Breaks locked up on a 2005 Saturn Vue – fixed for <$20
The front passenger side caliper on my 2005 Saturn Vue decided to lock up on me. It happened a few months ago and I jiggled the hoses and it fixed it for a while but now they are locked up!
The shops said the caliper was frozen. Of course, the shops all said, if you replace one caliper, you have to replace both and it would be best to replace the rotors and pads at the same time. Well of course it would be best. Funny, if I did that, the hose would still be blocked and I’d likely have to spend more money to get it fixed.
So… tapping into my military training in 1984 at Shepherd AFB where I learned the basics of being an aircraft crew chief mechanic, I decided to take a page from the books and start with the cheapest and easiest possible solution. The break LINE before the breaks.
Okay, I’m a bad YouTuber. I should have been filming this whole thing. But there’s another guy out there and I put a link to his video, but I had the same issue where the caliper wouldn’t release and the brakes kept smoking. So after reading all of my options, I decided to go with the least expensive first.
That is this brake line for $18 on Amazon. The big issue seemed was the bolt holding the line in place. But for me, I used a box end wrench and a little bit of leverage, and some WD 40 and it came right out. And then I did the same thing up here. WD 40 did it and just with the open-end wrench.
I got everything loose where I felt comfortable. These little clips. He had a screwdriver and pop those open. Got that out of the way that goes over to here anyway, I got it on. But the quarter-inch hose on here and bled the brakes. My neighbor taught me a little trick. He says, Put it in the coke bottle, which he happened to have one from the sixties.
And when it stops spitting air and while you’re pumping the brakes, it’s done. We used about a bottle of brake fluid to get the air out, and it works just fine. I’m happy with it. I’m going to put the pad seems to have a lot of room still. Surprisingly, we had these were smoking hot. It’s not blue or burnt-looking, so I’m going to give it a go.
And that’s what I’ve done for my issue. Also, while we were bleeding the brakes, after I closed the zerk, I had her (wife) pump it a couple more times and I did discover a leak up here. So once it’s pressurized, you can double-check your connections and make sure that’s not leaking.
And then you make sure everything’s free, not rubbing on anything and you’re good to go.
I had some support from others on YouTube as well. One, in particular, goes into much more detail than I do and it’s worth watching if you plan to do this.
http://youtube.com/@ChadWilliamsFixesAll
Fortunately, my neighbor had an asphalt pad, a floor jack, a jack stand, and a coke bottle from 1967. Thanks Dale!
If you want to buy the part: https://amzn.to/3zddpeZ (affiliate link)
