# Brakes siezing



## gpg1963 (Sep 30, 2008)

Hi
Have a Transit 2.2 motorhome (2008) and on 3 different occasions, the van just came to a sudden stop. Initially I did not know what was happening, it just started losing power and slowly dying, I mean speed, until it comes to a stop and if i keep it in gear then the engine stops too. On another occasion I noticed that when I needed to stop for example at a red light, I felt the brakes were actually braking wthout me having any pressure on the pedal brake. It seemed as if the breaks had a mind of their own. When the van comes to a standstill I get out and check temperature of wheel rims and they are bloody hot. I am not a heavy user of brakes myself, so I would not think wheels get hot because I use it as little as possible. Taken van to Ford, they changed master cylinder, front rubber hoses but after travelling for a few hours it keeps doing the same. Its very embarassing and dangerous having to suddenley stop. The last time it happened, I managed to release the breaks in less than a minute by pressing and releasing (pumping) the pedal a few times and off I went but always concerned about the next moment the van comes to an end.
I still have no idea why this is happening. No warning lights on the dashboard whatsoever. Put the van connected to the computer but no errors come up. I've spend £500.00 to replace the above items but did not solve the problem, and I am reluctant to pay more on work which may not solve the problem.
Any ideas of what could the problem be?
Thanks


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## inkey-2008 (May 24, 2008)

Your brakes are binding, heating the discs and the pads and brake fluid. The more they bind the hotter every thing gets.

I help a Lady a few years ago with the problem. She had had new pads fitted but they where to thick and rubbed the disc and over heated everything so I took the pads out and rubbed them down taking off a couple of mm. That solved her problems.

She had been to 2 main dealers who replaced the disc and fluid but it was a lad in one garage who said what the problem was and got a clip around the ear form the boss for his trouble.

Andy


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

Are all four wheels getting hot or is it just the rear ones?

Have you changed the brake fluid?
Do you know what brake fluid is in the system (silicon or DOT4)?


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## Jimblob44 (Oct 26, 2013)

I had a similar problem years ago on a mazda 626, my brakes seized on everytime I applied the footbrake, I had to get under the car to release them, when I took it to the garage the same day my disks were glowing red hot, It cost me a fair bit to get fixed as I had to get a whole new set up (cylinders, pads disks).
I would contact ford and explain the problem and see if there has been any recalls on this prob for other 2.2 Fords.
Hope you get a quick and pain free solution soon.


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## gpg1963 (Sep 30, 2008)

Thanks fro your feedback
Oil changed by Ford garage, I do not know which one they used but I presume it was the right one.
The breaking pads have been in the motorhome for the last 2 years. I bought it last year from an independent seller so I do not know if this happened before.


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## prof20 (Jan 11, 2007)

Sounds like a faulty master brake cylinder to me. (I appreciate you have had it changed).

Had exactly the same problem on a Citroen Zsara Picasso a few months ago. Brakes would gradually apply then lock solid, and would free off a few minutes later. 

Replacement cylinder cured it.

Hope this helps.

R :wink: ger


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## gpg1963 (Sep 30, 2008)

I also thought it was master break cylinder, I had it changed by Ford but problem continues


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

OK, so you've eliminated the flexible hoses, front pads, brake fluid and master cylinder........

But you haven't said if all wheels are getting equally hot.

My guess would be that it's the rear shoes causing the problem - in which case the rear wheels will be hotter than the front.

Causes can be incorrect adjustment (handbrake cable adjusted instead of shoes), over adjustment of shoes or rear shoe linings breaking up with lining debris getting stuck between drum and shoe.


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## gpg1963 (Sep 30, 2008)

Breaking pads not changed yet.
All 4 wheels get hot but the front much hotter, you think is rear shoes? I raised up the van and the rear wheels run free as opossed to the fron tones that have a little drag, right more than left. Asked Ford about it and they said its normal to drag a bit. Another strange thing is that this only happens after a few hundred miles running but when it starts it keeps doing it after every 10 miles or so. 
Its becoming really misterious. I heard ABS could be causing all this, do you think?


