Brakes seizing issues

[JJ Alfano]

Randomly, this s13's brake calipers will lock up as if someone is pressing the brakes... it will rotate randomly and random calipers will seize. You cannot drive the car AT ALL. You have to wait a good 30-45 minutes for the brakes to unstick so you can drive it another mile or so. Changed 2 out of the 4 calipers and replaced the one-way valve on the brake booster vacuum line. Brakes are bled, and pads and rotors are brand new.

[maxed1]

I had a brake line colapse inside same problem and symptoms

[Iam99x]

Is this all brakes or just the front or just the back?

[JJ Alfano]

all 4 brake calipers will do this randomly, sometimes it will be right rear, sometimes it will be left front, just depends on how the car is feeling i guess...

[zakkkaliscious]

That's kind of sketchy dude. Hope you figure it out. My coupe would apply rear brakes by itself when the pads wore out. But it stopped after I changed them

[Sir_Alexander_Slideways]

caliper slides in good shape?

[JJ Alfano]

all new caliper slides too

[Sir_Alexander_Slideways]

s13's didnt have an abs option did they...? i dont know much about 13s lol..

---------- Post added at 04:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:05 PM ----------

only other option really is to check yout brake lines, if they feel weak in any way, get you some new ones.

[JJ Alfano]

s13 had abs as an option, but this car doesnt have them.

it was suggested maybe the brake booster is bad? I googled signs of bad brake booster and we are having very similar results...

just thought i would get a 240 related opinion first before going out of the way to buy and swap the booster

[Sir_Alexander_Slideways]

booster could be bad, but it wouldnt cause problems on single calipers i would think...
worth a try though!

[Doug In NC]

When a brake booster fails, the pedal becomes firm and you have to apply extra pressure to get the desired braking affect.

A collapsed brake line can cause lack of brake application OR a locked caliper condition much like Sir Alexander already described. However, brake line failure at all four corners is pretty rare.

Things that could affect all four corners would be a master cylinder and a proportioning valve. Some vehicles have a single proportioning valve assembly that serves all four corners. Others have four lines coming off of the brake master cylinder of which two will have a proportioning valve in-line usually at the MC. I'm not as familiar with the S chassis as I'd like to be but you can check out what application fits your vehicle and report back.

I would be more specific of a bad master cylinder or proportioning valve than a booster.

[~The_Duke~]

Ya that sounds like a booster issue.

[Doug In NC]

A brake booster is a multiplier of the driver's foot action AND it has a single action which applies brakes at all four corners or not at all.

The OP said the locking up can happen to individual OR multiple corners but not ALL corners ALL the time. The problem matches a hydraulic failure.

[Infinite]

short answer: its an s-13

[~The_Duke~]

A brake booster is a multiplier of the driver's foot action AND it has a single action which applies brakes at all four corners or not at all.

The OP said the locking up can happen to individual OR multiple corners but not ALL corners ALL the time. The problem matches a hydraulic failure.

True, but the hydraulic failure is prolly caused by either the booster or the master since he hasnt mentioned any fluid lose.

[Doug In NC]

His symptom alone confirms that fluid loss is not a problem. If he had a loss of fluid then the pedal would be soft, squishy and he wouldn't be able to lock up the brakes as easily as described.

Keep in mind that a hydraulic failure means it's related to a fluid, that can be a leak, blockage, excessive or insufficient flow.

In theory, the booster cannot be at fault. There is one motion of the brake booster. You step on the pedal and the booster moves a single rod in to the master cylinder. It does NOT have the ability to chose which corner that pressure is applied to.

The brake application that takes place at a caliper originate from the brake master cylinder. Brake pressures are regulated by the proportioning valve(s) which reduce pressure from the master to the rear brakes since they only do about 30% of the work.

[rtrhead]

i agree with him the booster has no way of governing flow in the actual hydraulic system. sounds like a dead seal in the lines, caliper seals, or the master cylinder

[JJ Alfano]

When the brakes do work, there is a stiff pedal, as if the car is from the 1950s or something

[Doug In NC]

It sounds now like you may have two problems. A hard pedal with lack of brake assist DOES sound like the booster. However, that doesn't explain the locking up sensation.

What I would recomend you do is start cheap. Bleed all four corners (again?) starting at the right rear, left rear then right front then right front. Use a vacuum bleeder if you can do it but key points would be to make sure your reservoir never goes empty while bleeding the system and that the pedal is never lifted up while a bleeder is open.

Do the pump-it-up-hold-it-open-close-repeat method at LEAST 5 times per corner.

From there, re-evaluate. This is going to be the cheapest and easiest thing to do and it can be done in a matter of minutes.

With the corners locking up, it sounds more like it's not a problem with that corner as much as it is the other three that aren't applying equal brake application. This is seen a lot when a caliper is not moving properly. People address the side that is locking up (aka working) rather than the one that is not functioning at all.

Re-bleed the brakes and then see what changes, if anything.
Doug