Brakes?

[maglite15]

I have a 92 Camry and was wondering what would make the front brakes lock up. It was working fine and I knew I was close to needing new brakes. I was in line at the bank and went to pull ahead and the brakes were stuck on. I drove it about a block to get out of the way and the brakes were hot. I have just never seen brakes lock up just cause I was getting due for new pads. Any insight would be appreciated Thanks

[VMS]

sounds like the calipers are sticking, or worse the master cylinder is malfunctioning.

Won't know if it's the calipers until you get in there and start checking things.

Steve

[pascooter94]

could be the calipers or the brake hoses, open the bleder if the piston goes in then replace both the hoses if the piston dont move replace the calipers. allways replace in pairs

[maglite15]

So if the hoses are bad and I open the bleeder why would the piston on the caliper move? Also when my brakes were stuck on the brake pedal felt real hard. Then I let the car sit for a couple hours and test drove it and it worked fine again. Would that be a bad caliper?

[Jeremy airjer W]

Because the hoses are trapping pressure in the caliper, essentially keeping the brakes applied even though your foot is of the pedal. Relieve the pressure and the pistons move back slightly, if this is the case. I have replaced 2 toyota brake hoses in the last 13-14 years. Both where leaking brake fluid?

You also need to compress the pistons enough so that you can move the caliper back and forth on its slides. If they don't slide (more likely in my opinion) replace both calipers.

The other possibility is that the area that the pads make contact with on the cliper braket have rotted up to the point where the pads no longer move freely on them. I have purchased a sandblaster to clean these sufaces off and it works well. Basically I would have to use a hammer to pound the old pads out. After cleaning I sometimes have a hard time keeping them in place! There are usually metal shims where the pads ride on the bracket. Remove those shims and the rust build up will be underneath. A wire brush and a small screw driver (to scrape the rust) will also work.

[maglite15]

Thanks everyone for all the good information. Much appreciated. Airjer thanks for the detailed answer.