I have a 2005 X-Type 3.0 which i recently put new front pads on. After installing the new pads i bled the front brakes and all seemed fine on the test drive. On the way to work the next day the brake pad started getting harder and harder to push and eventually i ended up limping home with brakes that wouldnt disengage.

So after looking around the forums and inspecting the calipers i decided that it was the front left caliper sticking as it was really hard to retract even with bleeder nut open. I couldnt find enough info on rebuilding so i decided replacement was a better option. Replaced today both and left and right front calipers and then bled them.

Take out for test drive and everything seems to be working great for about the first 3 miles. Then the brake pedal starts to harden up again (i had good pressure when i started but we're talking maybe an inch of play when it hardens up) and next thing i know the brakes wont disengage. I'm at my wits end here trying to figure out what the heck is going on. The car does not pull in one direction, and it seems like its the front brakes that are not disengaging. The only thing i can think of is maybe the auto store sold me the wrong pads or my master cylinder is shot(but it worked fine before new pads)?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

ja34, I would venture to guess that your issue isn't the calipers themselves but the ABS unit on the brake cylinder. I would check into what a new ABS valve block would cost as that is more than likely your issue (the block is not relieving the pressure like it should). If you follow the brake lines back, they should all end up at a common block with a single line running back to the brake booster. This is the block that I am talking about. If it was the master brake cylinder, all 4 wheels would be acting up. You only talk about the fronts being the ones having this issue.

 

Thermo thanks for the input. Reading your post I am wondering if a way to test this would be to temporarily pull the abs fuse and see if I still have the issue. Also you wouldn't happen to know what they call that part as searching abs valve block isn't turning anything up.

 

ja34, from what I can see, jaguar calls it the modulating valve. Unfortunately, this is a fairly significant part and cost is rather high. Something that you can try is to simply put the front end of the car up in the air and pull off both wheels. Now, with the brakes bound up (may need to start the car and pump the brakes a few times to get the failure to be present), check the drag on the one of the rotors, then crack open the vent on that caliper to relieve the little bit of pressure that is in there. Now, check the rotor to make sure that it moves freely. Go to the other side of the car and see if the other side moves freely too. If it does, then you know that it is not the calipers and it is something upstream (modulator valve or the brake booster). I somewhat am dismissing the brake booster as being a problem since you don't talk about the rear brakes binding up too.

Don't forget that you should probably do a proper bleed of the brake caliper that you crack the vent on just to make sure you haven't introduced any air into the system, leaving you with a spungy feeling pedal.

 

Thermo,
Ok I did the above checks and upon further inspection it appears that when the problem occurs all 4 wheels are locking up. The fronts are much tighter than the rears but I'm guessing that could be attributed to the new front pads and calipers. Basically when I jack the car up now the fronts I can't move at all and the rears I can only move when I really push on them hard. This leads me to think that maybe the master cylinder is the culprit. I'm about to order a new one but figured it made sense to get your input first. Thanks for all your help so far.

 

One quick addition if you do think I'm right with the master cylinder solution then what's involved in swapping one out as I've never done one before. Also I thought it worthwhile mentioning that the problem does not occur immeadiately I had to drive the car about 2 miles before the brakes started locking up again.

 

ja34, changing out the master cylinder isn't too bad. Pretty much you have to open the hood, disconnect the vacuum line, disconnect the line running between the master cylinder and the modulator, disconnect the linkage under the hood from the brake pedal, then finally undo a few fasteners holding the master cylinder to the firewall. Overall, not a difficult job. What you are going to be cussing about is all the fasteners that are under the dash.

Before you go through this much trouble, something you may want to try is disconnecting the vacuum line going to the master cylinder. See if your problem crops up again. It may be possible that the check valve in that line is sticking, leading to your problem. If the problem doesn't come back, then I would replace that line first and then see what you have.

 

You need a new brake booster not a master cylinder. Over time the spring in the booster gets weak and the vacuum actually over powers the spring and applies the brakes instead of just assisting you apply the brakes.

 

I am having the exact same issue. Did you get yours fixed and if so what was it?

 

Yes I got it fixed TopDawg82 was correct it was the brake vacuum booster (also known as ABS brake booster). It's the black circular thing on the firewall on the driver side(US) of the vehicle that the master cylinder connects to. Replaced that and voila working brakes.

 

Thank you so much for getting back to me. Can you tell me if you did it or had it done? If you did it, how difficult was it?

Thanks again

 

At that point I was so frustrated I had it done. If I remember correctly the labor wasn't bad but the part is quite expensive. The part is easily accessible and it doesn't look that complicated but is just double check to make sure of the procedures with installing to make sure you don't ruin the new part.

