Excursion right brake overheating, pulling left

[PDA1]

Yesterday I replaced the front right rotor and hub (assumed wheel bearing was shot) because the right brake was overheating (smell of brake fluid or burn oil of some sort). In the past the Excursion always, always pulled to the left and the steering wheel oscillated left and right when braking. The car always shuddered when slowing down from high speed to a relatively quick stop (but NOT a really fast stop).

Well, yesterday the darn thing smoked bad so I replaced the rotor and wheel hub like I mentioned above. Tested the car last night and all worked well. The car didn't pull to the left all that much...the pulling was still present but not that noticeable.

Today went out driving and after traveling about 15 miles in speed up and slow travel the right brake started overheating again. I threw snow on it to cool it off. We let it cool for about 2 hours and then traveled home with no problems at all. I checked the front right brake temperature after returning home and they were warm to the touch.....just like the left front brake but not beyond boiling.


Any ideas what to do?

[e99f2506sp]

Stuck caliper...very common problem on sds and excursions.

Mine did the same thing. The pins the caliper slide on get rusty and wont let it open and close as it should so they get stuck shut.

Gotta replace the caliper...and now every time I rotate the tires (every 10k/ever other oil change) I grease up those pins so hopefully it won't happen again.

[late_99_PSD]

x2 ^^^^^^^

[thbd77]

I put anti sieze on my pins.

[golfmedik]

Sometimes when one brake is getting warm and pulling, it is the rubber brake lines. They tend to 'shred' on the inside and hold pressure on the caliper. Sometimes it releases the pressure and at other times doesn't. They are not expensive and worth changing if you are having a problem. Just a thought that might save you some time.

[e99f2506sp]

Originally Posted by golfmedik

Sometimes when one brake is getting warm and pulling, it is the rubber brake lines. They tend to 'shred' on the inside and hold pressure on the caliper. Sometimes it releases the pressure and at other times doesn't. They are not expensive and worth changing if you are having a problem. Just a thought that might save you some time.

Yeah replace this hose when you replace your caliper if the caliper ends up being the problem.

[seawolfbronco]

The brake hoses usually only hold pressure if they've been physically damaged, like being stretched, crushed or burned. More likely is the caliper piston stuck after replacing pads. When you just replace pads you are forcing the piston back into the caliper over any rust or dirt that has accumulated there. The solution is to pressure bleed the old brake fluid out once a year, keep the pins lubed, and replace or rebuild the calipers about every other pad change. I've also seen calipers hang if the brake fluid becomes contaminated with oil. That's a sure way to wipe out the whole system. It turns all the rubber bits and pieces to mush.

[HeliMedic]

I have been having the same issues with my left side. Great input, going to look at it tomorrow.

[PDA1]

I should've put a reply in how I fixed it.

Simple- the problem of shuddering was caused by a warped brake rotor and nothing more.

In the final analysis I replaced both rotors on the front of the EXCURSION and that solved the problem.

There is a "break-in" procedure for making sure the rotors don't warp soon after the new installation. You'll have to look it up on the web as I don't recall the exact procedure. It's accomplished by driving slow and braking....over a few miles. Then braking at speed, etc.