybe bleed out that line and see what kind of condition the fluid is in that comes out of that line, and see how the fluid comes out when the brake pedal is pressed.

[Jfrahm]

There are some rare brake line internal failures which can trap pressure in the caliper and cause drag. It is simple enough to find out if that particular caliper is dragging and then diagnose from there. It could also be a problem with the ABS, stuck return valve or something.

If that caliper is dragging check and see if the drag goes away if you open/close the bleeder on that corner and comes back again if you operate the brakes.

[9FF]

Did the car ever get hit on that side? Could be your caliper mounting lugs on the spindle are bend slightly causing a miss alignment of the caliper.

[Pipemaster]

Originally Posted by 9FF

Did the car ever get hit on that side? Could be your caliper mounting lugs on the spindle are bend slightly causing a miss alignment of the caliper.

I have no clue. I know i ran off the road when i first got it and broke the valance but there wasnt any alignment issues or damage other than that. But, i do know that it was a shop that ordered the entire assembly last time. I have no clue if they installed the parts themselves but, they might have diagnosed the problem as a bad caliper or something? But obviously it wasnt.

[Pipemaster]

Originally Posted by drkshdw

Since the caliper has been replaced I would start at the master cylinder and the brake line going to that caliper. Maybe bleed out that line and see what kind of condition the fluid is in that comes out of that line, and see how the fluid comes out when the brake pedal is pressed.

That particular caliper has been replaced 6 times in the cars life actually

[944 Ecology]

Without actually taking a look at the car, I'm going to guess that the ABS pump is faulty and is holding pressure on the caliper in question. Seen it before on other cars.

A simple test is to drive the car on a straight flat course for a mile or so, then pull off to the side of the road without touching the brakes. Use an infrared temperature gun to see if one of the calipers is significantly hotter than the others.

If you have replaced the caliper many times before, it's probably not the caliper.

[JackMan]

And whatever you do, don't touch the calipers or the rotor with your finger to see if they are "hot". If you do, you will most likely burn your finger prints away.

[Pipemaster]

Update: the right front caliper was completely busted. We could move the piston around like it was floating. So we rebuilt it and its as good as new. But, all im going to do is unplug the ABS relay and call it a day. Im not going to put in the effort and money of finding exactly what was wrong with the brakes

[Jfrahm]

Well, check and see if the rebuilt caliper gets hot for no reason in case you just addressed a symptom... again.

Also in some cars with ABS the brake bias needs to be adjusted if ABS is disabled or you'll get a ton of rear lockup.

[Pipemaster]

Originally Posted by Jfrahm

Well, check and see if the rebuilt caliper gets hot for no reason in case you just addressed a symptom... again.

Also in some cars with ABS the brake bias needs to be adjusted if ABS is disabled or you'll get a ton of rear lockup.

I think its brake line problems. I was bleeding the front right side and the pressure bleeder could barely build pressure but there were no leaks underneath. So im super confused. Every other brake bled fine. That entire process was drawn out and unecessarily long. Doing the same thing on an MG takes half the time it took me to do it on the 944

[racer]

Originally Posted by Pipemaster

. Im not going to put in the effort and money of finding exactly what was wrong with the brakes

I'll be sure to follow your car, not lead it!

[mothman52]

Just curious. Is your car a manual or an automatic?

[Pipemaster]

Originally Posted by mothman52

Just curious. Is your car a manual or an automatic?

Manual

[Pipemaster]

Originally Posted by racer

I'll be sure to follow your car, not lead it!

Yeahhh, a day before my brakes finally failed i was following my buddy in his Z06 and very nearly rear ended him lol

[thomasryan]

you might invest in some new flex lines.

[Jfrahm]

Yeah could be a bad brake line or a stuck ABS valve as suggested earlier. Change that brake fluid or suffer all kinds of troubles when ABS and calipers corrode.