Brakes Seizing Up

[rfergason]

Hi all first poster here.

I recently acquired a 2003 Southwind that is built on a 2002 W22 chassis with 38000 miles. It has aleady had the brake recall completed just this past fall but recently I was driving on the freeway and the front end started to shutter so bad I had to pull off the road. I looked around the coach and things seemed ok and when I tried to go again the brakes were locked up. I wasn't even using the brakes at the time the shutter started.

After they cooled I was able to get the coach into the shop. It was looked at here in San Jose at Leales RV which is a certified workhorse shop. They found that when the brake recall was done there was a cracked rotor which was replaced along with the other recall work. They recommended that the other rotor be replaced because according to workhorse you need to replace them both together and they also noticed the RV was pulling during breaking.

Sorry this is a long story...but in the end they replaced the rotor, seals and pads on the passenger side, replaced the hydro boost (believed to be the possible cause of the seizing) and they also noted an issue with the caliper on the driver side and workhorse authorized it and the seals over there to be replaced AGAIN at their expense.

Now we are to today. I drive the RV about 10 miles which included stop and go in a lot of stop lights. About 1.5 miles from home I sense after leaving a stop light that the brakes may be slightly sticking on again. Two stop lights later I had to use a lot of engine force to get around the corner to get off the main road before they were locked up AGAIN.

The RV is being towed back to Leales again at this very moment. Their initial thought was that maybe it has a bad bell crank. I am not a mechanic and I don't know what does and doesn't make sense here but I wonder if you all do?! Has anyone had this issue related or non-related to the recall(s)?

Thanks!

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfergason The RV is being towed back to Leales again at this very moment. Their initial thought was that maybe it has a bad bell crank. I am not a mechanic and I don't know what does and doesn't make sense here but I wonder if you all do?! Has anyone had this issue related or non-related to the recall(s)?

The bell crank transitions the foot applied energy to the push rod in the face of the Bosch Hydro-Max which is physically 90° to the right. Although it is a rare event to see a stuck relay rod, in later production years beginning in 2004, a grease fitting was installed as standard equipment on the bell crank.

Welcome to iRV2 and please come back and visit here frequently. Let us know how your case progresses and what resolution has been applied to your motorhome that resolved the issue.

Replacing 1 or both rotors is a call made by the technician and it is not a Workhorse recommendation or requirement. Personally, I would choose to replace rotors in pairs but that's only a preference.

[Lindsay Richards]

This does not sound good at all for replaced recall brakes. Please keep us informed as to what is happening. I would also suggest staying away from any heavy breaking driving. We had a near fatal problem on the Blue Ridge Parkway on my second prerecall problem. Be careful and a lot of guys who have had their recall done are very interested to see what happens.

[Topflite51]

I am old school about brakes, I would have done both rotors. In regards to the recall, I actually would have taken advantage of the package deal that WH had on the brakes. I simply do not like partial repairs. That being said, wouldn't a seizing bell crank affect all brakes not just the driver's side? I would suspect a hose problem(s).

[rfergason]

David,

I am not sure the issue is only affecting the drivers side front brakes. All I know is that was the side that had the cracked rotor when they did the recall back in November. The current problem is likely affecting either all the brakes or at least the front. Upon inspection after they were locked up I can mostly smell brakes and see a little smoke from the front. So it should be interesting to see what they want me to replace next. I'll be sure to keep you all updated.

Thanks for your initial thoughts so far.

[RottenRalph]

Another possibility is that the rubber hoses just upstream from the calipers are coming apart on the inside creating a one way valve for the brake fluid allowing the pressurized brake fluid to the calliper but not allowing the brake fluid back to the reservior therfore not releasing the caliper.

Good luck!

[awarnes]

I had a simular problem last month with my brakes seizing up. The issue was the brake hoses. When the previous owner had all new braking system done he didn't have the hoses replaced. $800 later the issues was fixed. Mine didn't shutter, but I felt like I was pulling the family house. If all that brake work was done and the hoses weren't changed check into that.

Good Luck

[rfergason]

Thanks Awarnes...I am going to call them tomorrow morning and be sure they check the condition of the hoses.

Does anybody feel like the bell crank could cause the brake seizing? That seems to be their next thing to look at but I have already paid a lot of cash replacing things that might be the problem to no avali, so I'd appreciate an opinion on that since it's likely to be the next $500 they want from me!

[edgray]

rfergason: it may indeed be something as simple as faulty hoses, but the ASC will probably have to replace them just to eliminate them as a possible source of your problem. You won't KNOW that was the problem unless that "fixes" the problem, unless the ASC can "show" you how the hoses won't release the pressure back into the system.

In your original post you stated you recently acquired this coach and that the recall was completed "last fall". I assume that was done by a previous owner/dealer. Given that I hate "assume", is it possible that last fall there was only a repair accomplished, perhaps with "old design" calipers, and that the full recall has actually not been completed? You can verify that the calipers presently installed are in fact of the new design by looking for a date code STAMPED into the caliper housing near the casting number which is CAST in the caliper body housing. The date code needs to be a number greater than 0155A which was the code for the first production run of the new design calipers. If it were mine, that is the first thing I would look at before thowing more $$ at this problem. Good luck, and please let us know the ultimate outcome. Ed

[jdsr]

Please let us know if the work done was the latest recall. There have been some temp fixs done and another brake recall done before this one. If not we(the wh chassis owners) need to get busy. I never thought that the brake recall fix was just replacing the calipers. I hope Im wrong but if not we need to contact nhtsa and our reps in washngton. Good luck and please let us know.

["007"]

If you had the recall done on your chassis with new calipers this thread will show what information is on the new caliper.
If they are not the new caliper design than your wasting your money against the old braking system.
The recall does not cost you money unless you need new rotors and that can be changed with recall at select dealers for $1400 for complete new braking system.

[Full-Timers]

Good point about the recall guys. That should be looked into before any more work is done.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfergason Does anybody feel like the bell crank could cause the brake seizing?

Yes this could cause the problem. If the bell crank is not allowing the brakes to release completely they could be dragging which will cause overheating and more brake problems, including seizing. This job should only cost an hour labor and a <$1 part.

[rfergason]

OK folks well I believe we have resolution. Turns out that just before I picked this up, the previous owner noticed that the brake pedal was applying itself. So he took it into a Ford dealer to try and fix that issue real quick. Well the Ford dealer didn't have a clue so they installed a nut behind the brake pedal to keep it from applying itself. The stupid nut they put on there was actually applying the brakes all the time causing them to overheat. So in the end the fix involved a $2 brake switch (which was supposedly the original issue that Ford didn't figure out) a flush of the brake fluid and of course removing the nut that should never have been there in the first place. Argh. I guess it's good that Leales RV replaced the rotor and leaking hydro-boost after I first took it in, but really irritating that they didn't figure out the real $2 issue on the first visit.

[jdsr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfergason OK folks well I believe we have resolution. Turns out that just before I picked this up, the previous owner noticed that the brake pedal was applying itself. So he took it into a Ford dealer to try and fix that issue real quick. Well the Ford dealer didn't have a clue so they installed a nut behind the brake pedal to keep it from applying itself. The stupid nut they put on there was actually applying the brakes all the time causing them to overheat. So in the end the fix involved a $2 brake switch (which was supposedly the original issue that Ford didn't figure out) a flush of the brake fluid and of course removing the nut that should never have been there in the first place. Argh. I guess it's good that Leales RV replaced the rotor and leaking hydro-boost after I first took it in, but really irritating that they didn't figure out the real $2 issue on the first visit.

Is this a ford or wh and if a wh why would anyone take it to a ford dealership.