Stuck Caliper.....Thoughts
 

Have a Stuck Caliper that making the dam vehicle shake really bad. I am looking at rebuilding the caliper, Looking for any Do's and Don't from the ones that has done this.

Secondly, if I have to replace the caliper. Has anyone "pinched" the brakes lines to prevent air from getting sucked into the lines? A little scared to do this :cool: I would hate to damage the lines

If you're serious about fixing and not replacing the caliper, you need to remove it from the car.

You'll lose some brake fluid but you can plug the brake line. You'll get air in the system but you can bleed this out after you're done repairing the caliper.

When you have the caliper assembly out, clean it and try and figure out why it's seized. Did you run the pads down (i.e excess heat causing the piston to sieze)? Is the assembly rusty? Can you move the pistons with a vice grip or a vice? Do the pistons look ok? Is there uneven wear on the brake pad / disc from the caliper?

Be careful with the brake lines / don't pinch. Deal with the air after the fact with a bleeding. Use a piece of wood (something that gives a bit) between the vice and the piston if you're using a proper vice.

If your caliper piston is frozen, it may be because of bad fluid, so it may be worth it to flush and bleed with some fresh brake fluid.

Werewolf, I installed the rotos and pads on the less than a year ago (less than 10K miles) At the time I cleaned all the parts with plenty of brake cleaner and so forth. Running ceramic pads minimal brake dust. The pistons didn't look corroded at all.

As far as taking the caliper out. Do you think, I should open the brake fluid reservoir, loosen the caliper brake line and let it slowly drain out due to gravity. I have changed brake calipers before but I am really scared about air getting in the system and having to go to the stealership at pay them to blled the whole system.

Any thoughts on what I should do to the brake line, after I remove the caliper?

Yeah, I think thats a great idea. I think I will go ahead and bleed the system out.

anybody use this from harborfreight to blled the brakes. I don't have anyone to help me out with the brake bleed job.

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices it?

Rebuild it with OEM kit- call your parts dept or call bavauto
 

If you have some time to wait for the part to arrive, bavarian auto sells a remanufactured caliper for a great price. Problem is they do not stock them. Need it fixed immediately, get the rubber gasket rebuild kit from BMW and do it in your garage.

Word of caution: READ THE DIRECTIONS FOR THE KIT AND FOLLOW THEM! Especially about the part of using compressed air to place rubber around piston. Ask me how I know.

My pedal went to floor after all work was done after two bleeds. Had to take to dealer. I figure air got in system and freaked out the ABS module. Dealer bled for $133 and we are good to go! Good luck.

do you care to elaborate on the "compressed air to place rubber around piston"? not sure what exactly you are talking about? How did air get in?

To rebuild a caliper piston, you need to remove any corrosion on the piston itself and the caliper seat where the piston moves back and forth. Also you need to replace the rubber seal that keeps the piston seated airtight in the caliper. The piston moves using brake fluid pressure, but once the caliper is removed from the brake lines, you need something else to push out the piston. That's where an air compressor comes in. You need to force air pressure into the caliper to push the piston out.

If you don't want to rebuild, buying a remanufactured caliper is the easier route.

For brake bleeding, I've used a Motive brake bleeder which I think BavAuto also sells rebranded as their own.

I wouldn't open the resevoir (that promotes fluid loss). When you detach the brake line from the caliper, simply cap the end of the brake line (you will lose fluid and it is nasty stuff).

Check the site for a DIY on brake bleeds. I think there is a way to open the ABS sensor gates so air doesn't freak out the module. There should also be a bleeder valve on the caliper for the excess air once you're done. This is not the same thing as the connection between the caliper and the brake line. After your caliper is finished and you bleed the brakes, you can reset the ABS sensor gate.

Is the stuck caliper only on one side? Front or rear?

