Stuck Caliper? Hard time going forward (1 Viewer)

[Rolocado]

Had an interesting issue come up tonight as I was leaving the office. I had backed into a parking space and when I was leaving, I put it in drive and pressed the gas. It wouldn’t go but engine rpms were higher, so I thought I had the parking brake on....no I didn’t. Gauges and everything fine. I decided to give it even more gas and drive around the parking lot and for some reason it seemed easier to stop and go after getting out of parking space. I live on a hill so I stopped at the bottom of it and tried to accelerate. Difficult again. Is something in the drive train binding? Or do I have stuck calipers? No grinding or abnormal sounds, it just feels like the parking brake is on when starting from a stop. No weird smells and the brake temperatures seem normal (90-140 range). Thoughts friends?

 

[JohnVee]

Check the caliper mounting bolts. Lose one and you can't go forward, or lose the other and you can't go backward...at least easily.

If that's it, buy them at the dealer. They're unique, and extremely important. Then make sure to use a torque wrench to mount them to the proper spec. That's if you didn't wallow out the threaded hole. You have a bit of a problem if so.

 

[nissanh]

Lift each wheel and try to spin by hand. If no go, then that wheel has a stuck caliper or a clogged brake hose. Believe me, it is very easy to rebuild a caliper. Each piston got one O ring like brake washer and dust boot. Each front caliper got 4 pistons, remove all and clean the surface with a soft cloth, remove and replace washer inside the bore and slide the caliper piston back in and install the new dust boot, done!

 

[Rolocado]

Checked it out this morning... all four wheels spin freely and from what I can tell the calipers are not loose. What next?

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Double check the bolts. If you've just got it up on a jack and turning the tire, you won't be able to tell. It's only when the brakes are applied that the caliper grabs and then pivots on the remaining bolt, hitting the rim. However, when that happened on my 80, it wasn't slow drag, it was you're not moving.

Check that your p-brake bell cranks aren't frozen and dragging the parking brake pads.

 

[2001LC]

I've been in contact with @Rolocado and he seems sure CDL, HI/LOW is working as they should.

Good point @Trunk Monkey that caliper at rest wouldn't act the same.

But I think OP's title may be misleading, here's why:

Seems to run fine on flat ground. Then, when from a stop, he tries to go up hill, he then needs to give extra gas (RPM's) to get movement (Feels like something holding him back)

I'm concerned this is a drive-train issue, possibly transmission/torque converter. He's checked fluid in transmission cold and look and smelt good. He's going to check after warm-up for proper level and report back.

What do guy's think could cause the need to; add excessive RPM to move up hill from a stop, but normal on level ground?

 

[Juno]

Something very similar happened to me last month in my 2000 100 series. Luckily, I was right around the corner from my house. The front passenger side caliper broke around the bottom mounting bolt. The cause looked to be a combination of age and rust. The bottom edge of the caliper swung out and touched the inner wheel. Eventually, the caliper got stuck as I continued to drive home with multiple turns on the steering wheel. I replaced the caliper with a new one. Problem solved with only minor damage to my inner wheel from the metal to metal scraping.

 

[bentonrover]

Possibly stuck parking brake? Or could even be rear calipers guide pins. Once the boot rip and grease leaks out. They rust themselves in.

 

[trdcorolla]

I had to drive a few miles to get my transmission temperature to the check fluid temperature that the FSM says.

 

[2001LC]

I had to drive a few miles to get my transmission temperature to the check fluid temperature that the FSM says.

That is best way.

It can also be done be letting just idle until engine reaches operating temp. Then while holding down brake pedal, shift through all gears slowly with RPM slight elevated. Monitor Tech stream to see ATF temperature or use an IR temp. gun shot on transmission pan. Around 110-115F is and okay range to check level at. It will take just a few minutes for transmission fluid to reach temp.

 

[Rolocado]

I crawled under and cranked on all of the calipers. All of them are tight

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Test it again, see if you can get it to repeat. Check fluids. Look for specific circumstances - is it really only on uphill load? You said it was initially after pulling out of parking, did it do it at all between then and the hill? Just narrowing down.

 

[2001LC]

Test it again, see if you can get it to repeat. Check fluids. Look for specific circumstances - is it really only on uphill load? You said it was initially after pulling out of parking, did it do it at all between then and the hill? Just narrowing down.

Good questions, good ideas!