Calipers, Rotors, Pads, Lines & more- OEM and Aftermarket
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By teal_dx
#11084 My car has sat for a year and a half in a garage. I drove it last night for the first time.
Problem #1, the brakes were slightly sticking, like someone was constantly pushing the pedal a little bit. I figured that it was just because the rotors had rusted from sitting, so I drove it down the road. It sounded like a train (clank clank clank and screech screech screech) but I know this happens when disc brakes sit for long periods of time. after driving and using the brakes, the rust should wear off the rotors and they qill get quiet.

After about 1/4 Mi, the car was struggling to move, the brakes were sticking a lot more! I couldn't go past 3rd gear because the motor couldn't overpower the brakes. Then It got worse and I had to stay in 2nd, so I pulled in a driveway to turn around and my car would not budge.

Finally after revving the hell out of it and stalling like 10 times, I backed out and started down the road in first gear. I tried to go into 2nd but the engine couldn't override the force of the brakes in that gear. So I drove home in first gear, only about 1/2 mile.

When I got back, the front pads were smoking. The contact surface of the rotors was clean of rust though!

The brake pedal was stiff and would not even press down at all. I jacked up each corner of the car and every wheel was stuck. I got the back wheels to turn maybe 1" by putting my weight on the spoke with my foot.

The master cylinder was the same one as before, but the brake pedals were from a different manual car. I found an adjustment to move the brake switch out farther and give the pedal an extra 1/4" or so to come out. That fixed it and everything was normal. The train noise was still loud, but not as loud as it was at first.

Later that night I drove almost 40 miles and the train noise is still as loud as it was. Between the 3rd mile and the 40th mile the sound did not decrease in volume at all. The noise gets louder/faster with speed.

I'm wondering how long this could last for?? The surface of the rotors looks clean ever since the brakes got stuck on, but it still sounds awful.
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By Sire
#11939 Did you check your emergency brake cable? Could be just a little stuck after a long time...? :?
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By ohDirka
#11940
Sire wrote:Did you check your emergency brake cable? Could be just a little stuck after a long time...? :?


i was thinking about this last night and i wanted to ask if you had the ebrack on the whole time it was in the garage
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By ChicagoMike
#12083 Damn splash guards. Every now and again I'll get a rock stuck between the rotor and the splash guard, then it just screams real loud till I dig it out.

Glad you figured it out, one less thing to worry about! :thumb:
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By Greasedmonkey
#12093 When I had that problem wiht my brakes, there was something wrong wih the line. Fluid would get forced to the calipur to push it out to stop the car, but something clogged the line to stop it from going back to the resivoir. Both my front brakes would lock up and I would have just the same problem you did. Becuase of this, I have a BRAND new master cylinder and proportioning valve and new front brake lines. New GSR front spinders and brakes. To clear the hard lines I had to force air throught the lines. It was a pain in the ass.
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By stefan
#12101 Really sounds like a pain indeed...
I do know that cars that stood still for quite a time get rusty calipercilinders, but I guess you figured everything out then hey ;)