rear brake problem.

[LongGrain]

so about 8k miles ago my rear brakes started making that horrible metal on metal scraping sound when i was driving and reversing, it was 100x worse when braking also. i did some research and found out this was normal when your rear pads are dead. so no problem, i replaced all of my pads EBC ultimax pads and even swapped out my rotors for some new oem ones. well its only been like 3 months or so and that sound is already back. it wasnt even a gradual kind of thing, i left my house to go pick up my girlfriend and they were fine, when i left her house it started. i'm up at college right now and my car usually sits during the week and i drive it on the weekends. also when i drive it after having it sit for a while it feels like my brakes are locked up and i have to give it some gas when i start to break them free (the rears at least). what the hell could be the problem? my pads shouldnt be dead that fast. could it be my calipers?

[S13Leprechaun]

i think so... sounds like they arent releasing properly... check the fluid..?

[5t341tH]

did u see if ur new pads are wearing down? it could be that ur ebrake is engaged prematurely; thus wearing down a lot

[LongGrain]

did u see if ur new pads are wearing down? it could be that ur ebrake is engaged prematurely; thus wearing down a lot

well since i'm at college i havent had a chance to check it out, i wont be able to until i put my car away for the winter at thanksgiving. that definitely sounds like the ebrake coudl be the problem

[markyboi]

1. seized brake caliper

or

2. hubs/bearings



its more likely the calipers

[projectRDM]

240s are well known for seized rear calipers, a little research will find a ton of people with similar problems. Rebuild them or put the money towards an upgrade that eliminates the silly ass mechanical parking brake.

[LongGrain]

ugh what do i need to rebuild them? can i do this myself? i would upgrade but i dont think my advans will clear any bigger brakes than i have, i barely have any clearance on the fronts already.

[projectRDM]

Just buy remans off the shelf, and get them with a lifetime warranty, you'll still be swapping them once a year even with a good set. They're just not built to last.

[johngriff]

I wanted to dig this thread up to add some info for the sake of index/searching.

Recently, My brothers car started exhibiting the same symptom of rear calipers locked. After replacing too much equipment, it ended up being a failure of the "Double Proportioning Valve" in the master cylinder, which Laymanly is UNSERVICEABLE.

To test the prospective problems if your rear brakes are locked.

Lift the Rear of the Vehicle and remove wheels.
Open bleeder on rear caliper.
Use a large flat head to pry pad in towards piston of caliper, in an attempt to press the piston in. If you get good play on the caliper pressing back in on both sides move up to the master cylinder.

Pump and bleed brakes. Remove the front line from the master (which is the line for the rear brakes. Again, press the pad in on the caliper while watching the open line, if fluid is "FREELY" pushing back out the lines, your lines are AOK.

From here it basically is the Double Proportioning valve in the Master Cylinder, a quick swap and bleed and your problems should be fixed.

[Turtle]

Sorry for once again reviving this thread. I just didn't feel like I needed to start a new one. So if I get this straight. It could just be my master cylinder gone? I changed my pads and they wore down in like 10 miles of driving. (15$ autozone pads) I checked and my piston wasn't releasing the rotor. So I swapped them out, same thing happened. My brother had a similar problem with his 240sx but, his were the front wheels. He changed the brake master, no go. He changed the brake booster and it worked. I'm in the process of saving up 140$ to buy a brake booster. (poor 15 year old kid) So if what I read is right, it could be that my brake master is acting up and, should swap it out for a new one. Because it was fine before and could using my car without any brakes caused my brake master to mess up? I mean cause the piston was all the way out.

[Turtle]

So... Any answers?

[cdlong]

it's probably your calipers. did you say you replaced them?

it could be your master cylinder but it seems unlikely. i don't see how it could be a problem with the booster. it's more likely that on your brother's car that the pedal/input rod was out of adjustment and when he swapped the booster, the new one lined up better.

check your rear calipers first and make sure they slide properly (remove caliper, check pins in the bracket slide smoothly), the e-brake works properly, and they don't drag. if they do or you don't find anything else, check the adjustment of the input rod.

[kenshinS14sks]

that happened to me once and basically my calipers had frozen shut. it's almost as if the ebrake was constantly engaged. .. is it both sides???

[Turtle]

Yea, its both sides. I don't know though. These calipers only let go when I open the bleeding screw... Still think its the calipers or brake master?

[Ca_laurier]

NEW CALIPERS

when you bring ride your bakes down to metal to metal replace your pads, rotors and your calipers

the heat produced from the friction damages the caliper enough for it to seize.

buy some rebuilt ones for cheap. its a really reasy install. bleed them than bring your car for a brake flush

problem solved

[Turtle]

I did change them, the calipers that I bought had about 75% brake pad left... The car was hit so I got them working... I'll get a brake master tomorrow, if it doesn't help I'll get rebuilt calipers... I'll keep you guys updated.

[g6civcx]

Make sure you replace both calipers on the same axle at a time. One old and one new on the same axle will give you slightly unpredictable braking.

[cdlong]

NEW CALIPERS

when you bring ride your bakes down to metal to metal replace your pads, rotors and your calipers

the heat produced from the friction damages the caliper enough for it to seize.

buy some rebuilt ones for cheap. its a really reasy install. bleed them than bring your car for a brake flush

problem solved

brake parts are built to handle high heat. they may need to be regreased, but not an issue overall.

try checking the master cylinder like i mentioned earlier. there's a port in the MC that allows fluid from the resivor into the system as the pads wear and back out as the fluid heats up. if the MC piston doesn come back all the way, it won't release built up pressure. if both calipers get constant pressure and only release once the bleed screw is opened, the MC probably isn't releasing all the way. back the input rod off a little so it opens up the port every time, problem solved. check the FSM for adjustment procedures. i think you have to take the MC off every time, but it will fix the problem and it's free.