HELP!! Smoking front brakes!

Oooh.

Depends on where the pads came from, they may or may not have had shims. Some don't come with them as a setup anymore. I wonder if maybe there's a double shim somehow. Out there for a theory but spirit of overturning all rocks..

 

Here’s your problem.

 

Haha they’re the only part store near me!

 

All, again thank you for the advice. I’ll be getting the replacement to the replacement caliper today after work. I’ll update with how that goes.

 

Also, the hard lines that go from caliper to soft line are only $8 or so at the dealership.

 

The kink/hard bend was in the flexible brake line, not the metal line. If that’s what you’re referring to. The hardened line was fine! I might preemptively replace the soft line just to be safe though

 

You can not really go on how hard or easy it is to turn the hub by hand.
You are turning the axle and spider gears too. And it’s not the “same” for both sides.
You pretty much just have to go off “experience, visual inspection, and sound.
If it’s not rubbing, and doesn’t sound like it’s rubbing, and doesn’t fell like it’s rubbing. It’s probably not rubbing anything and it’s just drive line tension.

I think it’s a caliper issue. But you definitely need to make sure the pads slide in and out of the caliper easy.
Same goes for the slide pins. I wire wheel them. I’ve even used 600 grit sand paper to “polish” them. I also “Lightly” lube the pins.

 

Can't hurt to do both the softs at this point I reckon.

Give the new new one a go, if this comes up in the future I'd just spring for OEM or something better versus the chain shops. I fought something like this on my wife's old Rav4, went through 3 calipers on the same wheel (rear, I forget which side) in a few years.

 

Well put the new caliper on. The new brake pads were a lot easier to put in place like normally. However once the brakes were bled, i couldn’t turn the rotor with the brake pedal released. It’s like it’s not releasing pressure.

Also just for reference this is how I bled the brakes. Maybe I’m doing something wrong? I just don’t think so because the Driver front spins fine.

Hold brake pedal, crack bleed valve, pump until no more air bubbles, hold brake pedal, close valve. Working from furthest tire to closest.

 

No. That’s not right.
Never pump the pedal with the bleeder open.

Pump the brake pedal a few times and HOLD THE PEDAL DOWN.
THEN you crack the bleeder, the brake pedal will sink to floor, hold it at the floor, and then close the bleeder.
Repeat that process until no more air comes out.


You need 2 people to do it.

 

Well.

You learn something new everyday.

 

The only way to learn is to try.
And trust me we I say “I learned a lot by trying and failing”.

 

Haha that’s what I get for going off memory of helping my Dad when I was a little kid. Shoulda googled how to do it again since it’s been so long! I ended up calling him and he laughed his head off but got me through it. I quickly just bled them the correct way and everything seems to be working as it should.

 

All, thank you for the input, advice, and tips. I really appreciated everyone’s help even if it came down to me being an idiot and not bleeding the brakes correctly. Next time, I’ll do a little more googling and youtubing before hand to make sure I know what I’m doing!

 

Glad you got it figured out and thanks for giving us the update!

 

You can actually bleed brakes with 1 person.

Tube going into bleed bottle has to stay submerged in brake fluid. Crack bleeder, pump away, close bleeder.

The very best way to bleed brakes is with a pressure bleeder attached to the reservoir. No brake pedal involved.

 

What @Superdave1.0 said. Get a motive pressure bleeder. Makes it really easy.

 

I used a vacuum bleeder once.
An it was a mess…..

I’ve thought about a pressure bleeder. But I don’t do brakes enough to need one.

 

I had a vacuum bleeder (used a compressor) and I wasn't a fan. The pressure bleeder I bought to replace it is much better. FWIW, I don't use these on my truck since the electronic brake booster on the off-road but I use it on our other vehicles.

https://www.motiveproducts.com/collections/brake-bleeder-kits

 

Yeah Motive is the one. Once you set it up, it's truly the most efficient way to bleed. We have an expensive machine at my work that accomplishes the same effect as motive.