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Disc Brakes Sticking / Getting Hot

10K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  Scar0  
#1 ·
Hi All,
new to posting stuff, so I hope I got this right.
we have owned our dodge for 8 years, its a 2008 (I think ST) anyway just the standard model with paint on the guards and bumper... its my wife's car, I just get to clean it. anyway.. we have has to replace the front rotors after our mechanic found a slight warp in the disc, the car has 120,000 km...
The other day we went off road (down a dirt track) and on the way back we found that 1 front disc and 1 rear was VERY hot to the point that we could not put our hands near the tyre rim.
has anyone heard of this being a issue. it is off to the mechanics tomorrow, as now we seem to have a noticed the brake peddal bouncing when i put my foot down . the car has been fairly reliable, it is thirsty running 13ltr/ 100km but the wife does love it, and would hate to get rid of it because of lack of reliability.
 
#2 ·
Welcome to the forum Tigerjet71. When you have a chance, head over to the Newbie Section and say "Hi".
Tell us a little about yourself and your ride.
That way we can welcome you all proper like.

Before replacing your brakes it is always a good idea to clean the caliper pistons outer edges.
Here is why;
As the old brakes wear down the piston expands(gets pushed out) to make up for worn/lost brake pad surface. As this happens you can get a slight buildup of (for lack of a better word) crud on the piston.
Then you install new brake pads. In order for them to fit, you have to compress the caliper piston back into the cylinder. And the crud goes along for the ride.
Then you use the brakes... The piston comes out to apply the brake pads to the rotor. But the "crud" will not let the piston move freely back in. Thus they stick and heat up, which can cause your rotors to over heat and warp.
Is this common? Well I have seen this more with the newer rigs(because of the use of a composite piston ) then the old rigs(steel piston). So I'd say "yes" it is more common then one would think.

Another thing which can cause your rotors to stick is if the shims, which sit between the carrier and the end of the pads metal part, were not replace, lubed, or the old ones wore thru creating a groove in the carrier. Again the symptoms are similar to above because the pads can not move freely.

Another factor would be worn rotors. Worn down rotors have less metal to dissipate/absorb the heat, and as such, can warp with less heat then a new rotor.

As for reliability. Get the brakes fixed properly and all is well.

BTW. From your description of the Nitro I would guess it to be an SLT.
But have a look here to be sure.
https://www.nitroforumz.com/threads/grilles.30541/#post-163671
 
#4 ·
HI Scar0
thanks for the reply, it seems that the issue is more of a technical fault.. with the car being in the shop for over a week. our mechanic put his computer on and found that the back left traction control sensor was loosing connection when turning left with the brake pressed....
so the traction control is applying the back left and front right brakes.
He felt that the axel may have had to much play in it, so replaced the bearing and shim/ seal... that didn't fix it..
so ... no charge for the bearing and now he is waiting for a rear sensor...
there is none in country and its a 3 week wait.
I am told its a $55.00 part and 10 minutes to fit it...

i'll jump into the newbie page and have a go at getting some details down
 
#5 ·
Wow that is an interesting situation.

With what you are saying, you should have had the traction control and ABS lights come on, on the dash, each time it happened. You should have also felt the ABS vibration in the brake pedal. Or heard the ABS vibration while driving. It's actually quite loud and can be alarming if you do not know what it is.

If the ABS was loosing connection/communication to one of the sensors, it should have set a "lost communication" DTC (diagnosis trouble code)for that wheel location, turned off the ABS, and illuminated the ABS light.
It should not have initiated the ESP (electronic stability program) protocol, causing the brakes to be applied.

If the sensor was sending a false reading (over speed or under speed) of the wheel rotation, that would explain the brakes being applied. And you would get the above(paragraph 2).
In which case it could be the tone ring in the hub at fault, or the sensor going bad.

Hope a new sensor takes care of it. Also kudos to the mechanic for not charging for the bearing...