Teves brake question?

aroot1

SCCoA Member
Teves system on car other than a SC, '89 Lincoln MKVII. Physically identical to the SC. This is my hoopty 225k salt anode car, gotta have one here in the heart of the rust belt. The anti lock system has not been functional for years.

The failure is the THIRD time over around 70k mi that the passenger front caliper has locked up. This last one Failed after less than 5000 miles. It seems suspect to me that it is the same caliper every time.

So... My question is, is there anything in the teves system that could fail to cause ONE front caliper to lock up? If i understand the system, it controls both rears, or both fronts together to control lockup, so should not effect calipers side to side.

At this point I am thinking mechanical problem with the usual suspects, caliper, collapsed hose, or slider surfaces (pins and spindle). I just wanted to check with the incredible knowledge base here to see if I was missing anything with teves before I threw more new parts $$$s at it.

Thanks
Adam
 
I'd not expect your issue to be Teves-centric in this example.

I'd want to know the health of the brake lines. Older lines tend to look decent from the outside, yet can swell internally and cause a given caliper to not release. A piston boot can hang as well, inspect them all to confirm they are folded properly, using a pick to lift the edge if possible, or poke a hole to release air, being sure to clean the wound and seal it with quality silicone sealant.

Of course you know that if one brake line is old and suspect, they all are. Do you know the age of the lines on that vehicle today?

And yes, caliper pins/slides, etc. The front calipers on my SC had pitted pins and were ever so gently dragging, manifested as drop in fuel mileage and chronic brake dusting on the wheels.. New pins weren't cheap, but they remedied the problem.

Rust in the piston bores can also be a factor. If it came to tearing down the calipers, I'd just spring for fresh ones. I flush the brake fluid every two years to help fight moisture, but where I live tends to make that necessary, so YMMV.
 
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LoL!
Hey Ken. Somehow I knew you would be on this one. Glad too. You always are on point when people here look for help.

THOUGHT it was not a teves problem, but... Same caliper 3 times? HUMMMM??? 2 remans, this one a low mileage orig removed from my "good" car that got Cobra upgrade (both side calipers,pads, and rotors).

I resurrected this hoopty about 70k ago, ALL new calipers, rotors, hoses, and EVERY INCH of hard line replaced with cupinol (sp) (high copper, anti rust) line. So only 70k, but 6-8 years. I always spend extra effort/time on clearing/grinding/polishing slide surfaces and use Sil-glide hi temp brake lube on all. Will inspect absolutely EVERYTHING as I pull it down, look 4 obvious stuff.

Thanks for response. I already have new hoses, so guess I'll throw new set of hoses calipers at it just to eek a few more miles out of the drivetrain and whats left of the chassis :rolleyes:
 
THOUGHT it was not a teves problem, but...

I can imagine an isolated fail to one side front caliper and the master cylinder, such as a solenoid in the master cylinder acting up, but I can't see a chronic scenario that would cause a drag/partial release. For my money, if a solenoid is an issue, it would either work or not, meaning it would stick/sieze and manifest in bigger ways - I could still be wrong tho, in which case If this were an SC, I'd say to check for ABS codes to see if anything code wise is acting up.

On the assumption you can read them similar to an SC, the process and codes are here:
http://www.sccoa.com/faq/Floyd ABS Article.pdf


Note the codes about front inlet/outlet valves...

But if the hoses aren't new, they are low hanging fruit, especially if you have fresh on hand ;) Do the hoses -and- run ABS codes, if you can.

Ken
 
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