Glowing Red Neon Brakes (not a new fad)

[JettaJake]

REPOSTED/New thread

sigh....just home from errands, wondering what was causing the shudder I was experiencing. I had suspicions of a fuel or air supply problem or maybe that my VASB was acting screwy.

Imagine my surprise on seeing the glow of a RED, <font color="red">RED</font>, <font color="red">RED</font> hot left front brake disk as I rolled Jake into the garage

Jake has 48K miles and original brakes. They are mostly highway miles, so the brakes have seen moderate use at worst, at least until the last week or so. I have noticed poor "coastability" lately (~400-500 miles?), so it's a decent guess that the brakes have been cooked rather well done.

The problem got really bad tonite following a 15 mile ride, a ride that included filling up on fuel and my lowest mileage tank ever -- 15.5 gal, 624.5', 40.2 mpg -- egads!!.

I purposely came up the driveway where there was still snow (helps it melt

) and, very uncharacteristically, Jake was lurching about like he was ready to lose it....thought it had to be the snow plus the soft ground, but then there was the groaning sound from the left front as I got to the garage door....oh shiiiiii....

At this point, would anyone recommend NOT driving the 20 or so miles I'll need to get poor Jake's brakes looked at?

Other suggestions, prayers?

JJ

 

[nicklockard]

I'm praying for you and Jake. I don't know much about brakes, so I hope this doesn't necessitate new caliper and carrier from warping. Definitely new rotor and pads needed, I'm willing to hazard a guess.

How much to tow? If it's less than $75 or so...probably worth it....just my opinon.

Good luck.

 

[PDiesoiler]

Oh Man...sorry to hear. Looks like your due if you haven't already changed out the brake fluid as required every 2 years regardless of mileage. 2 years from mfg. date! What could have happened is moisture permeated the fluid and allowed rust to cause the caliper piston to stick in its bore.
At any rate you are looking at probably at least 1 rotor, 1 set of brake pads, 2 rebuild calipers (always do these in pairs to maintain equal pressure) and because of the heat generated make sure and check the bearing and race on that side especially.
Would I drive it 20 miles for repair? Only if I had to but boy...be real careful. If you burn that bearing out you could theoretically lose that wheel.

Good luck!

<afterthought> Might be a good idea to flush that brake fluid before installing the new calipers so as to get all the bad gunk out of the lines.

 

[whitedog]

Just a thought here. How about removing the tire, opening the bleeder, prying the caliper back, then somehow (not sure how) blocking off the line to that caliper then driving slowly (<15 MPH )to where it needs to be taken? I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, but I'm wondering what folks think of this in an emergency situation.

 

[JettaJake]

yea, I'll work out a tow. I mean it was freekin' red! Can't imagine what it looked like on the highway at 75 mph

Thx for the advice peoples.

JJ

 

[mgwerks]

Could also be caused by an internally collapsed brake line. If you bleed hte caliper and the piston retreacts easily - I'd look at replacing the lines.

 

[Brock_from_WI]

I have had that happen on an old Mazda. I pried the brakes open and drove it to the shop. With a lot of down shifting I didn't have to touch the brakes until I was almost there and they stuck again, but at least it didn't ride the whole way.

 

[Wingnut]

Have you had the brake light switch replaced lately? I had a member call me a few months ago complaing of low power. He had just had his timing belt done at a dealership. I agreed to meet with him later that night to check his timing. Well, on his way to the meet, his front left brake caught fire. The first thing I asked him was if the brake switch had been replaced. He said that while the car was in for the TB, they changed the brake switch under the recall. Its a common problem as many dealers do not know how to install it properly. So when they do install it, it applied just a tiny bit of pressure on the brake pedal. Not enough to be really noticable, but after driving for 20-30 miles, the slight friction builds the heat in the rotor and as it heats up, it expands and as it expands, it gets tighter & tighter between the pads. The reason the left front seems to go first is because it has the shortest distance from the brake system, so there is less fluid between the ABS controler & the caliper. With less fluid, there is less of a chance for the fluid to absorb the pressure.

 

[whitedog]

Kinda like the people that drive around in their automatics with their left foot on the brake? Accellerating from a stop going up a hill and the brake lights are on... Hmmmm.

 

[Jason Blier]

My car wqas doing the same thing last year. My booster unit was bad. When my brakes would not let off, I had to pull the brake pedal up to disengauge the booster. If you can pull your brake pedal up any amount...your booster is probably bad.

Hope this helps

-Jason

 

[PDJetta]

REPOSTED/New thread

sigh....just home from errands, wondering what was causing the shudder I was experiencing. I had suspicions of a fuel or air supply problem or maybe that my VASB was acting screwy.

Imagine my surprise on seeing the glow of a RED, <font color="red">RED</font>, <font color="red">RED</font> hot left front brake disk as I rolled Jake into the garage

Jake has 48K miles and original brakes. They are mostly highway miles, so the brakes have seen moderate use at worst, at least until the last week or so. I have noticed poor "coastability" lately (~400-500 miles?), so it's a decent guess that the brakes have been cooked rather well done.

The problem got really bad tonite following a 15 mile ride, a ride that included filling up on fuel and my lowest mileage tank ever -- 15.5 gal, 624.5', 40.2 mpg -- egads!!.

I purposely came up the driveway where there was still snow (helps it melt

) and, very uncharacteristically, Jake was lurching about like he was ready to lose it....thought it had to be the snow plus the soft ground, but then there was the groaning sound from the left front as I got to the garage door....oh shiiiiii....

At this point, would anyone recommend NOT driving the 20 or so miles I'll need to get poor Jake's brakes looked at?

Other suggestions, prayers?

JJ

How about trying the repair yourself? This would be a great way to dive in and learn a little about your car. You could even pick up a Haynes repair manual. Only a few simple tools are needed to replace the front pads and rotors. Replacing the calipers should not be much more involved. You and a helper then can then bleed the brakes per the book when done. You will save quite a bit of $ doing this.

--Nate

 

[nicklockard]

How's Jake doin? Better, I hope.

 

[JettaJake]

I thank you kindly for asking and so does Jake who is, I am happy to report, good to go now after the dealer replaced a bad left front brake caliper. With new pads and rotors on both sides, the brakes are almost as good as new. The culprit was the caliper which, according to Langan's service tech, had "fallen down" (whatever that actually means). The bearings and the rest of the wheel assemblies were inspected and deemed good.

The repair was no charge as the warranty is still in effect at 48K miles. I did get chastized for not having Jake in for his 20K and 40K check-ups....let that pass without comment. All the same, I do give Langan high marks for their overall handling of Jake's 1st (dare I hope, only?) major problem. EDIT: I also want to give two thumbs up to VW Roadside Assistance (800-411-6688) for covering the ~20 mile tow (on a flat bed).

btw, I've been driving Jake sans his VASB (Van Aiken Speed Box) since getting him back.....I had forgotten just how big a difference that makes!!

I think a Rocketchip is in our future

JJ