Got a problem.

After 2 months of sitting in the yard, I got the clutch working again on the Datsun. Just needed the system bled.

But now I'm noticing my front right brake is possibly seized.

I drove it about 20 miles or so, to clear off the rust that formed from sitting, and see how it drives.

When I drive, it pulls slightly to the right.
When I brake, it pulls hard to the left. So I'm guessing there's definitely something up with that right front brake.

Pulled off the wheel and couldn't get the caliper to move off the rotor. I could barely turn the wheel by hand(s) (with all my strength, which granted, isn't much)

Checked the other front tire, it turned just fine.

So, I was planning to replace the pads, since they're cheap, and see what happens from there. But I can't move the caliper, so I can't replace the pads.

Any advice?

 

Thanks!

I actually thought of bleeding the system to let it loosen, but wasn't sure if that was the smartest thing to do, in case I end up having to get it to a shop. Even the one around the corner would be interesting without brakes.

When I tried bleeding it to loosen it, the fluid trickled out. But the caliper didn't loosen.

If that doesn't work, I assume next is removing the caliper and rotor as a unit?

 

the pin that allows the caliper to move back and fourth is probably frozen. Take the caliper off clean the little pin even with high grit sand paper and put some lub on it and see how that works.

 

+1 the same thing happened on my car a while back. The pins were frozen solid. You can probably get the replacement slider pins from discount auto if you dont feel comfortable cleaning them.

 

How do I take the caliper off, if it won't budge off the rotor? I mean I can only barely budge the wheel with the wheel on, there's no way I'll just slide the caliper off with the pads on it. It's clamped onto the rotor.

It isn't just not rotating up, it won't loosen itself off the rotor.

I think I'll end up taking it to the shop Monday if I can't figure it out by then. Hopefully they won't screw me over, so far they seem to have been reasonable with the other car.

 

Large hammer, lube and elbow grease.


seriously

 

+1 and advice
Don't be afraid of the car. It's already broken, you'll either fix it yourself or take it to a mechanic. Even if you make it worse, you were already going to take it to a mechanic anyway.

 

Probably already thought of this, but are you sure you unbolted the caliper from the caliper bracket? Should be two bolts. If so, take a block of wood and a hammer and just beat the hell out of the caliper until it freezes itself

 

Going by the shop manual, it just said to unbolt 1 of the 2 bolts, and it'll swing up. So that's what I did. Then I took out the 2nd bolt. But still, I can't slide the caliper up, because it's still clamping to the wheel.

It's not that I'm afraid of the car. But if I don't know what I'm doing, I could end up to where I lose the brake fluid completely, or some other problem, and then it'll be a bigger hassle getting the car to a shop.

As it sits, I'll probably give it another attempt Monday morning, but most likely it'll end up at the shop, because it's one of those things they might be able to salvage the caliper, wheras if I do it, I'd probably remove the rotor/caliper at one time, and replace the whole shebang, because I'm not sure how else I'd get it off. That's about $130 in parts that I might not have to spend if they can get the caliper off itself.