Red hot glowing brake rotor!

[Euromike]

Hows it going guys?

Well on my way home last weekend i started to smell a harsh brake burning smell. Pull over, my rear brake rotor is glowing red hot! First thought is the E-Brake is on, check it and its not. i put the car in neutral and i can push it across the parking lot, so its not locked up too bad. I had been on the highway at 75 MPH for a half hour or so when i noticed it. I drove the car home slow on the backroads, car braked / rolled fine. Took the other B5 to work every day this week.

I haven't had the time to tear it down yet, but i figured i would get some opinions on what to check. I figure im going to jack up the car, try and spin the wheel. If i feel any resistance pull the brakes apart and grease up the pins and make sure the e-brake mechanism is working correctly.

Anyone else had this happen? Should i check anything other than what i listed? Rotors and pads replaced 5,000 miles ago. As always, thanks guys!

[walky_talky20]

First of all, lol @ "the other B5". That's great.

Do you use the e-brake often? It is possible that it stuck on. Being stuck like that, it will eventually wear away the pads and it won't stick again until it finally releases properly. It may not release properly at all on it's own, but require some work and prying to free it up. I'm referring to the e-brake lever arm that is directly on the caliper. This scenario would explain it being locked/getting hot, and then being fine and rolling ok after some miles on the highway. And not locking up again.

Anyhow, if it is indeed stuck, it will be obvious by looking at the lever arm. Usually the e-brake handle will be quite loose as well. Other than that, it could also be that the caliper piston locked up on it's own. In that case it would likely be quite difficult or impossible to wind it back in.

[Euromike]

First of all, lol @ "the other B5". That's great.

haha what can i say, im addicted!

I use the E-Brake every time i park the car. And my E-Brake handle feels fine, So im kinda doubting thats the issue. I hope the caliper itself isnt locked up, that would be an expensive one. I remember thinking it was locked up when i did the brakes a few months ago, but then after some audizine searching i found that i had to put pressure on it and spin it at the same time to get it to go in, what a pain in the ass that was with simple tools. Im hoping the issue is simply a stuck pin that i can lube up and be good. Do you think it could cause this?

[salz2135]

There really isn't any use in speculating what is causing the excessive heat. You identified the the symptom. Now the only way to move forward is to tear the braking components apart and look for abnormalities.

I suggest bleeding your brakes once you find your problem. If your components are getting red hot, you may have boiled your brake fluid.

[walky_talky20]

In general, Audi's seldom have massive caliper slide issues, like other cars. They can sometimes get a bit sticky, but generally they don't rust solid like other cars often do. It is certainly possible though. The much more often failure is to do with the e-brake component. But you just have to dive in and check it out. It is possible that in doing the brakes without the proper piston compressor tool, you may have damaged the piston's dust boot and promoted a rust issue that locked up the caliper. But it's all guesswork until you get it apart.

[Euromike]

i was really careful with the rubber boot, don't think i damaged it. but i should know whats up this weekend. Thanks walky!!

[Turbwhistle]

This just happened to me today, how did you fix it, i also think my rotors warped from excessive heat. Was it an easy fix where i can do some prying tonight and drive to school tomorrow? I was entering my off ramp at about 80 and the guy in front of me was doing about 35, so i break hard and i smell and awful smell. Then i drive some more and look back and see smoke. I get home and i check it out and my driver side rear rotor is smoking hot. I jacked the car up and spun each wheel, and all of them moved. I took the rear driver side wheel off since it was the worst, and i rotated it by the rotor and it was very hard(yes, i did have my e-brake off). I saw the pad rubbing so i pumped my brakes and pulled my e-brake in and let it out a few times but nothing. I am going to buy new rotors and pads soon, but how do i get my brakes to stop grabbing? My car brakes fine while driving, drives fine, nothing noticeable, my e-brake came up hard at first but that went away, so i think it is the same problem as yours. Please help, asap. i need my car i cant stand the bus, i am not fortunate enough to have another b5. LMAO. So please help, thanks(sorry for the rant)

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

If its not the parking brake the caliper might need to be greased.

The sliders that move in and out on the caliper should be well coated in anti-seize.

Jason

[Turbwhistle]

Is there a port or certain spot to apply grease, or should i take off my caliper and drench it?

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

No port for grease.

You'll have to remove the caliper. The part that needs to be greased/ coated in anti-seize is below in the picture



There are pins that move in and out underneath the black rubber boots.

Jason

[Turbwhistle]

i will attempt to clean it up later, right now i am trying to figure out if ami sent me the proper st coil-overs because they don't look like they should, and they seem to be missing parts.

[Seerlah]

I would suggest brake grease over anti-seize, simply becuause that is the correct thing to use. If you don't have end caps for the caliper sliding pins, the grease will over time accumulate all the road debris and cause the sliding pin to get dry with all types of gunk on it, causing the pin to get stuck. Autozone sells the little packets by the register (labeled "brake grease").

Take out the sliding pins, wipe them down good with a rag (might also want to clean with degreaser), apply fair amount of brake grease and reinstall. There are 2 for each caliper, and goes through the caliper into the carrier.

[Turbwhistle]

Which part the red circle or blue circle?

[Aragorn]

Both really.

The sliders are the red circle.

Blue circle is the handbrake mechanism. I've had both fail at some point on my B5's.

Slider sized solid on one car due to a nick in the rubber boot and me assembling it with copper-slip/anti sieze rather than a proper grease.
Handbrake mechanism siezed up on another with little or no warning. Rust builds up on the shaft where the handbrake arm runs into the caliper body.
Or it could be the piston itself, but that seems a little less common on steel calipers for some reason.

[Turbwhistle]

Can i just slide the boot off, or do i need to remove caliper?

[Aragorn]

you need to remove the caliper, or at least unbolt the slider and tilt the caliper over to pull the slider out of the carrier.

[Turbwhistle]

Yea, i greased the sliders, and the hand brake line, but i am going to try not to use my e-brake and just leave my car in gear. I hope they will last until the weekend when i can really get into it. Damn my calipers, rotors, and carrier were rusty. It makes me want to buy all new, then i realize i don't have any money. LMAO My pads seemed to be decent, but i only did the rears because they were the ones that seized. Maybe tomorrow if i get home early i will double check everything with one of my friends. I hate when it gets dark when you still have work to do. Thanks everyone for the quick responses. You all saved me from the dreaded bus.

[Euromike]

Sorry it took me so long to reply!

Looks like everyone has you on the right track, my issue was indeed a seized carrier pin. I sanded both pins down a bit and cleaned out the hole with some alcohol. Coated the pins in anti-seize, put everything back togeather and it was peachy.

I think my second b5 is starting to drag a bit too. Seems like you never stop wrenching when you have two of these things.