massive brake burning problem

[mkIIIman089]

Hey guys, today was the 1st time I was out driving the Supra for a longer trip then 5 minutes in a while since I finally got it insured and registered. However, I ran into quite a problem with my right front brake. During the drive about 20 minutes into it after I had gotten gas on my way back my friend and I began to smell burning rubber. Not feeling/seeing any problem with the car I just continued to my other buddies house, a pulsing in the steering was noticed a couple minutes after but it still would track PERFECTLY straight if I let go of the wheel(still pulsing though). After we got there my passenger noticed a cloud of blue smoke coming out from behind the front right wheel. At 1st I was thinking something was rubbing the tire... but it looks perfect. After I got into the car after we left there I noticed I could push the brake to the floor, but the brakes still functioned. I drove home without any real problems and barely any pulsing in the steering.

I just took the tire off and it definitly is not only worn unevenly, nor is it rubbing. Only thing I can determine is that something has gone wrong with just that one brake and I can't visually see any problems.

Any input is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[drunk_medic]

ABS sensor? Maybe your caliper gets locked?
I had a caliper that locked up on me - was smoking. I was lucky in two cases with this - #1 that there was a large puddle where I lived, and when I drove through it, it cooled the brake area and let off steam that I saw VERY well when I got out of the car. At that point, I KNEW I had to do something [stuck out like a sore thumb, after all]
#2 that the cooling from the puddle didn't cause any warping.

 

[mkIIIman089]

If the one caliper was locked then wouldn't the steering be pulled to one side? Only steering effected symptom I get is pulsing.

Last night I also was thinking it could have something to do wth the ABS. So, could it be that the one caliper was engauged only a tad bit? My brakes have some kind of a problem anyway where at higher speeds the brakes cause a good amount of vibration through the car. Just during normal operation.

Would the fact that I could push the pedal to the floor indicate that the ABS was still taking over for some reason?

Also, the 'ANTILOCK' light does not come on.

 

[drunk_medic]

My light didn't come on, and I didn't pull to one side, either.
I'm not saying that this is your problem - I am just relaying my experience.
If you jack the car up and the wheel spins freely when you turn it, might just be an ABS sensor or something.

 

[mkIIIman089]

Yea, the wheel didn't have any more resistance then I would think it should have; I'll compare it to the left front to see if its any different.

If I were to temporarily disable the ABS how would I go about doing it. Could I just disconnect all the harnesses from the computer?

 

[souprat]

if you had an abs problem the yellow abs light would be on indicating a problem with the system. the fact that you could push the pedal to the floor could be that you boiled the fluid in the lines. you could have boiled the fluid by having a siezed caliper that would cause you break to overheat and reach temps high enough to boil the fluid. i suspect a faulty caliper. if thats the case rebuild the caliper or get a new one and then change out all your fluid because it is now worthless.

 

[mkIIIman089]

So, I just went on another trip. With one difference; I removed the ABS computer, and just to make sure it is disabled I easily locked them up by jamming the petal on a wet gravel road.

The results were no smoke no smell.

Though I am not counting out locked up caliper, for now it seems to have resolved the problem. And of course I need to replace the fluid now as well, as I also suspected that the fluid was boiled.

Any best brand of brake fluid you guys would reccomend? I know MVP are advocates of Motul, but I do not know if I can get it locally. So suggestions are welcomed, as I need to change my clutch master cylinder as well.