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Looking For A Little Brake Wisdom...

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Percy_Q_Shoebox, Jan 11, 2023.

  1. Percy_Q_Shoebox

    Percy_Q_Shoebox Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2022
    5
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    Location:
    Ontario
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Changed the front wheel bearings on my '08 with the usual precautions (12V disconnect, keys in the house, frame stands etc) and all went well. All back together and down the road I go.....with a gawd-awful grinding noise front left. My ear tells me it's a brake pad contacting the rotor. Turn left = worse. Turn right = gone. Go straight = it's "thinking" about it.
    Back up in the air, the inboard pad is obviously the culprit with a nice dusting on the carrier/caliper area. Hmmm.
    The pads were not mixed up on the bearing job (i always lay out parts as they came off on cardboard and sharpie their location) but I did clean the anti-rattle clips and refreshed the lube, checked the sliders, rubber booties and lubed them up again.
    Odd problem to show up out of the blue. Any chance this is a caliper piston/seal issue?
    Cheers!
     
    Tombukt2 likes this.
  2. Tynyyn

    Tynyyn Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2018
    102
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    Location:
    Bella Vista Arkansas
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Did you turn the rotors? Are you sure you seated the rotor all the way onto the hub? Tightened the axle nut to proper spec? Did you check the level of the brake fluid? Air in the lines? Just asking ?'s which might give you some help.
     
  3. Percy_Q_Shoebox

    Percy_Q_Shoebox Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2022
    5
    3
    0
    Location:
    Ontario
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Thanks for replying! I appreciate the thought.
    I didn't turn the rotors; and even bought a spanking new 3/4" torque wrench ("well, dear, the old one isn't big enough" [wink, wink, nudge, nudge]) for this job so I'm sure the fasteners including the new axle nuts (always replace, never reuse) are at spec. The seating of the rotor though, that's an interesting point. I'll check as soon as the mercury climbs above 35F.
    I did bleed with techstream and just for giggles ran through enough DOT3 to ensure a fresh system. The reason I was thinking caliper piston/seal is that is the *only* part I didn't touch during that job and Murphy's Law began....
     
  4. Percy_Q_Shoebox

    Percy_Q_Shoebox Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2022
    5
    3
    0
    Location:
    Ontario
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Solved: For future reference for those searching for help - it was the caliper. It was not exiting the bore properly. Replacing it solved the issue.
     
    Chimi1 and Mendel Leisk like this.