Shaking, Pulling Steering Wheel? How to Diagnose a Seized Brake Caliper!

This is a PITA problem to have in a way because the symptoms usually point to unbalanced wheels, bad CV joint or bad wheel bearings.

When checking out my car to see if my wheel bearing was bad I noticed the brake caliper was able to move a little where as the side I figured was not the issue ( due to the wheel not being extremely hot after driving) the brake caliper was solid and I couldn’t move it.

This guy is awesome, funny and knows what I was looking for to understand to fix my vehicle. Thank you

Thank you for this video. I figured out that my caliper was seized on the driver's side. I appreciate your hard work and explanation.

Yes I think he is very important to work with I like him very much

thanks I had the same problem. But still has a bit of wheel shake. I also did a wheel rotation and seems to still shake a tad. thanks for the how too

Thank you

Had that problem with my 1993 Nissan Sentra. With the caliper still attached to the braking system and the hose clamp removed, I pumped the brake pedal to push the piston out.
Loved the video. Great maintenance tips.👍👍💯

The caliber you took out is not the same with the one you are working on.

Jesus. Never crimp a brake line.

Hey! Was the first part staged?

Anyone else see the skeleton in the reflection?

Good job

torture trying to free that caliper

it is the best auto repair tips video. It is so funny and infrmative. I love 1A Auto.

Len is a trip. He explained everything perfectly and the funny part is besides him being silly is, I just replaced my brakes all the way around A couple weeks ago. New drums new self adjusters new spring kits everything new shoes all for the back then I went ahead and did the front and bled everything properly. Sure enough I was driving I felt a slight pulsation and then when I stuck my hand on the lug nuts on the driver side they were so hot they almost burned me so I figured something was going on with the caliper or possibly an issue with the brake lines. The passenger side was moving freely but it was hard to turn but still can turn and I crack the bleeder screw open and then it freed up the caliper so it's spun freely. I figured time for a new brake line so I ordered the passenger and driver side brake hoses ACDelco of course. They took a couple days to come in and when they did I was off the next day so I installed them and bled everything the passenger side was working like new The driver side would spin finally but still had a lot of grab if you will on the rotor so I drove it to work probably a big mistake drove it home and then realized it was still too hot but the passenger side was working fine and it had a little pull to the left, driver side. I figured all my brake lines are new so it's got to be an issue with a slider pins or the piston itself. I removed the slider pins and they looked very good so that narrowed it down to the piston. I went back to the auto parts store while in the parking lot I removed the caliper and took it back in to get a replacement. I installed it bled the brakes and the rest is history it has been working with no pulsing I could drive for 45 minutes and stop and I can touch the rim on the driver side no more severe heat just a little warm but that's to be expected. It really moves freely now before it felt like I was trying to go and slightly pressing on the brake at the same time. I also noticed that it pulled to the left when breaking. I will tell you guys and girls that something is simple as a piston on a caliper starting to seize up causes a whole slew of problems, trust me. Len is right. I usually all the time use AGS brand called syl-glide brake lubricant. Spell check but anyhow this stuff works really well and it's not as cheap as some people say it is. My local auto parts store had a 4 oz tube of it for $10.99 plus tax. Using the right lubricant and making sure that you have your slider pins nice and lubed up and any metal on metal contact points like where the pads slide on metal brackets or in my case part of the caliper where my 96 Chevy Silverado c1500 sit and clip on I also put a little bit around the piston the metal of it so there's no possibility of moisture causing it to rust against the back of the brake pad. I'm just rambling on and on but seriously this is an outstanding video. It shows pretty much exactly what was going on with mine. Now that I have all brand new brake lines brand new calipers brand new pads brand new drum brakes all the way around New springs new the works My truck stops so smooth like the day it was when it was brand new perhaps even better because I switched from semi-metallic brake pads to ceramic brake pads and it does make a difference. Also I forgot to mention I changed the master cylinder as well and bled any possible air out of the ABS module and yes you would need a scan tool for that or if you're redneck or country you can do this at your own risk. I mean your own risk! Drive it in a field and slam on the brakes and you can hear the ABS system activate and you do this a few times it burps the air out of the ABS so then you can bleed at the wheels. I don't know how true this is but I just used a scan tool that my brother has because he's a mechanic and the scan tool activated the ABS module.

Word to the wise……. Don’t piss off your brake mechanic friend, or he will remove your calipers, not tell you, replace without seals.

