Sticking Caliper maybe?

[Vince70]

I had new rear pads and a caliper fitted the other day on my Bini as I noticed the pads were down on one side and on the journey home I did notice the kind of whirring noise you normally associate with either a sticky brake or a wheel bearing and can kind of feel a little bit of vibration through the pedal when braking (the same as before the caliper was done)

I did the commute to work this morning and when I arrived I could smell that horrible brake smell coming from the newly fitted caliper area and the disk was hotter than the others and was just wondering is it a case of me taking it off again for a look or can I ignore and hope it goes away lol as I was thinking it might be a slightly warped rear disk.

[dollywobbler]

In my experience, calipers rarely fix themselves. Good way of boiling the brake fluid if it's getting really hot...

[Tamworthbay]

Don’t ignore for the reasons above. Nothing worse than the feeling of a brake pedal going all the way to the floor. It’s not a complex or expensive job so best to fix it ASAP.

[steveo3002]

or it will jam on completely at the wrong moment and leave you stranded /blocking a road

[HMC]

If it’s the new caliper that’s sticking maybe in replacing the Caliper a hose (maybe it got clamped off?) or pipe has been damaged and acting like a valve.

[MikeR]

it can boil the fluid and then the brakes go belly up m could be the new pad is tight in it mounting and the caliper needs a good clean

[steveo3002]

most cases its where youve pushed back a rusty /grubby piston thats been sticking out at full travel for ages , the rust /filth then jams when its pushed back to accommodate new pads

[DaveDorson]

Check your slider pins.

 

So often over-looked and so often the reason a caliper is sticking.

[Vince70]

I had a brand new caliper and pads fitted as I didn’t want to go through the same problem I had with the rover of doom l.

[rainagain]

As Dave said above remove the slider pins and grease with a rubber safe grease (not copper slip!). Whilst you have the caliper removed have someone sit in the car and gently pump the brakes until you piston is sticking out but not too much it falls out. Pull the rubber seal back and check if the piston is filthy or not. This is a sticking Audi caliper I recently sorted for a friend, the piston was filthy

 

 

It was so bad I actually removed it to clean it up

 

 

The actual cause of the sticking was a layer of aluminium corrosion behind the piston seal in the caliper. I gently removed the seal and cleaned out the groove it sits. 

 

 

Once all back together no more sticking caliper 

[shoddybanger]

Ditto to the above. It likely won't cure itself without overhauling/replacing the caliper. I wrestled with mine, making sure the pads and pins slide freely, but only replacing the pistons and the piston bore seal ring got rid of the sticky brakes.

 

It only needs slight pitting in the plating, and rust and grime start to form on it. Here's an example of sticking pistons from my Nubira rear brakes.

 

[Vince70]

I think the caliper itself should be okay as it’s brand new but I think I’m going to have to take it off again myself to have a look

[sierraman]

I’d just get an exchange caliper. Like others have said once the plating has gone that’s it.

[Vince70]

But it’s brand new but I guess even a new caliper could be faulty

[Mally]

People dive in without reading the post.

It's BRAND NEW !

Take the car back to whoever did the job.

[shoddybanger]

Ah, the caliper's new, and it was specifically mentioned in the OP. How embarrassing...

 

Well, the only explanations I can think of at this point are:

a ) The pads are a bad fit and do not slide freely on the pad holder - this causes them to stick and bind even though the piston retracts normally. There's a lot of force pushing them against the rotor but nothing to pull them off it.

b ) the new caliper is indeed bad.

[brownnova]

I wouldn’t ignore that for sure. My Saab’s caliper was sticking and it ended up smoking and stranding my girlfriend in the middle of nowhere in Wales!

 

If it’s brand new take it back to whoever did it, or if you did it yourself check the adjustment and then check if the caliper is operating properly once you have the wheel off.

[Snipes]

I'd be checking of the handbrake cables/mech aren't stuck in place.

[sutty2006]

If it’s the new caliper that’s sticking maybe in replacing the Caliper a hose (maybe it got clamped off?) or pipe has been damaged and acting like a valve.

My moneys on this ^^

[rainagain]

Doh I missed the new calliper bit as well! I’ve seen problems in the past where rust on the carrier (which I’m assuming hasn’t been replaced) causes the pads to jam. Nothing five minutes with a flat file won’t sort. But if you’ve just paid someone to do this get them to sort it.

[mitsisigma01]

Did someone mention it was brand new .....

Are the pads sticking in the groove in the caliper , a bleb of paint or poor fit can cause it to stick , if it's tight give it a quick filing .

Is the pad in the right way round ! Saw my neighbour doing this the other day .

[Vince70]

I was thinking it might be the carrier but I won’t find out now till Saturday and it did stink when I got home this evening so it looks like the E36 will be used tomorrow for work.

I did pay someone £40 to put it on for me as I’ve not enough time to look at it myself at the moment and I would have to drive 20 miles to get him to look at it but he’s hard to get hold of at the best of times.

 

So it looks like I know what I’m doing Saturday morning now and will chalk it up as a bad experience and know not to use that mechanic again and it looks like the copper slip and a wire brush might come in handy.

[clayts450]

Ill-fitting pads, I bet you - possibly need yanking out and the surfaces they sit in the calipers perhaps need wire-brushing out. Any money they just forced them in to fit and the pads are wedged in. First time the brake pedal was pressed the pads just got stuck on that side and are jammed against the disc.

 

I always seem to have to file off edges of new brake pads to ensure they fit properly (after doing the above of course)

[Kiltox]

Won’t the calliper be refurbished rather than new? Could be faulty..

[Vince70]

Well I feel very guilty now as the mechanic found the problem and it’s not a caliper but a sticking handbrake cable that’s been causing the trouble and is going to order the part and repair it in a couple of weeks time.

So that’s another job taken off the list and will be done just in time to take the car off the road for the summer months then it’s the Z3 and the E36 cabriolet getting a few months use.