'98 Rear Disc Brakes
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Beginning Member
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 20
'98 Rear Disc Brakes
I replaced rear brake pads recently to find the driver side worn out while passenger was in decent condition, like half life on that side. Now maybe 2 months later the driver side is growling when brake applied and intermittent noise while driving. Not always, and periodically the noise will go away if I tap the brake lightly. Thinking I have a bad caliper on the driver side brake? Any help confirming diagnosis or other things to look for extremely appreciated
Starting Member
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 238
From: Hardin Ky
I had this just other day, did new brake pads all around and had front rotors cut. Week later passenger rear was getting hot from just short trips, other 3 rims cool. Bad caliper- when I disconnected brake line from that caliper I could not even get it to retract with a large “C” clamp. Replaced, had buddy help bleed air, all good.
So I guess if you removed it from rotor, leave fluid line connected. Remove cap under hood to fill it. Put a “c” clamp to it and see if you can get it to go back in. Then, replace cap on fill under hood, press brake pedal and see if comes back out some? History for me over 20 years has been when bad they just don’t release (aka: retract).
So I guess if you removed it from rotor, leave fluid line connected. Remove cap under hood to fill it. Put a “c” clamp to it and see if you can get it to go back in. Then, replace cap on fill under hood, press brake pedal and see if comes back out some? History for me over 20 years has been when bad they just don’t release (aka: retract).
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Beginning Member
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 20
Thanks Trukntigger, researched through many posts here and came to the conclusion I'll just replace the caliper. Inspect the flex line and do pads and rotor while it's all apart, maybe get a rebuild kit and go over the caliper after the fact to develop another skill!
Beginning Member
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 40
From: Wisconsin , 15 miles South of Manitowoc
Hi , sorry to hear that you have had these brake pad problems
From my experience with brakes from the late '70's , if the pads on one side are more worn than the other , or even the inboard side being thinner than the outboard side , than there's a strong possibility that the piston is hanging up in the caliper bore , and not retracting enough . Confirmation by not getting flush into the caliper when using the c-clamp .
New Member
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 79
From: Burleson, TX
You can rebuild it for $15-25 including the phenolic steel piston, square seal and boot if you mix and match on Amazon. Bonus points for not dealing with a deposit or having another caliper sitting in the shop collecting dust. Even saw a nice video where the guy pumped the brake to push the piston all the way out instead of disconnecting the line and using an air compressor on the bench to shoot the piston out... If you have a helper that's quick with the line clamp, you won't even loose that much brake fluid AND have an easier time bleeding it afterwards. This is my next step in 'bringing back the brick' pedal for my 99. Left rear pads were a hair away from being metal on metal on RR had about a 1/3 left. To me, changing the lines are a bigger hassle with more chances to break/twist a hard line.
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 746
From: Poland
If You decide to use the compressor, my friendly advice: make sure first the bleeding valve is shut.
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Beginning Member
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 20
Thanks for the input, pulled it apart after I had everything there to completely replace any or all components. What I found was the caliper was hanging up, C-clamp had great effort to get it to retract, flex line looked good with no issue there. Installed new caliper, rotor, and pads, works like it should. Doing another inspection this weekend to ensure the caliper is operating correct and flex line wasn't contributing to the problem.