If you don't want to read, skip to the last line and it will summarize......
So I went to change my brake pads on my 1986 4banger Ranger because I figured they hadnt been done in a while so I pull the wheel and the rotor on the driver's side looks like hell, it's got 2 huge rings around it where the brake pads were so worn down the rivets ate through it. So I go to the local advance auto and pick up new pads and 2 new rotors for the front. I get through with the driver side and it goes off without a problem, on comes the passenger. I pull the wheel and much to my surprise the rotor looks good and the pads still have some life in them but I change them anyways since I had the parts and brakes come in pairs. I get done buttoning everything back up and go out for a little test drive a couple miles down the road and after a few minutes my brake pedal is pretty tight and I smell something burning and head back to the house. When I get there my passenger side brake is extremely hot and lightly smoking. I then yank the wheel back off and play with the caliper pins and the brake frees so I can turn the rotor by hand. Then I go hit the brake and sure enough it seizes again. I play with the pins positioning and caliper positioning for about an hour until I finally get it to sit in a place that allows me to hit the brake without it getting locked into the rotor. Then after about 200 miles of normal driving I was out again today and felt that brake grab and stick once again....

So what I was wondering is what could I do to stop this??? Do I need new caliper pins, new caliper? What?? Any help will be appreciated and I need help ASAP.

For those of you who didn't read the story above, my passenger front brake is grabbing and seizing and I need to know what I can do to fix this problem, it seems to be an alignment issue with the caliper pins and caliper but I'm not sure. I need help because it's bad for the brakes and it's giving my clutch hell in this stop and go traffic

 

Could be a bad line or could be a bad caliper. Probally cheaper to make sure you break line is clogged first... I owned 2 older rangers and had nothing but problems with the front braking systems. There just not made to hammer on like i wanted to lol...

 

I would doubt it's the line because this just started after I replaced the pads and rotors but I'll probably end up replacing the line and caliper. Do you know where I can get new caliper pins as well? This really just annoys me that they designed the brake system like they did.

 

Umm autozone had them here in town.. Not sure what you have down there but id try your local parts store..

 

Yeah I looked online and advance has them too but I'm here at UT for college and the closest one hasnt answered their phone for 20 minutes.... I hate not being near my own parts store

 

Oh gotcha.. I hate when buisnes's dont answer there phone.. Ive been trying to get a hold of this Campground for 3 days now lol... Kinda diffrent but still..

 

You would think that since a tenth of the nation is looking for work, businesses would be able to find good employees but I guess that's too much to ask.

 

Yeh i guess but i think the same place about where i work lol. 90% of our employs are dumber that ****..

 

It happens everywhere you go I suppose, Well I just ordered a caliper and it should be in tomorrow, do you think this should fix my problem?

 

Unless its a bad line then yeh it should. I had many of the calipers fail on mine.

 

have you flushed the old brake fluid out with fresh fluid

sounds like the old fluid has water in it.

 

I have not done this, How would I go about doing this exactly?

 

find a large plastic or glass jar ( at least 1 gallon size )

attach a proper size clear plastic hose to the bleed nipple and clamp it
fill the jar up 1/3 with water ,, make sure that the end of the hose is in the water
crack the bleed valve slightly ( only allows slight fluid loss )
remove the master cylinder cap .
pump the brake pedal several times ( then check the master cylinder fluid level )
re-fill the master cylinder when the level gets very low ( aboot every 10 pumps or so )
these steps are a 1 person job when followed properly
( the water prevents any air being sucked back into the brake lines )
close that bleeder valve only after the clear hose shows fresh fluid flowing through it

when you are done ( use grease to coat the rubber hoses )
the grease forms a water proof barrier that will prevent any water to be absorbed in the rubber hoses

continue these steps for the front calipers and rear drum cylinders

 

The water would prevent air from being sucked in sure....
But its going to suck in the water instead....
And then you'd have to change the fluid again.....

Or am I missing something here?

 

you will need a minimum of 3 feet of hose

and NO! the water just prevents any air/ water from being sucked back up the hose

my auto shop teacher taught me that process

i have done this process many times and it works like charm

i use DOT6 silicone brake fluid ( it does not absorb water and it keeps the caliper and drum pistons constantly lubricated

 

Well here's an update

I go to drive to the parts store to pick up the caliper and the brake isn't sticking anymore?? I still plan on swapping out the caliper but what would cause this problem to appear and disappear?

 

popped it self free maybe?

 

I don't understand why that would happen unless somehow it released brake pressure while it was sitting

 

i recommend that you replace both of the calipers

sounds like the piston somehow jammed itself in it`s bore

it sometimes happens when the piston wears out it`s bore

 

I'll probably end up doing just that to be on the safer side, Might as well go through the entire brake system while I'm here I guess. The rears are what's worrying me, I'm scared to look at what condition they are in at this point haha

 

would replace the calaiper

 

It's a rare occurrence for me to find another first gen owner online.

 

it kinda sounds like the turbo encabaculater is going out

 

i got a first gen just let you no

 

87 must have been a popular year with you fellas....

As far as the turbo encabaculater goes, I took it to my mechanic and he replaced that and did a full system flush on it so I'm fine there