jeremy accept my appoligies 02 chrysler

[mrpike1973]

a short while back i wrote about my 02 chrysler smelling hot like a tranny. well i brought it in and they replaced power pack? for the tranny i believe it needed to be replaced regardless. flash forward we dont drive this car on long trips much started smelling bad thought it would burn up. got out and like a silly-me burned my hand on the right rear wheel it was so hot it was steaming. limped it home spun wheel it hardly would move i'm assuming it is the brake caliper. is this hard to change looks like just 2 bolts and the brake hose. are the emergency brake cables any problem thanks for your help you said it could be brakes i'm guessing your right thanks

[DrJuice1980]

Did you check the wheel bearings??? Ive seen the tires melt from all the heat coming off of bad ones in the past. Might be worth it to check them.

[mrpike1973]

when i spin the tire i can hear the pads dragging on the rotor. however i hear no noise from the rear and with the wheel on it didnt feel rough at all how do you check a bearing they look sealed to me .

[DrJuice1980]

I dont think youd have much if any rotor left if you drove a significant amount on it. Zip the housing off and push the caliper back in, assemble it all back together, make sure you pump the brakes a lot before you drive off to test it. A tell tale sign of a bad bearing would be a humming noise while driving coming from that wheel. Sorry I can not offer more than that.

[Surface Tension]

Could be the E brake is hanging up at the cable.

The caliper can be cleaned. Where the bolts go through clean that out and where the caliper slides clean that as well. Before you remove the caliper and brake pads push the piston in. Carefully do that with a small pry bar or screw driver. If it takes a considerable amount of force to compress the piston stop there and remove the brake line from the caliper and plug the brake line. Now try and compress the piston. If it moves easily that is your cue to replace the flexible brake line. I'll say it wouldn't be the first time someone had the brakes hang and replaced the caliper but not the brake line only to find out they should have replaced the line too. What happens is the inside wall of the hose swells or deteriorate and restricts the brake fluid enough that it won't release the piston in the caliper.

In your case, because of the heat I'd replace the caliper, brakes and brake line. If the rotor warped from the heat I'd replace that too. I'm sure the grease in the bearings were sizzling too. At least keep an eye on bearings and replace if necessary.

[mrpike1973]

should i just change the brake hose regardless i was gonna tackle this myself but i might bring it in. i little over my knowledge thanks

[Jeremy airjer W]

Try compressing the piston with a screwdriver before pulling the caliper off. If the piston compresses easily than the hose is fine and its either the slides that are frozen or the e brake. If the piston does not move than try opening the bleeder screw. If the piston compresses to with the bleeder open than the brake hose is collapsed. If the piston still does not move than the piston is froze and the caliper will need to be replaced.