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Caliper jamming


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One of my callipers is jamming. Its easy to turn it all the way in and put the pads back in but the caliper won't return after braking. The only way I can get the wheel to move again is by releasing the bleeder. What's going on here!?

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Could have a bad caliper. I am assuming you have bled it thoroughly. I usually make sure I crack it and have it drip to know I have all the air out before I start to pump bleed. You might have an air bubble in the line. If you can get a steady stream with it cracked and someone stepping on pedal, your caliper is definitely caught on something. 

Edited by Naked Buell
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Ive had the break lines go bad on several cars and this is exactly what they did if there is a clamp holding the break line to something pull it off as the break line deteriorates it swells just alittle and the clamp dosent exspand so it pinches the line off sometimes you can remove the clamp and get it to work for a while but its gona fail again soon anyway a break line is cheaper than a caliper so try that first

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The break lines rust from the inside out stainless or not there's no way to tell by just looking at it the key is when you open the bleeder it goes back in the fluid can't get out of the caliper so the piston stay out its not like there is a spring pushing it back in the hill holder usaly affects both front breaks

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Since the front brakes share a common circuit before the hill holder and only one is hanging up, it could be the hill holder but not the master cylinder. Stainless lines are still rubber inside and new or not, can still collapse internally. Your description of being able to release the caliper by opening the bleeder leaves only two possibilities. The line is at fault, or the piston is not returning. The seal on a caliper piston is square cut. When you apply pressure to the piston, it moves outward and the seal tips on edge. When you release pressure, the seal is supposed to tip back the other way, this is what causes it to return inward. If the seal is bad or the bore is rusty, even the slightest bit of pressure will cause it to stick in the bore.

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It could be that a piece of rubber or something is blocking the line maybe try cleaning the line also just because its new doesn't mean its good if the caliper was bad it wouldn't release when you open the bleader

Actually, it would release. I've seen it before on several vehicles.

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Hum what pump the break the piston sticks release pesure it opens if the piston sticks when u take pressure off then it doesn't mater how you release the pressure just matters that it sticks his piston returns when he opens the bleader there fore releasing the pressure if Sead piston were sticking when he let off the pedal it would still stick when the bleader is opened the fact that it returns means the problem is not the piston a nother  simple test pump the breaks crack the line before the caliper like were the hard line meets the soft line see if it releases try it at the master cylinder then at the caliper you can isolate the bad line like that ive done this so many times on so many different cars its always the same issues always the same fix bad break line if its a caliper problem the piston won't return on its own whether the bleader is opened or not

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It's because of the design of the seal on the piston. Reread my first post describing it.  Been doing this for 30+ years. It's possible. Seen it, done it, replaced it... Even with the pressure on the system 'released' (pedal up), there is still a small amount of pressure in the system. Very small, but it's there.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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