Re: Help urgent!!! All brakes locking up, fluid boiling and brakes smoking.'85 5KQ

[John Cunningham <johnc@together.net>]

> reasonable shape. I did notice that the brake warning light sensor had been
> disconnected, and asked him if he was aware of that. He knew that, and also

doesn't sound too smart

> that the bomb was bad since he got the car.

and he didn't fix it.  doesn't sound too smart

> could feel the dragging, but they had to go on. By the time they got to the

'they had to go on' means 'they chose to be really broken down a few miles
further up the road rather than having a milder problem here'.

BTDT.  here's the sequence of events:
Brake drags, for whatever reason.
Rotor and caliper heat to shuttle reentry temps.
Rubber bits melt in and around calipers.
Caliper seizes up solid.  Usually just before car comes to a stop. ;^)

Stuff cools down, caliper frees up again.
In the meantime seals are blown, caliper pistons and bores may be
scored/damaged.
Brakes now continue to be sticky/dragging/generally problematic until calipers
are replaced.
Original problem may still exist.

With all 4 brakes having the problem, almost certainly the problem was with the
MC, unless the pedal linkage was somehow screwed up causing the pedal to be
partially depressed even with his foot off of it.