[Shotimes] More brakes woes!!

[Josh]

> I bought a 93 MTX in October. All new back brakes - rotors, calipers,
> caliper brackets, pads, etc. I knew it needed pads when I bought it, found
> the drivers rear caliper boot busted, leaking brake fluid, this lead me to
> just replace all the back brakes for peace of mind.

When you say the driver's rear caliper *boot* busted, what exactly do you
mean?  I'm assuming you mean the boot that seals the brake piston.

> Know, approximately 4,000 miles later, the drivers rear is leaking again.
I
> have not looked, but seems like the same issue. The brake light is
on(which
> leads me to another questions later). It seems at times that this brake
does
> not disengage, or that it is always braking, as I get some squeaking from
it
> occasionally.

Hmmm...  Have you checked to see where the fluid is leaking from?  Could it
be that your rubber brake line going to the caliper has a small leak or that
it is leaking around where the line is connected to the caliper?  If fluid
is actually leaking out from where the piston enters the caliper, I'd have
to say it could have been a defective rebuilt caliper.  It would take A LOT
of pressure to push that seal out and cause it to leak - I don't even know
if it would be possible.  My first guess would be a bad rubber brake line or
loose bolt.

As somoene mentioned earlier, there is a switch in brake resevoir that will
turn on your brake light when the fluid is low.  It could also stay on if
your emergency brake and/or pedal is sticking.  First fill the resevoir with
fluid to see if the light goes out.  If not, check for sticking mechanisms
or cables in the emergency brake system.

Try comparing the temperature of your rear brakes by touching the wheels on
each side after you drive around for awhile.  They both should be the same
temparture, and relatively cool - MUCH cooler than the fronts.  If one side
is hotter than the other, that caliper isn't releasing (could be frozen
slider pins, a bad rubber line or frozen caliper).  If both sides are
extremely hot, it could be both rears have bad rubber brake lines, a bad
proportioning valve, or possibly a malfunctioning master cylinder or brake
booster.

> Anyway, does anyone know what would cause this issue? Can it be getting
too
> much pressure? If so, why would the fronts not be doing the same? Could
the
> emergency brake cable be causing this?

Dragging brakes can be caused by any number of components in your braking
system.  Have you tried jacking up the car and rotating all the wheels by
hand with the e-brake off and the car in neutral?  All the wheels should
spin with very little effort.  If they are all dragging, first replace all
the calipers and brake lines (relatively cheap).  If it continues to drag,
it is likely a master cylinder or brake booster issue.

I went through a couple years of frustrating brake problems on my '95, and
was just recently able to solve them by replacing ALL the calipers, brake
lines, pads, rotors, rear proportining valve, master cylinder, and brake
booster.  I had gone through countless sets of brake lines, pads, rotors,
and calipers, and decided to replace the WHOLE brake sysem.  NOW the car
finally brakes like it should.  I hope NO ONE has to go through what I went
through!

Good luck!

Josh Salaets
95 SHO MTX (See it here: www.cardomain.com/id/sh0gun)
85 Omni GLH-T (Autocrosser)
Eugene, OR