89 camaro brakes

The other week my brakes started making this nasty squeeling noise. had also determined that it was comming from the front driver side wheel. So today I finally had time to check it out. I jacked it up and spun the wheel. I wasnt suprised when it didnt spin easily and made a faint sound of the noise I had described earlier. Took the wheel off and saw that the caliper is pushing the brake down. I fiddled around with it for a while hoping it was just rusted shut or something. Anybody know how I can fix it?

that squeeling noise is your wear indicator on your brake pads..

Check your pads to see if they need to be replaced.. if they've still got some life left, bend the wear indicator back a little and that will stop the squealing.. the wear indicator is a small metal clip that you'l see drags against the rotor when you turn it and makes the squeaking noise..

a little resistance when trying to turn your wheel is normal.. how hard is it to turn? try turning it and have someone press on the brakes.. if its not stopping the wheel, or doesnt release imeediatly after, your caliper has probably seized up.. you can rebuild them, but from what I remember, they were inexpensive to replace..

thanx I'll just get some new pads. Id really like to avoid having to get a new caliper. But also when I looked at the pad it was touching with out the brake being pressed. That and I noticed that there was a part on the rotor that was scratched. Anyways Im just kinda worried about getting new pads if they're gonna be used up in a week :confused:

Not trying to flame you or anything, but it really dosen't sound like your up to speed on brakes here. (no pun intended)

Please, get yourself a manual and/or (preferably) someone who's done brakes before to help you.

Brakes are an area where you don't want to get cheap or experament.

Well the caliper is frozen and the brakes are being held against the rotor. Luckily I can get a new calliper from shucks for about 18 buck if I exchange my old one. Seems kinda wierd it would be such a huge reduction in price for xchanging an old rusty one, so if anyone would advise against it let me know. Thanks for the help.

Well, you get the core price, the 'new' caliper you're buying is someone's old one remanufactured just like they will your old rusty one.

Now the caliper is actually holding the rotor at a solid stop with no movement?

hmm. well hopfully I get one that wont do the same thing in a few months. Anyways it used to be holding it at a solid stop but the pads have warn down so that now it barely touches the rotor but it still touches. caliper doesnt even think about moving when I step on the brakes. squeeks when I brake and turn and all that good stuff. Usually happens when a good lookin girl is present. It does expain why my car has been pulling to the left for the past month.

Well, like we said, some drag is normal and goes and corrects itself when the wheel(s) are turning faster.

Funny tho, my left caliper was seized and even the new one kept locking up until I swtiched bleeder valves.

With my luck changing the calliper wont help anything so that last bit of info might help a great deal

Yeah, after installing the new caliper and bleeding the system, all the sudden the pedal would go soft and the darn thing locked up. I started to think the master cylinder was blown, but none of the other wheels were locked up. But, the bleeder valve was stiff as hell to move and for a new one isn't right. So I swaped it out with the old one, re-bled and voala, perfect pedal and minimal drag

I think the valve wasn't opening all the way and actually trapping more air then letting out.

when you do a brake job for the price you should ( text book) replace the calipers and the lines and the rotors,,Brakes arent something to be getting cheap with,,,the rotors can be dressed up but they are fairly cheap and so are the calipers,,I would say for 250 you can replace pads calipers rotors and lines and have a safe reliable front brake set up that will last you another 35 to 40 K,,,when you do the front be sure to at least check and adjust the back,,alot of guys go threw front pads every 4000 miles and this is because they dont keep the back brakes adjusted and the car is mainly stopping on the front pads this causes the brakes to wear faster and also adds aditional heat to the front rotor and causes premature failure there too,after the back are adjusted properly ,,using the emergency break when you park the vehicle will keep the back brakes adjusted constantly. Good luck!!

Jim, you bring up some agreeable points, however, Some users may not keep open tabs and follow the service recommendations for their specific vehicle and go based solely on what somebody told them on a forum.

I personally wouldn't tell everyone that they need to rfecplace their calipers everytie they replace their pads? That's service writer talk in my opinion. If everything is in good operable condition and boot seal is in order why condemn it? I've had calpers last for years at time without any problems. Matter of fact I'm finally do for brakes on my daily driver after 5 years 45K miles.

And lasl but certainly not least. I would be extremely cautious about general broadcasting that the proper way to adjust your rear brakes is with the parking brake. There's quite a few vehicles out there still self adjusting drum brakes.

I fully understand your reasoning of safety don't get me wrong, that's what I told 'strix9', don't get cheap and experamental, brakes are not the area to do so. But replacing every bleeding item in the whole system is not a very pratcical solution.

If the caliper is locked up and won't release al the way, it likely isn't a problem with the caliper. More likely it is the brake hose going to that caliper it blocked and won't let the fluid back out of the caliper so it can release.
Your car is old enough that you should replace the brake hoses just as a matter of course.

Im understanding the need for saftey but 250 bucks is just out of the question. I was thinking about changing some of the hoses though depending on how big of a job it is. I was wondering though since Im changing one calliper should I change the other? I havent had any problems with it or anything just thinking it might be important

Im understanding the need for saftey but 250 bucks is just out of the question. I was thinking about changing some of the hoses though depending on how big of a job it is. I was wondering though since Im changing one calliper should I change the other? I havent had any problems with it or anything just thinking it might be important
Start off by just changing the hose to that caliper. Bleed it out real well. If the problem disappears, replace all of the hoses and doo a through bleed of the brakes. If it doesn't cure the problem..then buy a caliper. GM calipers rarely ever fail, they are just too simple of a device, 1 moving part.

Thanks all. I'll probably replace the caliper anyways just cuz its nasty and for 18 bucks its not really a big deal. Money isnt really the problem its just that my car is such a piece of junk Im kinda weary about what I spend on it. Seems like something wrong happens every week. First I had to replace an altenator, then an engine, now a transmission and brakes. Engines starting to make a gargling noise like an old truck on a hot day. I know its off the subject but anybody know why that would happen? I know I got a vacuume leak under the throttle body cuz of bad gasket started around the same time as that. Anyways if my engine is going to hell then Im gonna skip the brakes and just sell it to somebody who wants a project. Anyways I'll replace the hoses and calliper bleed the breaks and with any luck I'll be able to roll up on the ladies again :smokin: