Earlier this year I installed new rotors, pads, hoses, and remanufactured calipers from A1 Cardone. I also had the dealer replace the fluid and bleed the whole ABS system.

Recently the van is pulling a little to the left under normal driving, and pulls harder to the left when braking. I removed the left front wheel, and found the rotor to be pretty hard to turn without any pedal pressure, as if the piston is not retracted enough, dragging on the disk. I bled a little fluid from the caliper with pressure on the pedal, but didn't get any air bubbles, just a solid flow of fluid. The piston can be pushed back into the core with a clamp,giving total freeplay, but doesn't seem to retract much on it's own, after it's pumped up.

Did I get a bad caliper? or maybe something else causing this? Would appreciate some help.
Thanks.

 

when the caliper doesn't retract enough to release the disc then you have a stuck caliper. now you have abs on it to and the sensor may have gone bad. you need to have it checked at the dealer to see if that's what's wrong with it. if that checks out ok then you have a bad calliper

 

Something you can try, and you probably can do this without removing the L/F wheel.
With the L/F wheel off the ground and otherwise free to rotate, open the caliper bleeder screw to relieve any retained pressure. If the wheel is now more free to rotate there could be an obstruction in that L/F caliper brake hose.

 

I went ahead and installed a new (rebuilt) caliper. With the system pumped up, it worked well, and released enough without pressure, to allow the rotor to spin with just a little friction at the pads, so that's better than what I had before. But this morning when I started the van, the pedal when way down, and was very mushy, so I must have let some air in. I have tried to bleed the caliper, and am getting some bubbles out but it doesn't release the caliper. Any suggestions on this bleeding process?

Thanks

 

it usually takes two people to bleed the brakes on a car. one to pump them up and the other to open the bleeder valve or you can take the cap off of the master and open the bleeder valves then wait a little while then close the bleeder valve and put the cap back on the master cylinder

 

I have been bleeding the lines with my wife's help, with little success, so I removed the caliper, put a clamp & wood block it, and pushed the piston back with the bleeder open. Then I reinstalled the caliper, pumped up the system, and get a good solid feel at the pedal, and just enough freeplay when released.

So I'm right back to where I was before, with the brake working well, but when I started the engine earlier today the pedal wouldn't pump up, and when I pulled the wheel I found the caliper locked up tight.

I'm trying to understand what happens when the engine is on( the booster system?) that makes the brakes different from when the engine is off.

This really is Labor Day!

 

you might have to bleed all four wheels to get the desired effect and start with the right rear and work your way to the drivers front last and do it with the car running it will give the right feel when the pedal is being pumped up. while your bleeding the brakes tell your wife to hold down the pedal until you close the bleeder valve then start pumping the pedal up again she should tell you when the pedal hits the floor that's when you tell her to hold the pedal until you can close the valve. one more thing did you have the little sensors checked?

 

Grindman,

I will get those ABS sensors checked, and have them bleed the whole system. I have done as much as I can. Thank you for your help.