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

two questions. is it FWD or RWD or even 4x4 on the transit.
When you brake normally does the brake pedal move up and down on its own or even a side wobble, this will say distorted discs.
Have you checked the wheel bearings.
The only other idea I have.
check the plunger of the brake light switch on the brake pedal, they can come out too far and not go back in properly, stopping the pedal from travelling back up fully, thus keeping the brakes slightly applied

cabby


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## gpg1963 (Sep 30, 2008)

Hi
Its FWD.
When i break I do not feel any unusual movement in the brake pedal when used
thks


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

> All 4 wheels get hot but the front much hotter,


Odd........................ :?

Probably not a rear shoe problem then? :?

Could it be an ABS problem? Not impossible but I've never heard of similar.

Usually it's one or two wheels that cause it but if all 4 are affected it must be something common to all wheels. Sounds like master cylinder but you've had that changed. :?

It'll be interesting to hear what other theories are suggested.


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## tugboat (Sep 14, 2013)

I'm having a sense of déja vu on this, I'm sure this problem has been posted before somewhere. Have a search?


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## cronkle (May 1, 2005)

I'm guessing that you have the same base vehicle as I have. Mine is the front wheel drive.

At my last MOT we were advised that the rear discs were getting pitted. I have had the same thing happen on a range of vehicles and it ended that the brakes overheated and caused the vehicle to stop. I am having my brakes checked by an extremely competent relative in the near future to see if the tester was trying it on for a 'mug' job.

It may be that you have the same problem which is what Inkey said.

Try and touch your wheels to see if they are hot as Gaspode said; be careful they can literally be red hot.


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## emmbeedee (Oct 31, 2008)

I had this once years ago, on an Austin 1800 which was only about a year old at the time. It was the front caliper pistons. The pads are only retracted by hysterisis in the rubber seals. If there is any excessive friction in the piston/caliper interface the pistons do not retract & so the pads stay in contact with the disc after releasing the brake pedal. This builds up heat in the discs & can lead to the problems you are encountering.
I stripped the calipers & found the pistons were hard chrome plated. The chrome plating was peeling off slightly, causing the retraction to fail. As the calipers were otherwise perfectly serviceable I tried to order a piston kit but every dealer I approached said they were not available & I would have to fit new calipers complete. This was not true, I was able to obtain a piston kit direct from Girling. Once fitted I had no further trouble.
Obviously things have moved on in the intervening 40+ years, no ABS then of course, but I would check out the front calipers before looking for something more complicated.

Good Luck!

Michael.


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## gpg1963 (Sep 30, 2008)

Checking the calipers was something I thought of
As for the disk to be red hot, I do not know but they burnt my finger at the touch


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## BrianJP (Sep 17, 2010)

All brake discs/drums will get very hot in use
However look back here or Google as I think your problem has been identified as a fault on Transit vans possibly with master cylinder/servo.


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## alexblack13 (Feb 10, 2013)

Fault in the servo? 

Hope you find it soon.

ab13


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## philoaks (Sep 2, 2008)

> However look back here or Google as I think your problem has been identified as a fault on Transit vans possibly with master cylinder/servo.


Try this one for starters! http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=125369


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## sambelly (May 1, 2005)

Had the same problem on my ford galaxy started with the car juddering at times pulling over to check wheels and finding nothing 10 miles down the road it would do the same again by chance it did it one time on a hill pulled over and stopped without useing the brake peddle sitting there pondering what to do when the brakes released and allowed me to continue anyway it turned out that a rear brake caliper with a screw piston was siezed and was getting so hot that it was boiling the fluid causing it to pressure the system and drive the abs system nuts found the offending caliper covered in red rust and melted rubber from the heat hope this is of some use to you 
cheers rob.


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## Spiritofherald (May 18, 2012)

There are not many components to the brake system and this should be easy enough for a decent mechanic to sort out. I suggest taking it to a different garage. 

My money is on seized/sticking calipers. I would normally suspect a failing internal wall of the brake hoses but I think you said you changed those?


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## roxie (Dec 28, 2012)

have you checked that the pads are free in the caliper,rust can build up and cause them to stick.


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