Brake problems

[ManUpOrShutUp]

Front brakes are grinding metal-on-metal and in dire need of pads/rotors, which I just ordered. Truck just passed inspection 1,000 miles ago, but clearly the guy didn't actually check the brakes. Today I got stuck in a parking spot at the grocery store. When I tried to pull out of the spot, the truck would barely budge. I spent a little time pulling forward and back, pumping the brakes and engaging/disengaging the parking brake. Then I got out and started checking the 4 wheels. I found a piece of brake hardware near the front left tire, so my presumption was that my problem was most likely there. That caliper only has ~45k miles on it vs 212k on the other 3, but it seemed like the most likely candidate. I moved on to jacking the truck up and engaged the parking brake. Now I was stuck in park. I engaged/disengaged the parking brake a few times and after doing so, I was able to shift again. Finally, I engaged the parking brake again and went back to the front left wheel. I found it difficult to spin, but doable. I then did front right and rear right, which both spun ok. I forgot I still had the parking brake engaged and yet the right rear wheel still spun freely. I went ahead and disengaged the parking brake and did the left rear. It would not budge. Not even a little. Ok, time to call the tow truck.

Tow truck comes and says he's got to get it out of that spot to get it on the flatbed. I explain the situation and he asks if can try to get it moving. Of course. Now I stand back and watch him try to get the wheels rolling. The left rear seems to be moving no problem, but that right front isn't budging. Finally, it breaks loose and all 4 wheels are rolling. However, now the dash brake light is lit and the info center says the parking brake is on (it isn't). He gets it up on the flatbed no problem. He rolls it off the flatbed no problem. I pull it the 40 ft or so from where he dropped it into my parking spot in the driveway and it rolls fine. However, the dash brake light is lit and info center still says the parking brake is on. I put it into park and now all the warnings disappear.

So my first step tomorrow (if I have the ambition after what a s*it day today was) is going to be to pull that front left wheel off and see what's going on with that caliper. Obviously front pads/rotors need to be replaced when those come. However, I also have the issue at the rear wherein the right rear spins even with parking brake on and the left rear doesn't budge even with parking brake off. And then there's the parking brake on message when the parking brake pedal is disengaged. Can someone offer some guidance there?

 

[JamaicaJoe]

A lot to unpack here. Parking brake problem? Hydraulic problem? ABS? 4WD locked up?

Parking brake cables rusted up?

I would certainly be MOST suspicious of a bad rubber brake line. Been there done that, on my 2001, at 87K had smoking rear caliper, boiling axle lube and blown seal. So I would without delay replace all the rubber hoses. All of them. Replace the cooked caliper and its sister on other side. Flush the brake system and bleed. Drive for a while and check caliper and disk temperatures with a non contact thermometer. I blamed the parking brakes, and had them redone and checked by two shops before finally saying to them lets change all the hoses. The last shop tried to weasel out of the front hoses since I declined front calipers at the time. Nope, went right back in and told him I had paid for the labor and the hoses, get it done. Brakes fine ever since. The ABS module does have an internal solder problem and loses power. They can be rebuilt. You might also have a master cylinder problem. At your high mileage I would throw the checkbook open and get all the brake hoses changed and any other worn or cooked parts.

But you are in PA so the rust may be the death knell for the truck. The frame might be a problem.

 

[Hamfisted]

Sounds like you've got a lot of maintenance to catch up on. Did you reach down and pull the parking brake lever completely up to make sure it is all the way off ? The switch is about $10 if it ends up being the culprit, but it may just be the symptom of something else. How's the cable look underneath the Expy? Signs of corrosion?
You'll have to pull the rear rotors off and inspect the parking brake shoes anyway, and then properly adjust them again. Do you know how old or how many miles were on the front brake pads? Did you feel any resistance to rolling beforehand ?

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

A lot to unpack here. Parking brake problem? Hydraulic problem? ABS? 4WD locked up?

Parking brake cables rusted up?

