Seized Calliper Again!

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Hey guys, I'm so wound up right now.

The sticky calliper had struck again. Noticed my car struggled to pull in 6th at 60mph tonight.

Got home and the car stunk of brakes! Also the passenger side front wheel was red hot and was kicking out some intense heat! Also it was covered in brake dust! So 99.9% certain that the calliper has seized again!

I Had the drivers side stuck on about 5 months ago. I know I should have replaced them in pairs but I really couldn't afford it at the time and now I'm paying for it!

I love this car but why couldn't they fit it with decent brakes?

I drove my Honda for 80k miles and those callipers were fine. Within 5000 miles I've had both front ones stick!

Not Happy! :(

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Posted in the wrong section sorry.

Mods can u move thread to appropriate place. Thanks :)

[Raymond.]

Can't these be cleaned up at all?

I had similar problems on a few Rovers years and years back

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Yeah you can recondition them and even buy reconditioned callipers from eBay for about £100 a piece. I just don't trust them personally but most members to be fair recommend them.

I put a brand new one on the drivers side when it stuck so will do the same now to the passenger. One good thing about all this, It should solve my on going problem of a severe brake imbalance. Since fitting the new calliper on the drivers side, if I brake hard it pulls awful to the right! Always look on the bright side Lol

[davidbee]

can't you pop to the scrap yard and get a second hand replacement? cars aren't cheap to run, i fix all mine myself, the lexus is the best car ive owned, it has it's issues but i dont care :D

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Oh it just gets better!!

Gone out to car earlier, flat tyre on the sticking calliper wheel! Must've got so hot last night it's expanded the tyre and let the air out! There's no puncture, just come back from kwik fit after fitting the spare. they say the tyre is fine! Need this fixed ASAP! :(

[noby76]

rather than forking out ££'s for a new set why dont you look for someone braking an IS200 on eBay, gumtree etc.. and have the calipers removed from them for a small fee. I know one guys who breaks IS's in Birmingham message me if you need to get in contact with him for some spare parts... :)

[Raymond.]

Gone out to car earlier, flat tyre on the sticking calliper wheel! Must've got so hot last night it's expanded the tyre and let the air out!

It might be coincidence Chris. I'm not sure and it could be a possibility but I'm thinking if you take it round the track on a track day then the brakes get rather hot too and don't let tyres down.

I had this a few times and had the rim cleaned up on the inside and been fine after. Could just be corrosion of the alloy inside.

Hope you get this sorted soon!

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

rather than forking out ££'s for a new set why dont you look for someone braking an IS200 on ebay, gumtree etc.. and have the calipers removed from them for a small fee. I know one guys who breaks IS's in Birmingham message me if you need to get in contact with him for some spare parts... :)

I'm all for second hand parts Noby but when it comes to brakes I'm not! I have to have brand new ones, it's just the way I am and nothing will ever change that lol. I had a horrific crash in 1999 in Dartford tunnel where the brakes went on me at 80 mph and I lost control and hit the wall hard! I woke up in hospital 3 days later! I'm overely paranoid with brakes since!

Thanks for the offer but I've already ordered a new calliper from Lexus (£200) Ouch! It'll be here by Friday and my mate is gonna help me fit it so no car over Christmas.

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Gone out to car earlier, flat tyre on the sticking calliper wheel! Must've got so hot last night it's expanded the tyre and let the air out!

It might be coincidence Chris. I'm not sure and it could be a possibility but I'm thinking if you take it round the track on a track day then the brakes get rather hot too and don't let tyres down.

I had this a few times and had the rim cleaned up on the inside and been fine after. Could just be corrosion of the alloy inside.

Hope you get this sorted soon!

I thought that Ray might just be coincidence! But after reading threads on other forums such as Ford and Mazda it seems quite common for the affected wheel to go flat after getting up serious temperature. I mean my alloy wheel was so hot last night that I couldn't touch it with my hand! And the smell was of the scale! When the drivers side stick it got nowhere near that hot!

Should all be sorted by Friday afternoon :)

[mikeyv]

rather than forking out ££'s for a new set why dont you look for someone braking an IS200 on ebay, gumtree etc.. and have the calipers removed from them for a small fee. I know one guys who breaks IS's in Birmingham message me if you need to get in contact with him for some spare parts... :)

I'm all for second hand parts Noby but when it comes to brakes I'm not! I have to have brand new ones, it's just the way I am and nothing will ever change that lol. I had a horrific crash in 1999 in Dartford tunnel where the brakes went on me at 80 mph and I lost control and hit the wall hard! I woke up in hospital 3 days later! I'm overely paranoid with brakes since!

Thanks for the offer but I've already ordered a new calliper from Lexus (£200) Ouch! It'll be here by Friday and my mate is gonna help me fit it so no car over Christmas.

Agreed Chris.

Things like trim, body panels and light units are great buys second hand.

