littlemamma Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 (edited) i am working on a 91 loyale and the front brakes on the passenger side locks up . so i put a new loaded caliper on and it worked for a while about 1 mile then it started locking up again could it be a defective caliper or a master cylinder. i haven't had any complaints about the other wheels so i am leaning towards the caliper. the caliper was bought at fredrated car parts in newport and i think it was rebuilt not new. Edited October 24, 2016 by littlemamma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsyme Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 When it "locks up" does it lock up closed (as in the wheel stops turning and skids everywhere?) or does it lock up open (as in it squeezes the disk)? When safe one might test the locked-up-open condition by quickly applying the breaks on a sandy road, get out and cout the skid marks. 3 or 4 ? If it is locked up closed do you get different results when driving in front wheel drive only or 4wd? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l75eya Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 Next time it locks up, crack open the bleeder screw. If that releases it your problem isn't the caliper, it's the brake hose itself. It has collapsed inside and will allow fluid to move only in one direction. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlemamma Posted October 22, 2016 Author Share Posted October 22, 2016 yes i release the bleeder screw and it unlocks(the wheel will turn) so it is off to the parts store again. thanks i will keep you people updated to the outcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlemamma Posted October 24, 2016 Author Share Posted October 24, 2016 the brake hose was 19 dollars at autozone it will be in tuesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Does the brake hose appear original or like a replacement? (compare it to the other side?) The incidence rate for this failure mode is so tiny it won't matter, but I would replace it with a subaru unit. I would assume an aftermarket hose is similar in quality to some american cars where this failure happens even on newer vehicles. I'd install a used Subaru hose before a generic aftermarket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Loyale Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 (edited) As an aside to the topic, just how long can or should one expect brake hoses to last? I have a hard time telling good ones from bad ones by visual inspection. To me it is worth 19 bucks EA to be proactive in the most important safety aspect of the car. The last time mine were done may have been over 8 years and it was Midas, so probably substandard quality. Edited October 24, 2016 by MR_Loyale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivantruckman Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Do Loyales have the hill holder circuit? is this a 5 speed .? if so check the spring to the hill holder valve . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 My 87 gl has all original brake lines. They can last a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyhorse001 Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Does the brake hose appear original or like a replacement? (compare it to the other side?) The incidence rate for this failure mode is so tiny it won't matter, but I would replace it with a subaru unit. I would assume an aftermarket hose is similar in quality to some american cars where this failure happens even on newer vehicles. I'd install a used Subaru hose before a generic aftermarket. I would never replace a 20-30 year old rubber brake line with anything but new. I'll cheap out in a lot of places on a car, but NEVER on the brakes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rust Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Have you ruled out the guide pins (especially the lower one) binding up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 As an aside to the topic, just how long can or should one expect brake hoses to last? Other manufacturers I think have a higher failure rate - Subaru's almost never fail, very, very rare. I've never seen it happen on a Subaru yet. There's a lot more problematic and higher failure rates than brake hoses. Logically speaking it makes no sense to replace them proactively except for just paying for yourself to have warm fuzzies - which is a good thing too sometimes. It's never bad to feel good about your car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyeights Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 (edited) +1 on what Ivan said above ^^^^^ I have had this before. If it's a manual trans then check the hill holder valve and cable to make sure it isn't being applied at the wrong time somehow. Edited October 26, 2016 by Crazyeights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlemamma Posted October 30, 2016 Author Share Posted October 30, 2016 it was the hill holder valve it would come on but not release unless i did it by hand so i went to pull and save and got a used one because no one else had a new one. they also don't sell the cable and the old one was way out of adjustment. i could take the old valve and barely turn it by hand the new one works much better now i think he needs rotors and drums the old ones were original and the front one was locked up a few times. now it doesn't lock up b ut i have to pump it twice before it stops,not acceptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robm Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Sounds like you need to bleed the brakes some more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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