My srt6 had it's rear brakes lock up last week when i was driving. I wasn't sure what was going on at the time. It felt like i was losing power. Stopped at a red light went to accelerate and could feel there was an issue. I drove for about 30 seconds before could safely pull over. When i pulled over my brakes were neon orange like a race cars brakes. Smoke was coming off of them.

The mechanic is telling me it is going to cost me 1700 to get everything replaced. He is an honest guy who had done good work for many of my friends.

Has anyone else heard of anything like this?

 

EVERYTHING needs to be replaced?

I need to know more. I am a Master and owned a repair shop for ten years and there are MANY on here who are GREAT with cars and can help you, but I am sure all will ask the same question---What did he say was wrong?---Other than everything---Give the parts list and the diagnosis---PLEASE....

 

What he said ^^. What's the mileage? And what part of the world do you hail from?

 

2 rotarts, 2 calipers, master cylinder, power booster with the sensor, pads, fuel line flush.

 

Rotors---Yes---Too HOT if they were glowing---warped is more than possible---Likely---Not worth keeping.

Calipers---MAYBE---But probably not, if they are "free" and moving---You did NOT help them any---not at all, but you may not have killed them---Brakes are MADE to take heat---The pads and rotors would have generated the heat and soaked most of it---The question is how far did it go up the system---from what you said, I would guess NOT FAR enough to kill the calipers---AGAIN if they are free and moving and mileage is low, you should be okay.

Master and booster---NO, I doubt these are in play---These would show problems with the fronts too---No pedal or hard pedal but not a locked rear---Bad masters usually mean NO PEDAL---I have never seen a booster do anything like this---The booster is just the power assist part and means HARD PEDAL---The heat did NOT get to these parts---Chances of BOTH are near zero.

What sensor?---Need to know this.

Pads---Yes---same as rotors---with that heat not worth trying to save---Glazed, hard spots and/or heat cracked is my bet---Maybe all three---They need to go.

"fuel line flush"---Do you mean brake line flush?---If so---Yes---Should be done every 25k anyway and again with the "heat"---DO IT---You can boil brake fluid.

Locking JUST the rear could have been a proportioning valve or problems with the ABS (do you have a "light"?) or a few other things---Nothing I see here would be limited to JUST the rear---MUST FIND CAUSE to solve the problem.

Having TWO "bad" calipers lock-up at the same time out-of-the-blue would be lotto odds---same with two bad rear brake hoses---Could happen to you but so could being hit my a meteor while reading this---Possible but not probable.

Ask him---What caused the locking?

Is it "free" now?---If so---WHY?

Still need the mileage on the car.

Sounds like a shopping list to me---He may be honest---I am not saying that he is not---He may be "lost" and just replacing "everything" like you said---Not knowing is not the same as lying, although BOTH will cost you about the same---Does not sound correct to me.

Hopeful others will jump in.

Let us know, Jimmy

 

Just a thought, but could it have been an ABS or ESP problem?

 

52k miles and in Florida.

Just spoke to the mechanic about your questions. here are his answers.

Rotors--- Ill post a picture they were definitely hot and started peeling by the looks of it.

Calipers- he said the calipers are all burnt and full of burnt rubber. Possibly on fire.

Master and booster--- the booster doesn't need to be replaced but the master cylinder is full of burnt rubber as well. when you push the pedal it goes all the way to the floor.

What sensor?---tire pressure - has nothing thing to do with issue.

"fuel line flush"---Should be brake line flush?---yes brake not fuel sorry.

Locking JUST the rear could have been a proportioning valve or problems with the ABS (do you have a "light"?) or a few other things--- he said he put everything on the computer and there seems to be nothing wrong with the car at all from an electronics standpoint. however i just did have a water in the trunk issue and poured a ton of money into this just a month ago....

He believes i somehow pulled the e-brake and this caused the problem. I do not think this is the case. I would know if I pulled the Ebrake but he said the ebrake is also burnt. Any thoughts on this part, which is by far the most perplexing to me. I live in FL and have never used the e-brake under any circumstance other than making sure it works when i bought the car.

Thank you all for your help.

 

Yikes! After seeing that pic. of your glowing rotor, I'd want to replace everything as well; including the wheel bearing. Good luck w/ getting it put back to rights.

 

If he thought the e-brake could cause this you are best to get another mechanic.
I really cannot see the rubber traveling up stream to the MC though. I can see the calipers as being shot and not worth reworking.
If a valve in the ABS pump failed to let the brake fluid return and the pads rubbed all the time then the heat would expand the fluid leading to more and more pressure on the pads.

 

Does our e-brake use the the rear pads or like in some cars there are drum style pads behind the rotor that spread apart when e-brake is engaged.

 

Brake shoes like the old drum brakes.

 

Rotors---Just what I thought I would see from your description---Warped I am sure and should be replaced.

Calipers---"he said the calipers are all burnt and full of burnt rubber. Possibly on fire."---I would like to see this "burnt rubber"---Brake fluid does change color and goes black with use. It is dark in a large part from the breaking down of the rubber seals, this is one reason why it should be changed every 2 years or so. Is he talking about "chunks" of floating rubber?
Either way---They need to go---My "maybe" is now a "not worth it". You are going to be there anyway with rotor and pad replacement as well as a brake flush---It is just a couple of more bolts in labor and the cost of the part to replace.

