Help!!! Rotor or Caliper or Something Else!

dandruff · #1 04-28-2008, 10:08 AM

2001 X5 3.0i Step / 107K

Friday, the front end starts to rattle / shake / shudder / vibrate real hard .. steering wheel shudders real hard .. didnt feel as much (or at all) in the pedal tho) ... it had done that last week, and we took it in for balancing and everything was fine till it did it again, took it for balancing yet again and everything checked out ok - made them rebalance just to be sure, but this time the shudder wont go away.

Reached home all shook up, there was a slight burning smell on the passenger side front pads and rotors were hotter than the driver side.

Took the wheel off, used c-clamp on pads, nothing seemed amiss, took the caliper off and cleaned it, took it for test drive and everything was fine.

This morning while driving to work, everything seems normal except the passenger side is way hot (burnt finger to prove it

; and has the burning smell. Also very slight shimmy / shake in the steering wheel while braking.

So whats causing it? Warped Rotor or Stuck / Frozen Caliper or front suspension?

Warped Rotor : wouldnt that do it all the time tho? how do you check for a warped rotor?

Stuck Caliper: anything i can do?

Alignment : ?????

Suspension : with 107K i think its time for atleast sway bar end links but everything looked normal .. didnt see much play but I really dont know how to check most suspension for play either ...

Changed Rotors 5K miles ago with OE Brembos. Dont think they are fakes but who knows.

TIA!

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UCrewX5 · #2 04-28-2008, 11:49 AM

It could be the control arms and/or sway links.

Tomaz · #3 04-28-2008, 12:24 PM

Sounds like that caliper is dragging. Either the piston is not retracting or the fluid is blocked. Any signs of corrosion or kinked brake line?

dandruff · #4 04-28-2008, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomaz

Sounds like that caliper is dragging. Either the piston is not retracting or the fluid is blocked. Any signs of corrosion or kinked brake line?

no kinked lines ... but there is little spots of rust on the inside of the piston ... can that be fixed with the repair kit or am i looking for a new caliper??? the rotor was hot even after short gentle braking drive ... no noise so i dont think its the wheel bearings ...

Tomaz · #5 04-28-2008, 02:55 PM

There's always a little rust on the caliper piston. If you can reccess the piston easily with a lever than the piston is free. Your anlysis of the hot rotor does imply a stuck caliper though. If the caliper is dragging it will warp the rotor. You may have an air bubble or water in the brake fluid causing the caliper not to retract. Have you bled the brake lines?

X5_Rob · #6 04-28-2008, 02:58 PM

D - sounds like your caliper piston is tightening up. The shimmy in the wheel is the fact that different amounts of braking pressure are being applied to your left and right front rotors. One wheel is turning more freely then the other causing the shimmy. THe passenger piston is also not releasing and your driving with brake pressure (pad to rotor) all the time causing all that heat. At 107k mi not unusual. You can get your calipers rebuilt. Caliper kits with the various O-rings should be avail. I don't know about DIY but shouldn't be to bad at brake shop. In my experience the second one is not far behind so I would get both front caliper rebuilds done same time.

Good luck...

Rob

jayjay_dee · #7 04-28-2008, 03:13 PM

had the same exact scenario last year... passenger side caliper seized... and yeah, i burned my finger too...

X was under warranty that time, dealer replaced left and right rotors, calipers, pads...

all (rattle / shake / shudder / vibrate real hard) went away... good luck with your X..

acitydweller · #8 04-28-2008, 03:36 PM

might need a caliper rebuild?

dandruff · #9 04-29-2008, 09:47 AM

Thanks Guys for all the tips. It was a stuck piston/ caliper ... went with BMW part .. total $550 ouchie ...

good news .. no play in any suspension parts at 107K ... very little play in driver side sway bar end links .. which i am going to DIY anyways ... thanks again!

Stewthebassman · #10 01-16-2009, 08:56 PM

So my wife has complained about the same thing....here I am on X5world trying to figure out the problem...

Just did a full fluids checkup....they did the brake fluids 3,000 miles ago....and now the seizing has begun!

Fortunately for me, I didn't burn my fingers (thanks to you guys!!), just scalded my knuckle a bit!! The left front was warm but the right front was HOT!

At the same service visit we did all new links, wishbones etc, on warranty...I paid for an alignment, and now this shimmy....

So should I complain that there is air in the brake lines causing this to happen???? Was it because the technician did a bad job?

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