Yeah that makes sense. Thanks for the information,

Its on the right front

I think you have to pull the caliper and have a look.

i had that problem about a month ago where my right front caliper locks and make it shack like crazy on the left front end of the X. i did enough research on getting a kit & fixing it but it seems too much of a head ach and if u miss 1 step or dont fallow it the right way it well prevent problems within the caliper in a short period of time... its just not worth it.. dealer wanted too much for each caliper but i got mine for $85- rebuilt and they sure were BMW calipers and i was happy when i got em.. i replaced both calipers while am at it.. ( sure if one side goes bad, the other well soon, thats how i look at it.).. dont pinch the brake line or anything, u well damage em.. just take the caliper(s) out and LEAVE THE RESERVOIR CLOSED dont open it, when ur done with the job just bleed ur lines( mine took about half a bottle of break fluid that i picked up from the stealers for $4 something after i did both calipers. i aslo did a brake job and rotors changed as well. GL mate

Hey, soooo it was your caliper :) I knew I remember something I read before. I think if you have your brake pedal pressed and held with something you will be ok. That what is asked if you change your brake lines. Im glad you solved it. Cheers

ya but its not that hard to bleed the brakes, all u need is someone settin inside and bumping the brake padel about 4 times and the last time just tell em to hold it all the way down while the other one is by the calipers opening the lil breather thats by the calipers letting the air out and some fluid with it as well and tighten it back on just do it a couple times for each side and u should be fine... and yup that was me mate:D... it was a BI alternator calipers brakes all at once.. one thing goes out another thing goes with it lol
thanks mate everything is under control now:thumbup:.. its just a mod-fever season:rofl:

I didn't read the whole thread, so sorry if this has been answered. You can pinch the line using a C-clamp or something w/ a flat area like that...just don't use something that has a hardedge to pinch it, like Visegrips.

I"ve seen caliper rebuilding kits on eBay for next to nothing. Before that though, I'd flush the brakes. If you goto your local Harbor Freight you can either buy a one man brake bleeder...it's basically a silicone line w/ a one way valve in the line. Otherwise you can just use like 3-4ft of line and hang some of the line above the height of the drain valve so it doesn't all drain out. Bleeding brakes by yourself isn't hard, but I'd do that before I start tearing calipers apart.

I have rebuilt two calipers on my X and it's a simple process. And does not take much more than an hour to do.

Rebuilding our calipers seem to go over pretty well? I can't decide if i want to get the rebuild kit, buy a new one for $260, or get a reman one. I don't put any aftermarket parts on the X5 ever, only ever oem BMW.

Any suggestions? I am going to do both the front ones either way.

Where did you get the reman calipers? Did they look exactly the same as the ones you replace? Same coating too? or did you need to paint them?

You could upgrade to E38 750iL double pistons up front...you just need the calipers, hangers and pads.

Nah, i just want something as close to original as possible so i can enjoy the suv again :p

My friend whos a mechanic rebuilt both my front calipers nicely, no more shaking from the steering wheel. We replaced the rotors and pads at the same time. Not too bad.

first time posting on here. having big trouble getting the seal back on the piston. i have the 4.6is so its double piston. please help any advice will be helpful

:iagree:
:thumbup:

It's easy to remove brake line from caliper without having fluid drain/air in ABS module.......

Depress the brake pedal 1" (little trick, this keeps gravity from draining the res fluid down to the calipers), Plug the caliper ports with 10x1 cap screws with 3/8 rubber grommets (to seal the fluid inside and keep crud), slip rubber 3/8 vacuum caps over the threaded ends of the brake lines.

Cap screws/grommets from Home Depot, vacuum caps, ANY auto parts store.

can't believe nobody has posted this yet. If you don't want your line to continously drip fluid while it is disconnected you only have to press the brake pedal far enough to engage the master cylinder. This blocks of the intake port and seals the brake system. This is easily done using a proper length of 2x4 or other similar device, and putting the 2x4 between the seat and the brake pedal, then move the seat forward to press the brake pedal. you don't have to press it very far to make the fluid stop dripping. Make sure you leave the pedal pressed until you've reinstalled the caliper.

--Oops, didn't see the 3rd page. What TiAgX5 said.---

a potentially messy but easy alternative to using compressed air to remove the piston, after removing the caliper from the bracket and before removing the brake line, pressing the brake pedal will push the piston out. then leave the pedal pressed down and you won't get any further leaking when you remove the brake line. avoid getting brake fluid on the paint and out of your eyes/ears/nose/mouth...

So true. Been doing the pedal press procedure for over 30 yrs now.