[aaronmerritt]

Man I have searched everywhere on this forum for insight into this super annoying problem I am having with my brakes. If I can get some help resolving this, I will seriously send you $20 tip through Paypal.
Vehicle - 2007 RTL
Initial Problem
Master Cylinder started failing - would not hold brake pressure and while driving I would have to hit the brakes early and maintain pressure or the pedal would go to the floor with little to no stopping power (or I would have to "pump" the brakes to stop quicker). The truck would lean to the front left when coming to a complete stop which indicated to me that pressure was being lost at the brakes further away from the master cylinder.
My Fix
Replaced the Master Cylinder
Replaced the Front Brake Calipers (one seemed like the piston was getting stuck and the dust cover was torn up)
Replaced Front Pads
Replaced Front Flex Lines with Stainless Steel lines (thread here said bad line can act like check valve)
I did not bench bleed because the guys helping me said it wasn't a big deal because we were bleeding the whole system anyways.
Made sure everything was thoroughly lubed with disc brake lube.
Bled lines at all 4 wheels w/ 2 person method (twice)

which leads me to the CURRENT ISSUE
The front brakes rub a ton and then seize up completely after driving a short distance.
I am curious if anyone has some knowledge that could help aim me in the right direction.

 

[aaronmerritt]

Also....I think there may be a chance that the cheap brake pads I got from Advanced Auto may just be too thick. The calipers were difficult to get on and around the pads even with the pistons completely depressed. I am going to get my digital micrometer and measure the thickness of the pads and check it against the factory specs

 

[stevem5215]

Did you lube your pins on the calipers ? Also, I would put better quality pads on. The cheap ones are junk IMO. I'd put some ceramic pads on it from wherever.
The pins not sliding will cause the brakes to put just like you mention. The fronts are known to fail like that. I had that happen on my sons GrandAm.

Steve

 

[S.T.U.V]

Did you have any visible fluid loss before?

 

[aaronmerritt]

Did you lube your pins on the calipers ? Also, I would put better quality pads on. The cheap ones are junk IMO. I'd put some ceramic pads on it from wherever.
The pins not sliding will cause the brakes to put just like you mention. The fronts are known to fail like that. I had that happen on my sons GrandAm.

Steve

everything that needs lube was lubed.
I put a micrometer on the pads today. 12mm pad thickness plus additional 6.2mm thickness of the backing plate. 12mm does match up with specs on pad thickness that I saw referenced by member "just4fun" in this thread http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/71-1g-problems-issues/32402-brake-pads.html

Today, before I did anything, I opened the bleeder screw to see if any fluid pressure had built up and the fluid just dribbled out like it is supposed to so that eliminated pressure buildup in the caliper.
At this point I'm going to just take it to a brake shop. You know..I love this truck but **** like this makes me go through periods where I hate it with a passion of a thousand burning suns. I had an old 4runner that I beat up all through high school and college and it had well over 100k miles and never had one issue. I baby this truck and it gives me nothing but issues.

 

[aaronmerritt]

Did you have any visible fluid loss before?

I haven't had any issues with fluid loss.

 

[eurban]

When I replaced the front calipers and flex hoses on my 06 I had EXTREME difficulty bleeding the air out of the system afterwards. I used a mityvac type vacuum bleeder and must of pulled 2 of the large brake fluid containers worth of fluid through the system without eliminating the soft pedal. Frustrated, I took it to a local shop and they did it as a two person job, using a combination of a power vacuum bleeder and a person pumping the brake pedal. They were able to get the pedal nice and firm. Next time I will do what I can to minimize fluid loss / air infiltration loss during parts replacement.

What does this have to do with your brake's locking up? One theory is that you have air trapped in your lines that is expanding when it heats up causing your brakes to lock up. You removed the parts like I did and pretty much let all the fluid drain out / become displaced by air. You also replaced the master cylinder and didn't bench bleed it. Basically I would say there is a high likelihood that you have some stubborn trapped air in your system. In my personal experience bleeding ALL the air of the the system after parts replacement is not an easy task.

Good luck!

 

[S.T.U.V]

Cars with ABS modulator usually are a pain to bleed when the system gets opened up. Sounds like it just needs a pro. Good luck!

 

[CUinaRidge]

Doing the rebuild on mine and used the 2 person method, like eurban I used at least two bottles. I also remember it took awhile, but I had a solid stream hitting the fender well before I locked them up bleeding it.

 

[aaronmerritt]

Just so everyone is on the same page and for future members knowledge when they read this thread....my pedal did not have a bunch of travel like what typically happens when you have air in the system, it was exactly the opposite....I had no travel in the pedal. It would instantly stop as soon as you touch the brake pedal....which would be a good thing to most people but the problem was that the fluid wouldn't return to the master cylinder for whatever reason (most likely a ton of air stuck between master cylinder and that bank that distributes out to each wheel)

Anyways....the issue is resolved now. I took it to the dealer and they did a diagnostic on it and called me to tell me that I needed to replace 2500 bucks worth of stuff (booster, rotors, pads again, master cyl again) and sounded as confident as a mechanic who just wants to swap parts until its figured out. I declined and paid the 130 fee and brought it home. On the way home the pedal feel was back to normal and its driving fine with no issues. SOOO.....more than likely they bled the system with vac method or whatever and got the remainder of the air out and then just tried to upsell me on a bunch of ****. ALSO....the ticket said that my issue was the pedal had too much travel after installing brake components, which pisses me off because I explained the issue in detail to two techs while one was writing it up. Anyways....they fixed it.

 

[interpon]

Hope it works long term
My thoughts were bleed again, and suspect aftermarket stainless lines?