Master Cylinder---"the master cylinder is full of burnt rubber as well"---Do NOT see this at all---Yes color will be dark as stated above---But for "burnt rubber" to get to the master it MUST travel through the ABS pumps and the ABS accumulator. There are valves which are VERY small and I do not see CHUNKS of rubber going this far ESPECIALLY if the system was LOCKED---Locked means NO fluid travel.
Now, you do have "no pedal"---but that does not mean that you have a BAD master. I can put a NEW master on your car and have AIR in the system and you would have the same problem---no pedal.
I STILL question this and so do others---The ABS pumps and valves would have clogged first with this rubber.

Computer---"he said he put everything on the computer and there seems to be nothing wrong with the car at all from an electronics standpoint."---I am assuming that he has ABS reading capabilities---The normal OBDII will not check a braking system---ODBII is just for emissions related parts. If a ABS malfunction has occurred, the ABS light should have been set on the dash.

E Brake---"He believes i somehow pulled the e-brake and this caused the problem. I do not think this is the case. I would know if I pulled the Ebrake but he said the ebrake is also burnt."---This COULD have happened BUT and this is a BIG BUT---That brake handle would have been ALL THE WAY back---You would have known. Now, if you JUST used it at your LAST stop and when you started to move you dropped the handle but the cable did not disengaged the e-brake then it would have still been trying to hold the rear wheels. If you did NOT use it, then---NO. E-brakes just do not JUMP on. They are cable driven and are mechanically operated.

As for the e-brake shoes---(it is a separate system)---Yes they are more than likely heat stressed too. I agree with dinasrt about the wheel bearings. These should be done as a safety measure---They took a lot for stress from that heat.

I agree with onehundred80 about the e-brake especially since you are sure that it was not pulled. Something else like a failing valve or a bad signal to the ABS pump---I can NOT tell from here but e-brake would not make my list of choices after listening to you.

I would START with what I KNOW must be done---Rotors, calipers, and pads---Wheel bearings and seals---Check the e-brake shoes and make the call---If they are CRACKED and broken, new ones are needed. Since you do not have HILLS in FLA and do not use it, you may be able to sand the glaze off of them and be okay---Really, need more info on them. And a TOTAL flush of the system---Bleed all air out and then see what you have.

Then check to see if you have pedal---I am not the only one here which is having a problem condemning the master cylinder. Since they are at opposite ends of the car the only EXTRA labor would be a SECOND bleeding with takes very littler time on a rack.

What was the "water" problem and what was replaced? Need to know this PLEASE....

We still need to find WHAT caused this to happen---If e-brake is out, then what? If you or the mechanic does NOT answer this, you may be buying all these parts AGAIN........

Let us know---Jimmy

 

Water in the trunk due to a leaky spoiler that fills your trunk with water which then kills the electronics, well some of the modules that is.

It causes all sorts of electrical issues as you might guess and is quite expensive to fix. Most common symptom is problems with your power locks and head lights.

 

That's what I thought---Known problem. Should not be related here, but I would like to know for sure---Maybe others will have some input. Electrical gremlins are the WORST.

Obviously, something caused the rears to lock and lock down in a big way. You do not get that "cherry red" glow with out DRAGGING the rear---I agree with others that a bad signal or locked valve at the ABS may be the culprit. After flushing the system, any trash that was in a valve maybe pushed out. This is why I recommend a very good flush---WASTE fluid and clean the system out COMPLETELY---Not the normal "just until you see clear fluid"---I would make sure that I pushed everything out---worth the little extra time. The bad signal could be several things like a a bad ground or connection, etc---The list could be many thing like you saw with the trunk issue, but I would hold off going there for now because of the lack of a ABS light.

Good luck---Jimmy

 

No seals (burned out) on the rear calipers is going to = no pedal. Plain and simple.

 

Exactly---I do not understand why the mechanic went the the master and booster so quickly---Button-up the rear, flush and bleed all air first and THEN see what you have for a pedal---My money is on a firm one.

Still want to know the cause if possible.

 

I was real surprised at the shopping list when this thread started.. ESPECIALLY on the booster .. sounded like a worste case scenario well list everything to avoid final repair sticker shock..

 

I agree with what has been said so far. But, is there a possibility that the front brakes were not functioning properly and thus the rear brakes alone were stopping the car? How did the pedal feel while you were driving it?

 

Not true I think, the brake system is two separate systems, front and rear. The failure of one does not cause the failure of both, it is a mandated safety feature. The master cylinder has two pistons to achieve this feature. The pistons are possibly separated with a spring between them, one brake system operates first and when the spring is compressed the other piston moves and the other brake system activates. The front comes on first. I studied this a while back but I cannot swear the system we use has one dual or two separate pistons. The systems are similar in other aspects though.

If the pedal goes to the floor then I assume that there is another fault as well as the reservoir has a partition separating the fluid in the reservoir into two sections, the front and rear.

Click

 

That sounds like it would make "old school" brake bleeding an all day.. pack a lunch.. affair..