I would certainly be MOST suspicious of a bad rubber brake line. Been there done that, on my 2001, at 87K had smoking rear caliper, boiling axle lube and blown seal. So I would without delay replace all the rubber hoses. All of them. Replace the cooked caliper and its sister on other side. Flush the brake system and bleed. Drive for a while and check caliper and disk temperatures with a non contact thermometer. I blamed the parking brakes, and had them redone and checked by two shops before finally saying to them lets change all the hoses. The last shop tried to weasel out of the front hoses since I declined front calipers at the time. Nope, went right back in and told him I had paid for the labor and the hoses, get it done. Brakes fine ever since. The ABS module does have an internal solder problem and loses power. They can be rebuilt. You might also have a master cylinder problem. At your high mileage I would throw the checkbook open and get all the brake hoses changed and any other worn or cooked parts.

But you are in PA so the rust may be the death knell for the truck. The frame might be a problem.

4WD is rarely used and hadn't been used for at least a month prior to the lockup issue today. I would think the ABS would throw some type of code or even a pending code, but nada there. The parking brake most certainly seems like a problem, though I think it's a problem that arose after the truck got stuck in the parking spot. I say that because I very rarely ever used the parking brake and probably hadn't used it for about 2 months prior to today. I won't really be able to drive it anywhere until I at least figure out what's seizing up. It happened without warning earlier today.

The truck is absolutely rusting out and that Triton is on borrowed time, so I'm not going to be dumping a ton into repairs. I'll put $1k into her, but likely not beyond that.

Sounds like you've got a lot of maintenance to catch up on. Did you reach down and pull the parking brake lever completely up to make sure it is all the way off ? The switch is about $10 if it ends up being the culprit, but it may just be the symptom of something else. How's the cable look underneath the Expy? Signs of corrosion?
You'll have to pull the rear rotors off and inspect the parking brake shoes anyway, and then properly adjust them again. Do you know how old or how many miles were on the front brake pads? Did you feel any resistance to rolling beforehand ?

Parking brake is completely disengaged from inside the truck. I'll have to do my best to get under the truck and check the cable. I herniated 3 discs last year and never fully recovered, so it's not easy to go crawling around (surgery imminent).

Front brake pads and rotors have 46k on them. Left front caliper was done at the same time as it had seized. Front right was inspected and still looked/operated as it should. Flush/fill on the brake fluid last done at that time also. I typically change out the brake fluid every 3 years, so it's due. My last set of front pads/rotors ran for nearly 90k miles and the shop said all was good, so I hadn't personally inspected them. A big part of that was the back injury as I tend to not bend down, crawl around, etc. unless I absolutely have to. No noticeable rolling resistance prior to this. No unusual noises either until the metal-on-metal, which only started a few days ago.

 

[Dustin Gebhardt]

I'll 2nd the rubber hose replacement idea. I had a frozen caliper, which I replaced, but when it happened again, I replaced all of the hoses and everything has been great since. My ABS also died shortly after the caliper issue. A used ABS pump, and reprogramming the as-built data, fixed that issue (although LKQ had to send me 3 ABS units before I found one that worked).

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

So I finally got around to this project. Checked the parking brake and all seems ok there. Nothing broken or crumbling. I checked the front passenger brakes and those had about 50% pad life left so I was a little confused as to the squealing, etc. until I pulled the sticking wheel. That front driver caliper had one working piston and one that completely failed. The result was the brake pads being compressed at a bit of an angle and getting stuck that way. The pads got completely obliterated and some pieces were actually MIA. The brake hardware was falling out as I removed the caliper as well. This explains why I went from no noticeable brake problems to a squeal and then a catastrophic failure a few days later. Replaced the front pads/rotors and front driver caliper. Drained and filled the brake fluid. Did not do the hoses as of yet as this was about all my back could take.

 

[Hamfisted]

That's a big mess. Glad you got it sorted out.

 

[Yupster Dog]

The result was the brake pads being compressed at a bit of an angle and getting stuck that way.

That Symptom usually caused by the caliper float pins sticking.
Don't forget to check/replace them.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

That Symptom usually caused by the caliper float pins sticking.
Don't forget to check/replace them.

I replaced the entire assembly - bracket and all.

 

[max78]

Ya I just had a similar issue but I caught it just in time. Mine was due to sticking pins and a bad piston. I rebuilt it myself and its all better.