i am working on a 91 loyale and the front brakes on the passenger side locks up . so i put a new loaded caliper on  and it worked for a while about 1 mile then it started locking up again could it be a defective caliper or a master cylinder. i haven't had any complaints about the other wheels so i am leaning towards the caliper. the caliper was bought at fredrated car parts in  newport and i think it was rebuilt not new.

Edited October 24, 20169 yr by littlemamma

When it "locks up" does it lock up closed (as in the wheel stops turning and skids everywhere?) or does it lock up open (as in it squeezes the disk)?  

 

When safe one might test the locked-up-open condition by quickly applying the breaks on a sandy road, get out and cout the skid marks. 3 or 4 ?

 

If it is locked up closed do you get different results when driving in front wheel drive only or 4wd?

Next time it locks up, crack open the bleeder screw. If that releases it your problem isn't the caliper, it's the brake hose itself. It has collapsed inside and will allow fluid to move only in one direction.

yes i release the bleeder screw and it unlocks(the wheel will turn) so it is off to the parts store again. thanks i will keep you people updated  to the outcome.

the brake hose was 19 dollars at autozone it will be in tuesday.

Does the brake hose appear original or like a replacement?  (compare it to the other side?)

 

The incidence rate for this failure mode is so tiny it won't matter, but I would replace it with a subaru unit.  I would assume an aftermarket hose is similar in quality to some american cars where this failure happens even on newer vehicles. 

I'd install a used Subaru hose before a generic aftermarket. 

As an aside to the topic, just how long can or should one expect brake hoses to last? I have a hard time telling good ones from bad ones by visual inspection. To me it is worth 19 bucks EA to be proactive in the most important safety aspect of the car.

 

The last time mine were done may have been over 8 years and it was Midas, so probably substandard quality.

Edited October 24, 20169 yr by MR_Loyale

Do Loyales have the hill holder circuit?  is this a 5 speed .?   if so check the  spring to the hill holder valve .

My 87 gl has all original brake lines. They can last a long time.

Does the brake hose appear original or like a replacement?  (compare it to the other side?)

 

The incidence rate for this failure mode is so tiny it won't matter, but I would replace it with a subaru unit.  I would assume an aftermarket hose is similar in quality to some american cars where this failure happens even on newer vehicles. 

I'd install a used Subaru hose before a generic aftermarket. 

I would never replace a 20-30 year old rubber brake line with anything but new. I'll cheap out in a lot of places on a car, but NEVER on the brakes

Have you ruled out the guide pins (especially the lower one) binding up?    

As an aside to the topic, just how long can or should one expect brake hoses to last?

 

Other manufacturers I think have a higher failure rate - Subaru's almost never fail, very, very rare.  I've never seen it happen on a Subaru yet.

 

There's a lot more problematic and higher failure rates than brake hoses.  Logically speaking it makes no sense to replace them proactively except for just paying for yourself to have warm fuzzies - which is a good thing too sometimes. It's never bad to feel good about your car. 

+1 on what Ivan said above ^^^^^

 

I have had this before. If it's a manual trans then check the hill holder valve and cable to make sure it isn't being applied at the wrong time somehow.

Edited October 26, 20169 yr by Crazyeights

it was the hill holder valve it would come on but not release unless i did it by hand so i went to pull and save and got a used one because no one else had a new one. they also don't sell the cable  and the old one was way out of adjustment. i could take the old valve and barely turn it by hand  the new one works much better now i think he needs rotors and drums the old ones were original and the front one was locked up a few times. now it doesn't lock up b ut i have to pump it twice before it stops,not acceptable.

Sounds like you need to bleed the brakes some more.