Brake Problems

Hi there,

I am having brake problems with my 93 Ex 4wd. A few days ago my car pulled to the left when I braked. I kept on driving and when I finally stopped my right front tire was covered in smoke that was coming from behind it (the brakes) and the wheel was extremely hot, you couldn't touch it.

I figured my caliper was stuck so I replaced it along with brand new pads for both sides, it worked good the following day but it started doing it again today (pulling to the left), but now both my front brakes smell like burning rubber and the wheels get really hot, what is going on? What do I do?

Just FYI, the master cylinder is a few months old

Update: Both calipers replaced and still burning up the brakes, but now the pedal is really high up, slight deppression of brake pedal locks up the brakes and they are abs!

I would deffinately spend the money to take it to the a mechanic.

I finally replaced the brake booster, the brake pedal feels alot softer and the brakes don't lock up but this morning when I arrived at work I could still get the same smell from the front wheels

I know my bearings need to be repacked, but can bad bearings be causing this burning smell, it sorta smells like burning grease

I finally replaced the brake booster, the brake pedal feels alot softer and the brakes don't lock up but this morning when I arrived at work I could still get the same smell from the front wheels

I know my bearings need to be repacked, but can bad bearings be causing this burning smell, it sorta smells like burning grease

If your brakes are getting hot, its your brakes. You have a problem with them.

When the brakes are hot from rubbing, get underneath and open the bleeder. If fluid squirts out, you have pressure in your lines even tho you do not have your foot on the brake. Assumuing your master cylinder is ok since its pretty new and your booster is ok, you probably have a problem with your ABS unit.

If my brakes were rubbing wouldn't my explorer be moving slower, it feels as light as ever, if I put the car in drive and let go of the brakes it begins to move forward right away

Isn't it also possible that if the bearings are bad and are heating up it would cause the brakes to heat up since they are close together

If my brakes were rubbing wouldn't my explorer be moving slower, it feels as light as ever, if I put the car in drive and let go of the brakes it begins to move forward right away

Isn't it also possible that if the bearings are bad and are heating up it would cause the brakes to heat up since they are close together

What can it hurt to test the brake line pressure though? Give it a shot, if its not the case, what did you lose, just a little bit of time and some brake fluid. Just my 2 cents

If my brakes were rubbing wouldn't my explorer be moving slower, it feels as light as ever, if I put the car in drive and let go of the brakes it begins to move forward right away

Isn't it also possible that if the bearings are bad and are heating up it would cause the brakes to heat up since they are close together


Wheel bearings on both sides almost never fail at the SAME time. Also, chances are high that you would be hearing grinding noises off of the bad bearings.

99 percent chance you got a brake problem. Also, you can jack it up and check the front wheel for rubbing pads after it gets hot.

Did you properly adjust your brake pedal when you replaced the master cylinder / booster to get the correct freeplay in the pedal?

Got another opinion from a mechanic, he thinks it could be the proportioner valve, what do you guys think?

I will try to bleed the brakes like exploded99 mentioned when I get home today as they will be hot enough to test them

And the brake pedal feels really good as of right now

Just so I can take a look at it where is the proportioner valve located?

Got another opinion from a mechanic, he thinks it could be the proportioner valve, what do you guys think?

I will try to bleed the brakes like exploded99 mentioned when I get home today as they will be hot enough to test them

And the brake pedal feels really good as of right now

Just so I can take a look at it where is the proportioner valve located?

I have not done much work on the first gen explorers so I hope others might chime in on the location of the proportioning valve.

Good luck!

Hi there,

I am having brake problems with my 93 Ex 4wd. A few days ago my car pulled to the left when I braked. I kept on driving and when I finally stopped my right front tire was covered in smoke that was coming from behind it (the brakes) and the wheel was extremely hot, you couldn't touch it.

I figured my caliper was stuck so I replaced it along with brand new pads for both sides, it worked good the following day but it started doing it again today (pulling to the left), but now both my front brakes smell like burning rubber and the wheels get really hot, what is going on? What do I do?

Just FYI, the master cylinder is a few months old

Update: Both calipers replaced and still burning up the brakes, but now the pedal is really high up, slight deppression of brake pedal locks up the brakes and they are abs!

This sounds like classic flex line failure. The rubber brake lines deteriorate internally. Sometimes they will plug up and act like one-way valves not allowing the caliper to release.
To repair it, replace the flex lines.

Hmmm....looked up the flex lines and they are $30 and $20 each and that is something I can do myself but could both lines fail at the same time? Or would one failing cause this type of problem?

Just to make sure these lines are the ones that go from the caliper to the other lines and half of the line is rubber, correct?

Well I replaced both front brake hoses and drove it for a few miles, it was working fine then it started pulling to the left, kept on driving and when I stopped the left front wheel was extremely hot and smelled once again like burning brakes

I've done all I can do myself, all that is left is to seek pro help

Please tell me what you find!!! I just had the same thing happen to me this past weekend. It would pull to the left and heat up the left front brake. I was 18 miles from home and decided to try backing up and slamming the brakes to release them. As long as I stayed off the brakes it was OK. One time after I had to stop or slow down for something they hung up and I just used abrupt brake applications and they released. I looked at the brake pads and they look fine. Put it back together and it hasn't done it since. I'll check back to this thread latter and hope to see what you found.

I am also going through the same thing the brakes are getting very hot especially on the left side this must be a common problem on the explorers.

I cleaned and lubed the surfaces of the brake caliper as well as the pins that slide between them. If you have done your own brakes you know what i'm talking about. They haven't gotten stuck since. It's been 3 months now.
Well that lasted for a couple of years. When it happened agian, I was told to replace my brake hose going into the caliper. No problems since. I think the hoses are the real problem, They colapse internaly and don't allow fluid to return.