Braking parts should be good quality and brand new.

[noby76]

rather than forking out ££'s for a new set why dont you look for someone braking an IS200 on ebay, gumtree etc.. and have the calipers removed from them for a small fee. I know one guys who breaks IS's in Birmingham message me if you need to get in contact with him for some spare parts... :)

I'm all for second hand parts Noby but when it comes to brakes I'm not! I have to have brand new ones, it's just the way I am and nothing will ever change that lol. I had a horrific crash in 1999 in Dartford tunnel where the brakes went on me at 80 mph and I lost control and hit the wall hard! I woke up in hospital 3 days later! I'm overely paranoid with brakes since!

Thanks for the offer but I've already ordered a new calliper from Lexus (£200) Ouch! It'll be here by Friday and my mate is gonna help me fit it so no car over Christmas.

No worries mate. ...when it comes to things like brakes i dont take chances either hence i had all my discs and pads replaced recently even though the mechanic said the rear discs where in good condition but they looked rusted on the outer rim edges and dont know how long it has been on the car before i bought it so replaced all for peace of mind..hopefully will get sorted out

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Happy Chris again! :) :)

New calliper all fitted, no more siezed brakes and brake imbalance has gone. Pulls up beutifully in a straight line now. Bit of a novelty, id got used to steering left when I had to brake hard!

And I got to have a go in a new GS250... Been a pretty good day :)

[Raymond.]

Good news Chris!

Glad you got it sorted.

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Thanks Ray.

So happy to have it back to normal :)

[steve2006]

Good news on the repair, some one mentioned it was the caliper pins seizing that caused the problems on the IS brakes, so was it just the caliper that was replaced or the caliper pins and the bracket also?

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Thanks Steve.

The whole calliper has been replaced, pins, the lot.

Yeah I spoke to the guys at the dealership today about it as they were really quiet!

Basically the rubber seal/boot cracks over time so letting in water and eventually they rust till they seize. The chamber the pins sits in fills up with rust so the whole calliper rusts from the inside out. That's what Lexus told me anyway so don't shoot the messenger! Lol :)

[petayV8]

Mine just went. Only did the sticky one, I knows its only a matter of time till other goes and will be in the same boat! But also could only afford to get the one sorted. to be fair the caliper that went on mine was 12 years old so the brakes cant be that bad on the IS?

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Exactly the same boat as I was I was in :(

Was it a front calliper? If it was you'll find your car will pull horrible to the side that got replaced now when braking. Be careful!

[petayV8]

Yeah front drivers side. I got a refurb from bumpyrides, it looked bran new. I did notice it pulls slightly but not how you described, in fact not hardly noticeable. The brakes are much better even with just the one new and the car feels much free'er especially being a auto. Maybe the other caliper is still good as new? For now! Im gonna be honest dont think im gonna bother doing other until i have too

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Keep an eye on the brake imbalance. Mine only pulled slightly at first but then after approx 1000 miles it got noticeably worse and worse until I was steering left every time I braked

Also if your MOT is due it might fail on brake imbalance test. I think your allowed 25% imbalance.

[KentIS300]

I got my front caliper seized badly last week ... enough to see my smoke on the rear car's headlights! lol lol

so now I have a warped disk too (only 600miles done on the front pair) as I replaced them when I fitted the lowering springs!

As many say I would not trust the second hand one's

But I got the kit to refurb mine instead ... £16 per wheel and fine sanding paper and a couple of more things....

3 hours took in total for both front calipers and the car now brakes and runs smooth!

link of the kit I used is http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261131168750?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

[steve2006]

Just looked at the link and that's a pretty good price for the lot, I paid nearly that for one caliper pin bellows thingy.

So from that is the IS caliper the same type as the early LS400?

[petayV8]

Yeah I saw those kits when mine went, but since mines a 2000 I think it was well over due a replacement anyway. Also after it sticking my disc is warped but not nearly as bad as I thought it would of been, im gonna leave it as the rotor are nearly new I cant justify replacing them already!

[KentIS300]

I only painted my calipers red a couple of months ago when I did the lowering ...

and I had to justify the cost of paint to paint them again etc ... if I got new ones.

But to be honest once I removed them and looked at the pistons etc ... I don't see the point of buying a new one or refurbised one... as after someone finish with cleaning the innards ... they looks as good as new. I believe the failure of the rubber is causing the whole stick problem on the pins and on the pistons.

Ofcourse by refurbing them your self... or buy a used one there is a problem which is worth concidering, one of my pistons was pitted no just surface rust so that one is likely to fail sooner than the other lot. But at least I am aware.

Need to see if they sell new parts for calipers etc :) :) lol ie one piston or one pin if needed as this brings the cost down.

I am put off Toyota's and Lexus's over the year ... I know I nag and I always buy them lol .... but they have major issues with the calipers that other manufacturers don't seem to have :( :(