Great video. Helped me diagnose my issue.

Great video, I learned alot. My question is should I buy all the tools I don't have for a job i'll probably do once or pay a mechanic who already has the tools

I was stuck in traffic, with my foot on the brake. After releasing it, my car stalled but quickly returned to its normal state. What could cause this?

Just got my rotors & brake pads done and now my steering wheels shakes like in the video. I’ve noticed the mechanic kept the old hardware on . Any suggestions?

Lol they funny af in the intro salute 🫡

Rotor looks like its on backwards

Thanks i appreciate your video.😮

I just had new tires put on all around and inner and outer tie rods on front passenger an alignment. I was getting a popping noise when parking and turning the wheel all the way one way or the other every now and then but after this 1,200 dollars of repairs now my car is clunking on the same side they replaced the tie rods and popping while driving when turning in and out of lots also the steering wheel is shaking back and forth around 60 mph and higher and when I hit a bump it feels like the right front tire is going to fall off! I had the struts replaced in 2020 and that’s the only conclusion this mechanic can come up with bad struts? Everything thing else feels solid but I just don’t know what else to look for or other possible issues it could be it’s worse with new tires and tie rods than it was before… help!!

My steering wheel has a serious pull to it. I noticed that this usually occurs when I'm near an A + W.

I was looking forward to seeing what the stuck corroded piston looked. Very disappointed.

Had a hyundai where the outer brakepad rusted to the calliper causeing a steering shake and uneven steering

The moaning lol

It's a good thing you went into mechanics and not acting lol, good laugh still xD

In my case, my truck didn't have a shaking wheel, and it only slightly pulled to the left. What it did do was have a rhythmic "pulse" of braking, making the truck seem like it was hesitating. The pulse would increase with speed and decrease when coasting. I got home and used my hand to feel each wheel and the front-left was radiating heat. At that point I only went a few blocks to Wal-Mart and back. Another symptom was the truck wouldn't crawl forward while in gear with the foot off of both pedals. I had to fight to get the caliper off because the bottom piston (two-piston caliper) was sticking out further than the top one. I replaced the caliper but the problem still persisted. Once I replaced the hose as well the truck acts normally. Just putting this out there in case you don't quite have the symptoms mentioned in this video.

This guy is a boss! He literally gave birth to a brake caliper trying to take off the brake caliper.

I had that same problem with my 2005 chevy malibu ,the caliper seized on the driver side i just replaced the caliper and now im good to go , great video i watched your video it help me determined what issues i was having steering wheel shaking ,hesitation pulling foward and creaking when backing up all good now thanks👍👍👍

Said “eh I don’t think he needs this” “he won’t know” 😂

My rotor on my drive side be hotter then the on the passenger side do that mean I need to change my brake caliper

Hello mate, I have changed my master cylinder, and the control modulator for the ABS , I drove it for a little bit to the store and back and had to take it back to my mechanic once again, what happened this time was my front passenger brake was grabbing and throwing heat from that one side, my mechanic said that the caliper piston grabs on that side however when he releasees the bleeder or something like that that it releases the piston and it moves freely, I am so frustrated with this issue, can you please make any suggestions as to what it may be? Do you think it may be the brake lines itself or brake hoses? My mechanic seems to think it is something in the hydraulics still, but he can't seem to figure it out it seems? Please help a girl out here.

Great job!

What does it mean when vehicle pulls to the Left when you are braking ?

My steering wheel has been shaking and I did the “rotor temp test” and one was 150 and the other was about 165. Any significance in that?

Thank you thank you thank you!!! So good I understood everything and finally realize what it is that is wrong with my. Cadi. We just replaced the mounts on transition and engine and it’s still shaking! Then noticed the heat coming from one wheel, and basically this is our issue. We will be fixing it soon. Again, thank you so much for being so thorough and easy to follow!!

I pump grease into the caliper to get the piston out.

I like he say ill just put this back in my buddys car and itz not put back together 🤔🤔🤣😭

FYI since the brakes are dragging you will also get bad gas mileage

so did this cure the wobble?

I rolled a truck over and now my brakes grind when I get close to a complete stop

What's with the skeleton??

The struggle is real! 😅
Love how he explains the issues.

Thanks so much. You save me a lot of Head aches and part's.

Notice how the caliper is new? It's bc all new parts r junk lately.