96 Continental Brakes

[sovero]

My 96 Cont. is experiencing brake probems. Driving to and from work (12 miles) I have no problem if there is little traffic. However, if a lot of stop and go, they seize up and provide tremendous drag so that have have to park the car and let them cool off. I recently (600 miles ago) had the master cylinder replaced and was told at that time that pads and rotors were fine. It feels like the calipers are not releasing. Any suggestions.

[Towncar]

Welcome sovero..

I suppose you're talking about just the fronts. The two halves of the Caliper Assembly (Caliper) have several contact points were they slide toward and away from each other, they also slide on large mounting bolts.

In addition, the caliper Pistons and Piston bores can be gummed up with brake dust and road debris preventing them from retracting.

The best way to solve any of these problems is with new Calipers however, if you're mechanically inclined you can clean up these mating / sliding points and achieve good results too.

Depending on severity of usage, weather/climate conditions, etc.. the rubber seals that are supposed to protect some of these slide points may have deteriorated to the point of replacement. All these little things is why most folks will just replace the entire Caliper Assy.

Allot of the better brake shops will replace calipers as part of the brake job, or give no warranty.

[bacchus_gc]

Change your brake booster . For sure that is the problem.