seized brake caliper?

I was driving around the other day and all of a sudden a loud squealing started coming from my front drivers side wheel. When I got home I took the wheel off and my brake pads are stuck on my rotor. Does anyone know how to unseize the brake caliper or am I going to have to go find another one?

i've had a couple seized calipers in the past and on friends rides and havent found a solution to it so i've always just gotten a new one. the last one i did on my buddies jeep was only like 50 bucks so its not to bad.

Do I just have to take both bolts out of the caliper and slide it off or am I going to have to smack if off with some kind of hammer?

depends on how stuck it is. hammer will probobly be pretty hard. the best method is to stick a screw driver under the caliper inbetween on of the fins in the rotor and pry a little to break it loose. be carefull not to break any fins though. depending on the speed you were going and how hard it seized you might need to get your rotor turned or get a new one if its bad. good luck

haha thanks. The rotor is still pretty smooth so it should be fine. I just hope i can get the caliper off without breaking the rotor.

unless you tried to drive on it the rotor will probobly be okay. just when you get it back together listen and feel for vibrations or squelling or pulling to that side under braking. you shouldnt have that much of a problem getting the caliper off. hope it works out

there is only 1 bolt the other side is held in place with a big pin that stays there. take the bolt out and it should pivot up and to the back once you get it off grease the slid pin so it wont bind anymore. before you get it all back together look for discoloration of the rotor if it got to hot you should see purple to blue spots If so I would go head and get those ether turned or replaced. And since your in there might as well replace the wheel barrings and races. you don't have to but If I was gone take them off I would go ahead and do it.

if i replace the caliper i will have to bleed the brakes am i right? and if i do how do i do this?

Before I leave to my job, I would like to post some of my wisdom on here!

If you remove any part of the braking systems line and/or introduce air into the brake line in ANY WAY, the brakes MUST be bled.

I do not believe you will need to replace the caliper. If its cheap, do it. Its better "insurance". Although, I think you will need to pull the caliper and inspect the seals and piston on the caliper. If there is no warps and it seals good, then your in luck.

Next, you just want to make sure none of the line from the caliper to the piston is clogged with any debris. Clean 'er good.

Put 'er back on and bleed her out!

ONE THING. You do not know how to bleed the brakes? If not its not hard at all. You just need a buddy.

From what I remember, you should'nt need to bleed the whole brake system after this. But you might. The brake lines are distributed through this part over on the passenger side in the engine bay. But if I remember correctly the drivers side only goes to the master cylinder...

OKAY. The process of bleeding is going to require you, a buddy, an 8mm open end wrench, brake hose(about a foot) from an auto store, a clean cup, and brake fluid.

Get down there and you will see a schrader valve is what I believe it is called. It is on the caliper. It might have a little rubber nipple on the top of it. Attach the brake line to it. Put the other end of the line into the cup. Have your buddy push on the pedal. Then, you open the valve; lefty-loosey righty-tighty! ALOT of air should come out of it since you worked on the caliper. Once his foot hits the floor, close the valve. Have him slowly let go of the pedal until it returns. Keep repeating this until there is no more air in the line.

By now, you should have fluid in the cup. Keep the line submerged in the cup to tell if there is more air in the line. Frequently check your master cylinder so you do not let it go dry! Top it off everytime.

Once there is no more air in the line, test it! Start off with the truck on and see if the pedal feels tight. It should have no spongy-ness or delay in braking. If it still does not feel like before, bleed it once again. If no luck still, bleed all of the lines. Start from the furthest valve from the master cylinder then to the closest.

If all is well. Start off and go drive it like 10 feet and feel the response. If all is well rip it and slam it hard! If you skid, your all good!

Thats how I bleed the brakes. Some like to have fluid in the cup and have their buddy let go of the pedal so it will suck up the fluid instead of push it out of the valve. It don't necessarily matter...

good luck!

thanks for the help. im only 17 and have never done any brake work before so that is why i didnt know how to bleed the brakes. im gunna do it in a couple of days so ill post the results haha.