94 b250 van brake lockup??

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g20zoom@gmail.com - 20 Jun 2006 00:22 GMT

Hi,
My dad has a 94 B250(I think!) van that he claims the brakes both
locked up on the freeway.
He said both were smoking when he came to a stop. He did try greasing
the slides, but said the same problem...brakes stuck when applied.

Question, what could it be? ABS? master cylinder? or brake calipers.
Van has only 70k miles but the fluid was changed once a few years ago.

I've read other posts that it maybe the master or brake calipers, how
can I isolate that?

Thanks for any suggestions.

-joe

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Tom Lawrence - 20 Jun 2006 01:09 GMT

> He said both were smoking when he came to a stop.

Both? There's four... which both?

> He did try greasing the slides, but said the same problem...brakes stuck
> when applied.

Okay - so we're talking the fronts...

> Question, what could it be?

My first guess? Deteriorated rubber brake hoses that aren't letting the
pressure out of the calipers when the pedal is released. Simple test:
Stand on the brakes, let off, then open up a bleeder screw. If fluid
squirts out of the bleeder like a Super Soaker, then that's your problem.

> Van has only 70k miles but the fluid was changed once a few years ago.

Should be done every 2 years...

> I've read other posts that it maybe the master or brake calipers, how
> can I isolate that?

A sticking caliper won't usually cause a wheel to lock up like that...
cause the vehicle to pull, or to wear out pads faster, sure. As for testing
the master cylinder, you can use the same principle as above (and actually,
you should do this first) - pump the brakes, let off the pedal, then back
off the line nut that connects the front brake line into the master
cylinder. If fluid shoots out under pressure, then the master cylinder has
got a problem. If it only dribbles out, then repeat the test at the caliper
bleeder.

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