General brake question

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nickpohlaandp

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So I know this is a little out of the norm for this forum, but brakes are brakes, and I'd like to get some input from some other fellow grease monkeys. My son drives a '94 Toyota pickup (first vehicle for him) and last night the right front caliper seized up. I just replaced the calipers in February, along with the rotors, pads, etc. I did all 4 wheels. I called O'reilly's Auto where I got the calipers from and they said that they'll warranty the caliper, so that's good news, but they said I should look into replacing the hose. They said "9 times out of 10 that is caused by the brake hose". I smell BS. I don't see how a brake hose could cause a frozen caliper, but that's not to say there's some gremlin out there that I've never heard of. Any thoughts on this? My first thought is, as a general rule of thumb, the people behind the counter of parts stores RARELY know jack about anything. They are part jockeys. It bugs the hell out of me when I ask for a part for a '98 Z-28 and they ask me if it is a V6 or V8.
 

Etroze86

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So a brake hose shouldn't cause that period. Usually those rubber lines end up swelling over time making the brakes spongy or the line leaks. I would probably replace it on the fact that the truck is from 94 but not cause it "may have" cause a stuck caliper.
 

DannyMK2

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its possible the brake line could be collapsed or breaking down internally jamming the piston. a bad brake line causing a stuck caliper is not unheard of. i would replace the line for sure since you already replaced the caliper and the problem came back. sure, its possible you just received a defective caliper, but the brake line is probably $10-$20. its not worth the aggravation of doing this again.
 

Rustycowl69

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there's a grain of truth there. A defective brake hose can cause a brake caliper piston to fail to retract. I've done over a hundred brake jobs, and I've only seen it happen once. So I would question the declaration that 9 out of ten times it is the brake hose at fault.
In the incident I witnessed, the inside of the brake hose had frayed, and a flap of rubber was acting like a check valve, allowing fluid to flow toward the caliper, but preventing fluid to return to the master cylinder. So it would progressively pump the caliper up, but inhibit the piston return. I think the hose can get damaged by allowing the caliper to hang from the frame, when servicing the brakes, etc. Of course, they can also deteriorate from age, contaminated fluid, etc., too.
 
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nickpohlaandp

nickpohlaandp

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its possible the brake line could be collapsed or breaking down internally jamming the piston. a bad brake line causing a stuck caliper is not unheard of. i would replace the line for sure since you already replaced the caliper and the problem came back. sure, its possible you just received a defective caliper, but the brake line is probably $10-$20. its not worth the aggravation of doing this again.

there's a grain of truth there. A defective brake hose can cause a brake caliper piston to fail to retract. I've done over a hundred brake jobs, and I've only seen it happen once. So I would question the declaration that 9 out of ten times it is the brake hose at fault.
In the incident I witnessed, the inside of the brake hose had frayed, and a flap of rubber was acting like a check valve, allowing fluid to flow toward the caliper, but preventing fluid to return to the master cylinder. So it would progressively pump the caliper up, but inhibit the piston return. I think the hose can get damaged by allowing the caliper to hang from the frame, when servicing the brakes, etc. Of course, they can also deteriorate from age, contaminated fluid, etc., too.

That's really interesting to know. Thanks guys. I think I'll go ahead and do all of the lines as a precautionary measure. What's $20? Gotta keep my boy safe, even if he is driving an old 'yota.
 

Etroze86

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In my years of being a Tech I've never encountered a brake line failure from the inside like that so I guess I get to learn something new today.
 
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averageguy

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I had this happen once on a Ford tempo. I bought all new pads, rotors, and calipers for the front. A friend who was a mechanic for years happened to stop by before I started and asked "did you check the line?" What?! I never heard of such a thing. Took the line loose and the pressure released and the caliper was fine. Replaced one line and took the rest of the parts back. Problem solved so it does happen. The line fails internally and wont let the fluid go back through freely.
 
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nickpohlaandp

nickpohlaandp

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I had this happen once on a Ford tempo. I bought all new pads, rotors, and calipers for the front. A friend who was a mechanic for years happened to stop by before I started and asked "did you check the line?" What?! I never heard of such a thing. Took the line loose and the pressure released and the caliper was fine. Replaced one line and took the rest of the parts back. Problem solved so it does happen. The line fails internally and wont let the fluid go back through freely.

That's some crazy crap. I've been wrenching on cars, planes, and helicopters for over 18 years and have never heard of that. It's humbling and kind of cool to learn something new. Just goes to show, you never know it all, and you're never too old to learn.
 

crash68

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I had this happen once on a Ford tempo. I bought all new pads, rotors, and calipers for the front. A friend who was a mechanic for years happened to stop by before I started and asked "did you check the line?" What?! I never heard of such a thing. Took the line loose and the pressure released and the caliper was fine. Replaced one line and took the rest of the parts back. Problem solved so it does happen. The line fails internally and wont let the fluid go back through freely.
Yeap, had the same thing happen on a Tempo too with the brake lines collapsing internally. Similar scenario, a mechanic buddy checked the brakes cause they were getting warm, thought I did something wrong changing the brake pads, nope bad hoses. Not only did I replace the hoses but flushed all the brake fluid with new.
 
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