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View Full Version : 95 240sx uneven brake wear and overheating


jmotley
06-09-2013, 07:51 PM
hey guys i'm new here, just got into 240s, and i'm having some trouble with my brakes...

i just put new rotors, pads, and calipers on the rear some ~200 miles ago and the outer driver's side pad is already gone and the squealer has dug into my rotor...
btw the first time i drove on them with ^^^ those new brakes) both sides smoked, which i assumed was fine.. but the driver's side got really really hot, basically you couldn't hold your hand on the wheel for more than ~15-20 seconds it was so hot, but all 3 of the others were fine.

so i got new pads my driver's side rotor resurfaced today and searched a few forums and found some of the basic problems... caliper piston seizing, slider bolts not being greased, and other parts not being greased. so today i re-installed everything, greased everything properly and they smoked and were cool for maybe .5 a mile but when i got back home they were extremely hot again. idk what to do from here :-/... any help would be greatly appreciated

skyline_guy777
06-09-2013, 08:07 PM
Sounds like caliper is seized man

jmotley
06-09-2013, 08:54 PM
Sounds like caliper is seized man

oh yeah, somehow i forgot to mention that when i installed the new stuff today it was really easy to turn the piston in.. so i'm assuming that means its not seized lol.

jmotley
06-09-2013, 08:58 PM
......will a clogged or collapsed brake line cause the piston to not retract?

s13livin
06-09-2013, 09:19 PM
guide pins too, you lube them? they move freely?

jmotley
06-09-2013, 09:33 PM
guide pins too, you lube them? they move freely?

yeah i lubed them this go around.. i didn't the first time but they were loose enough to take out by hand today

codyace
06-09-2013, 09:40 PM
......will a clogged or collapsed brake line cause the piston to not retract?

That is a possibility for sure, it happens more often than most know as it's commonplace to change lines and calipers at shops. We see it more often with GM stuff from the early to mid 90's than anything.

I'd still take apart the sliders and make sure they are ok too.

turbos14
06-09-2013, 10:08 PM
check to make sure the parking brake is not accidentally engaging even though the handle maybe down. Make sure the doesn't have any burs, seal is good and boot is installed correctly and not damaged. Lines are not kinked or bad. If nothing found then check master cylinder assembly back.

jmotley
06-10-2013, 08:40 AM
That is a possibility for sure, it happens more often than most know as it's commonplace to change lines and calipers at shops. We see it more often with GM stuff from the early to mid 90's than anything.

I'd still take apart the sliders and make sure they are ok too.

i took apart the sliders this past installation and they were fine.. i just greased them this time. i'm supposed to get a new brake line in for that side at oriellys today so we'll see what happens with that.. thanks for the info man

jmotley
06-10-2013, 08:42 AM
check to make sure the parking brake is not accidentally engaging even though the handle maybe down. Make sure the doesn't have any burs, seal is good and boot is installed correctly and not damaged. Lines are not kinked or bad. If nothing found then check master cylinder assembly back.

make sure the 'what doesn't have any burs? and how could i check to see if the parking brake was accidentally engaging.. the old pad wear or what?

corby_baby
06-10-2013, 09:02 AM
adjust the ebrake all the way loose to where it dosnt work anymore. drive car. if problem goes away then the ebrake needs to be properly adjusted.

thefro526
06-10-2013, 10:07 AM
I had some similar problems with my rear brakes.

Basically, the e-brake line wasn't properly tied up which caused it to touch the driveshaft and 'pull' on the Driver's rear caliper. This meant that I was more or less always driving with the e-brake on - which caused that caliper (and all of the fluid in the system) to heat up... Made things interesting for sure.

If the problem isn't your e-brake, diagnosing it should be pretty straightforward, especially if you replace the lines. Stock floating calipers are pretty simple, put if the caliper itself isn't seized, check the pins as others have suggested. make sure that both pins have the same amount of travel and ~equal resistance. From there, make sure that you can tighten both bolts down the same amount so that the caliper is sitting square against both of the pins.* If you've still got a problem, the last thing to check would be the the pads/brake rotors. Make sure that your guide shims aren't kinked/bent/otherwise derped and allow the pads to move freely in and out. By then you should have fixed the problem.

