Smoking hot front left wheel, no brakes!

[kevyrev]

So my son is newly licensed and driving the festiva to practice. He came home the other day and the front left wheel was really heated up and you could smell it. I took off the front left wheel thinking the brake caliper was sticking and thinking I'd find a trashed rotor and pads but NOPE! To my surprise they were fine. So it is full with brake fluid but there is NO pressure at the pedal. I took it down the street and when you tap the brakes it pulls to that side and seems as that wheel is the only one with brakes. Wheel doesn't seem to have a bad bearing, no noise..... Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! Do I need to bleed brakes?

[mikemounlio]

Change the caliper. Its sticking / not working. Swap it or pull it apart and grease the piston. I would just swap it for a new unit tho.

[ryanprins13]

Could be just the slider pins sticking. Is the outer pad worn mlre than the inner or the other way around?

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[kevyrev]

Thanks, I'll check out. Will there be zero break pressure at the pedal with a stuck piston?

[ryanprins13]

Probably air in there is a secondary problem. Did the car sit for a long time?
Are the rear wheel cylinders leaking?
It can happen that the seals dry out in the rear cylinders and allow air into the system when you release the pedal but still mostly seal liquid when you apply the brakes.

No pedal pressure can also be a bad master cylinder.

But the issues of no pressure and a hot hub are likely 2 seperate problems.

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[Studebaker]

Could also be a bad rubber brake line. If your going to bleed the brakes change the brake line first.

[WmWatt]

I guess you've looked under the car at the brake lines for leaking brake fluid? When the wheel was off the car did somebody sit in the driver's seat and work the pedal while you watched what was happening at the brake caliper? At the same time you could try rotating each wheel by hand with someone pressing the brake pedal. Does pumping the brake pedal help? Since it's the front brake it won't be the parking brake cable.

[firebush357]

I like to bleed my lines if my brakes have over heated just to get fresh fluid to the caliper. I would check the slide pins to make sure they are still smooth and make sure the spring is still in there. No brake pressure could be a lot of things but I would start with Bleeding the Brakes. If there is no pressure going to the lines when you bleed them then it is probably the Master Cylinder.

I'm assuming you haven't taken apart the Bearing/Hub assembly anytime recently?

[kevyrev]

So I did change out that caliper and apparently the piston wasn't sticking as that made no difference. Sliders weren't really sticking but were a little sluggish, cleaned and greased bolts. Bled left side (the side heating up) and went to bleed right passenger side and no fluid is coming out. Was able to remove bleed screw completely and zero fluid. My son pressed brake pedal to the floor and I can turn rotor with my hand. Is this a clog in the line or problem with master cylinder? Fluid goes to left side good. Haven't checked the rear.

[WmWatt]

Sounds like a blockage. Any sign of rust or damage? I'd uncouple at bottom end of rubber hose and see what comes out. If nothing then try top of rubber hose. If nothing then try connector at combination valve on firewall. Good luck. Also ise rubber hose pinched?

[kevyrev]

Thanks WmWatt for suggestions. No damage or rust. Brake lines not pinched. Been in the garden most of the morning and I'm getting ready to go out and check lines like you suggest. Fingers crossed!

[Studebaker]

Do check the rear brakes for operation. Check the drivers side first.

[kevyrev]

Ok, took another look, this is what is going on. When I open the bleed valve on driver side front -bleeds with fluid. Open passenger front, at first no fluid, now just barely drips. Rear drivers side wheel, barely drips, passenger side rear wheel, bleeds with fluid. Also I have been bleeding with engine off and there is some pressure on pedal but not what it should be. Also when you start engine there is no pressure on the pedal and when you pump pedal it starts making the engine hesitate, almost dies. This is strange to me and more puzzled than ever.

[Studebaker]

Your problem is the proporting valve or before. Maybe master cyl is bad. Are you having to add brake fluid? Proporting valves nornally dont go bad. Your not in a area were brake lines would rust thru. the mc is the first thing i would replace.

[kevyrev]

The brakes have been poor for a while so this isn't just an over night problem. Thanks for that advice Studebaker! I suppose that is why they are working on one diagonal and the other diagonal is bad.