Put out some fire today . . . sheesh . . .

[treeguy]

So . . . I remembered that my front brakes tended to be really sticky after towing the '90 4wd ranger earlier, and went out and bought new calipers and installed them, bled the brakes blah, blah. Was towing said ranger when I notice smoke, and then flames from each front tire area . . . and was told that front brakes had been dragging. . . so I douse the flames with some pepsi . . . seriously . . . and finally get to the destination. I notice that the plastic manual hubs have melted. My question is . . . ummm . . . where are the obvious places to start with repairing the damage?

 

[srteach]

New bearings to start with. New brake fluid, new brakes and calipers. check the hoses and everything.

When there is enough friction to produce smoke, many things get cooked.

 

[shane96ranger]

I would also suggest what Streach said, and also suggest replacing/lubricating your caliper pins with brand new pieces. I've had those things play dirty tricks on me before like the caliper hanging, and even had one nearly fall out.

 

[Mark_88]

I'd suggest swapping out the flex lines if they are the originals...between that and caliper grease you should find the sticking clears up...as long as you do the other things too...

 

[martin]

I would suggest not using pepsi to cool the brakes as the sugar might cause the calipers to stick even worse, beer would be a better alternative.

 

[brinker88]

Um no. That's alcohol abuse. What's wrong wit you, boy?!?

Glad you got the fire out to put it back on topic. I do believe srteach hit the nail on the head with the above explaination.

 

[87rangerxlt]

I would suggest not using pepsi to cool the brakes as the sugar might cause the calipers to stick even worse, beer would be a better alternative.

my guess is that pepsi was the only thing he had

 

[--weezl--]

my question, if your brakes were dragging enough to make it catch fire (first, what the hell was actually burning) how did you not notice it while driving? i've had my brakes on on some LONG hills, and never even got them smoking...

rotors are probably cracked after being doused with a liquid

 

[treeguy]

Funny story after the fact . . . I was in the tow vehicle, while my bro-in-law was in said ranger (it wouldn't start and was towing it to a dry location to further trouble shoot it). I was keeping an eye on it and noticed that smoke was curling up from the wheels (it was grease burning) and tried it vain to blow it out! Ran back to the tow rig and found 3 have empty pepsi bottles other wise it would've been roasted ranger that afternoon! Now I can laugh about it . . . any hoo . . . turns out I melted the plastic locking hubs anybody have any spares they are willing to sell ?? Thanks for the input earlier guys I enjoy a good laugh!

 

[beluga420]

I would suggest not using pepsi to cool the brakes as the sugar might cause the calipers to stick even worse, beer would be a better alternative.

BEEER!!!!!!!! Nobody ever teach you to ALWAYS PROTECT BEER FIRST? If truck has to burn to save a beer then it will burn. That way you can enjoy your beer while watching the nice fire.

 

[brinker88]

^ I like the way you think!

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

well since you already had new calipers i would suspect a bad master cylinder causing it to stick in the first place.

 

[treeguy]

The front lines are original . . . if it was a bad master cylinder wouldn't I have issues getting it to bleed properly ?? Just a thought. I am leaning towards new brake lines as well.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

The front lines are original . . . if it was a bad master cylinder wouldn't I have issues getting it to bleed properly ?? Just a thought. I am leaning towards new brake lines as well.

well i don't see it very often, but an old master cyl with rarely changed fluid can get swollen seals and either stick or the return ports get clogged/blocked and the brakes can't bleed off the pressure and get stuck on.

if your brakes are stuck and you can get them to release by cracking a brake line loose at the master you know you have a bad master cylinder.

i always start by cracking the bleeders loose first to see if the sticking is even caused by a hydraulic problem

 

[3.0ranger1227]

Check the free play in the master cylinder. Not usually an issue in road vehicles with power brakes but it is possible. Watched it happen to the Missouri S&T FSAE team in Fontana. Basically the master cylinder doesn't return far enough to release any residual pressure in the system through the return ports. Every time you depress the pedal it ends up just adding pressure to the system. (the FSAE team didn't light anything on fire, it just took 8 people to push a 500 lb car lol)


Actually I bet this is what happened, mainly because the truck wasn't running. Check your rear brakes too as they may have done the same thing to a lesser degree.


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