* On my first S13, way back when, I had this derpy brake issue where the car would always brake to the passenger side. Turns out, one of the bolts holding the drivers side caliper to the pins/floating mount wasn't properly seated, essentially causing that caliper to torque and only press half of the pad into the rotor. That was fun.

jmotley
06-10-2013, 10:56 AM
adjust the ebrake all the way loose to where it dosnt work anymore. drive car. if problem goes away then the ebrake needs to be properly adjusted.

alright thanks for the info, ill try that when i get back home today

I had some similar problems with my rear brakes.

Basically, the e-brake line wasn't properly tied up which caused it to touch the driveshaft and 'pull' on the Driver's rear caliper. This meant that I was more or less always driving with the e-brake on - which caused that caliper (and all of the fluid in the system) to heat up... Made things interesting for sure.

If the problem isn't your e-brake, diagnosing it should be pretty straightforward, especially if you replace the lines. Stock floating calipers are pretty simple, put if the caliper itself isn't seized, check the pins as others have suggested. make sure that both pins have the same amount of travel and ~equal resistance. From there, make sure that you can tighten both bolts down the same amount so that the caliper is sitting square against both of the pins.* If you've still got a problem, the last thing to check would be the the pads/brake rotors. Make sure that your guide shims aren't kinked/bent/otherwise derped and allow the pads to move freely in and out. By then you should have fixed the problem.

* On my first S13, way back when, I had this derpy brake issue where the car would always brake to the passenger side. Turns out, one of the bolts holding the drivers side caliper to the pins/floating mount wasn't properly seated, essentially causing that caliper to torque and only press half of the pad into the rotor. That was fun.

Thanks for the info man ^^ that sounds like a pain in the ass lol. i'm hoping its something simple like a line.. or maybe the e-brake like you said.

when i bought it the guy said it needed rear brakes but i didn't realize he meant all this... lol, guess this is what 'drifting' does to these cars

turbos14
06-10-2013, 04:05 PM
Sorry check that the caliper piston does not have burs, scratches or grooves. Like he said about the e brake cables, make sure they are correctly attached to the caliper and other mounting places. Work your way to where the two cables come together. This is usually where you'll adjust the cables tightness, turn the adjuster out until it is loose then tighten it up until your e brake holds the car from moving. The spec for the s14s is 7 to 9 clicks on the ebrake handle.

jmotley
06-10-2013, 06:09 PM
Sorry check that the caliper piston does not have burs, scratches or grooves. Like he said about the e brake cables, make sure they are correctly attached to the caliper and other mounting places. Work your way to where the two cables come together. This is usually where you'll adjust the cables tightness, turn the adjuster out until it is loose then tighten it up until your e brake holds the car from moving. The spec for the s14s is 7 to 9 clicks.

aight.. i'd be workin on it right now but i've got a paper due tomorrow :bash: .. f summer classes!

turbos14
06-11-2013, 01:55 PM
Ya I know the feeling...

jmotley
06-14-2013, 12:31 PM
Ya I know the feeling...

yeah it sucks.. its friday and i still haven't got the chance to work on it

jmotley
06-15-2013, 08:39 PM
i got a chance to try the ebrake thing, it didn't work.. i tried to take the brake line off to put the new one on and stripped the bolt. But i also went ahead and ordered another caliper from oreillys it'll be here monday.. I'm thinking i might have got a bad one. On a lighter note I found out i have a factory lsd today :D

jmotley
06-20-2013, 06:35 PM
it ended up being the "slider" pins in the caliper.. i had to take it to a shop to get it fixed.. i kinda feel like a noob. he said they had to set the pins, or they weren't set right. can anyone shed some light on this?