Do I have a stuck caliper?

The other day I smelled a strong burning smell on the highway but I thought it may had been another car. Then yesterday the steering wheel had a decent little shake to it. When I stopped the front drivers side wheel was hot to the touch and smelled like hot metal if you will. Not sure if it’s a wheel bearing going or my caliper is stuck a little. The smell leads me to believe brakes.

My question is, how hard is this to fix? It is just like a brake job or will I possibly need a new caliper?

The other half wants to work on wedding planning this afternoon so I’m not sure if I should tear into this myself or just bring it to a shop.

Thanks for any insight!

 

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That's not too far off....

 

Brakes get hot dude especially if your riding them going down hill on the freeway. You probably warped the rotor, options are getting it resurfaced or just replace it, maybe with a vented rotor to help with the heat.

 

Not this hot. Wasn’t riding them on the highway. The left wheel was cool to the touch. I’ll jack it up tonight

 

Remember Brakes do the whole axle not just one side.

Is it possible you may have crushed the brake line fluid gets in under pressure does not release the more you apply the brakes the more fluid is trapped.

Calipers do hang up rebuilding is an option if the bore is not scored .

 

This is the front so no axle.

I think the right side just has a bunch of gunk/brake dust in there and now I’m sure it’s gotten hot enough to damage the rotor.

I’m just gonna buy new rotors and pads and replace em both sides. Hopefully that’ll be enough to put this behind me!

 

Sorry used to 4wd not 2wd

 

Most likely a bad caliper. Does the stuck pull to one side when you brake? Does the steering wheel torque to one side when you brake?

 

It comes and goes. I went to get new parts and it was binding up pretty bad. Got in the parking lot and the wheel was smoking. On the way home I could barely notice it was an issue.

I stopped and spoke with a shop today and the guy said most likely stuck caliper. I got 2 new rotors and 2 loaded calipers for piece of mind. He’s going to swap both sides tomorrow morning for $200. Such an easy repair to pay for but I can’t afford to be out my vehicle if the repair doesn’t go smoothly.

 

Its also possible the rubber brake line is collapsed that could cause your issue.

 

Mileage? Last time brakes were serviced?

 

Another reason why I am having a shop do the repair just in case, so that if that's the issue they can diagnose more quickly..

193xxx and I believe the brakes were probably serviced (with pads) at maybe 180xxx. I bought the truck in Nov 2017 with 182xxx and the kid said the brakes just services recently. Replacing everything will give me some peace of mind as well.

 

Over and done with. Stops on a dime now!

 

that caliper looks new, what all did you replace?

Assuming rotors, pads and calipers?

 

Replaced both rotors and 2 loaded calipers. Don’t want to deal with that bs again

 

Why do you say that? Having to bleed the brake line afterward or some other reason?

Asking because I may be helping someone do this over the weekend.

 

I mean don’t want to deal with a stuck caliper on the other side so I did both. It’s a easy job but I actually had a shop do it because I had to work. Took the guy like 1hr 20min

 

Got two remand calipers from Toyota Dallas for a steal, and two rotors as well around the same milage. My dust boots (for the cylinders) were torn all up and the pads were wearing a bit uneven.

Great idea all around...