03 Montero Ltd. (not Sport).
Truck sits for a couple weeks at a time, though I try to drive it at least once a week. 3 and a half years old, it has 35k miles. The left rear brake is dragging to he point where if I drive it 3 miles and get out for an errand, it smells terrible. It clicks like it’s cooling down, like an exhaust. If I spit on it the rotor, it sizzles like a frying pan. There is brake dust all over the wheel, more so than on any other wheels. I jacked it up, and tried to spin it by hand, and it is very hard. You can do it with 2 hands, but it certainly doesn’t spin freely. The truck will roll if you put it on a hill, but it does weigh over 4700 lbs so I would expect it to. Doesn’t seem like it is the parking brake- I sprayed some water on the front of the rotor after it cooled down, and rolled the wheel and it smears when the front brake pad goes through it, so it seems like it’s the caliper that may be frozen. Any thoughts? Is there a simpler fix than tearing into the brake assembly?
Well it is sticking. Do you regularly use the parking brake? Often they can stick, especially if they are not used often.
Of course there are other possible issues as well.
BTW have you ever changed the brake fluid. I doubt if it the cause of your problem, but if you have a pro take a look at it, that would be a good time to let them flush out the brake fluid. Brake fluid tends to absorb moisture over time and four year old stuff would be past due for replacement. I do suggest a professional in this case since it would appear you lack the experience and tools to do the job and it is, shall we say important for your safety and the safety of other drivers on the road. You want to be able to stop that 4,700 pounds.
The caliper obviously seems to be sticking. If it is not your parking brake mechanism sticking, You can try bleeding the caliper to remove any dirt but I seriously doubt that you can avoid disassembly and cleaning or replacement.
[b]You’re going to have to take that brake assembly apart to find out why it’s froozen. Either the caliper slides are corroded holding the outer pad against the rotor, or the caliper piston is froozen holding both the inner and outer pads against the rotor.
Tester[/b]
I made it a point to NOT use the parking brake since its sits- I have tools and know how to replace a caliper, problem is, I think on this truck, you need a scan tool to bleed the rears.
I think that you should regularly exercixe
I think that you should regularly exercise the parking brake, but do not set it for the extended periods.