 

Thanks, again I really appreciate you taking time to get back to me. Hopefully I can get the is done and get her back on the road.

 

Hey Thermo
Wanted to ask for your opinion on this before spending money in parts - I researched my issue which is I'm getting a gear fault - when driving at times codes that pop up are p0116 & c1155 - I also notice on a flat surface I put the car in neutral and push the car is very heavy like if the brakes are sticken - how can I check or fix this - do I have to replace the brake booster or something for the brakes or bleed the fueled- never really had an issue with this before - before this situation when I put the car in neutral & push ill roll for about 5ft buy its self - I must be losen lots of gas - not sure if this might effect the trans

 

Juan, I would say to first start off with doing a tire rotation and as you get the tires in the air, see how easy it is to rotate the tires (block the tires and make sure the e-brake is off). The tires should roll pretty easy. Compare all the tires to each other. You may also want to look at the pads and see if 1 set of pads is worn much more than the others. This would be a classic sign of a caliper not releasing like it should and the brakes dragging on you.

Granted, the C1155 code (LH front wheel) is telling me that one of your wheel speed sensors is not being received by the computer and that can be causing your ABS system to act funny as it is seeing a wheel as possibly not moving, so the ABS unit is trying to ease up the pressure on that wheel and can make the ABS do funny things. It is possible that the sensor simply needs to be cleaned or the wheel bearing is starting to go which could also lead to more drag on the car as the brake system would now be put into a funny position. This is where the brake pad inspection is going to be your big indicator. I would also check to see if you can get some movement of the bearing (with the wheel off of the ground, put your hands at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions and attempt to turn the wheel back and forth like the steering wheel would move the tire. If you can feel/see movement, you need a new wheel bearing. This little bit of play could also be the reason for the code too.

 

Thermo you know you jags - yes I jacked up the car checked the rotation to my amazement all four wheel are rotating properly no friction or noise - wired cause when I drop the car & put it in nurtaul & push it won't roll on its own -
About the speed censer I changed the spindle due to hitting a pot hole ever since c1155 pops up - I bought a new speed censer no luck code still there -

I recently took it back to the machanic that changed out the spindle he said the spindle is good might be the abs module - not sure if that's the right road to take - but he did find a slow leakage coming from the rear differential, he said I had no oil he added some "no charge" I've been abserving it since the first day some leak but then stopped -

Also gear fualt not sure what's going on with this I had p0116 & when the gear fualt pops up & if I check code with out shutting car off I get a p1747- I had anti freeze leak about 4months ago from the reserver - I ordered one but due to shipping issues took over two weeks - so anti freeze was leaking down ward - I believe it's affected the tcm - I took it out - cleaned it applied crc spray did the same to ecm - no signs if water damage though - I am using green anti freeze cause the owner has been using it for over 5yrs I've heard if I witch to orange might have a bad reaction but it might also be the cause what do u think ?

 

Juan, before you start replacing the ABS module, do a good look at the wiring for the module. Also, if you had a new spindle put on, it may be very possible that they goofed up the bearing and installed it backwards which would lead to your problem. There is an inside and outside to that bearing.

As for the coolant, if you are in replacing coolant, I recommend draining it all and simply starting all over again. That way you know what you have and go from there. Mixing the different colors is not necessarily a bad thing (as they are supposed to be interchangeable), but at the same time, some have reported seeing what appears to be a thickening of the coolant when mixing the colors.

 

After replacing the rear calipers and pads my brakes were locking up. I'm a Quality Engineer so I was determined to understand. After a lot of experimenting I ended up with the booster and master cylinder.
The master cylinder was opened up and it's aluminum with a sliding plunger AND check valve. The check valve needs to touch a pin and only has about 3/16" travel. (You can actually remove the reservoir, small disk and fluid to see the check valve touch the pin. But I did this only after removal and reinstall onto the car.)
Why was my check valve not touching the pin? Since my car has about 120K the springs in the master and /or booster had gotten weak and the booster was barely keeping the check valve from actuating. Vacuum moves the check valve away from the trigger pin when the car runs and if you don't spring back the check valve stays shut thus locking the brakes.
You are in luck. The booster plunger can be adjusted by pressing the brake to extend it while the master is removed. (A 24" board between the seat and pedal help!)I used vice grips to hold on part of it and a wrench to adjust it. They appear to be glued together but I won. Perhaps my small torch helped. After adjusting as far as possible everything was back to normal -- almost. Once the brakes worked again the switch on the brake pedal was not contacting. This was fixed McGiver style with some stick on spacer(s) to trigger the brake pedal switch.
Why did changing pads cause a new problem of wheel locking up? My guess is there was some air in the lines that was eliminated during caliper bleeding.
Good luck to ya.

 

we removed the Reservoir, the disc and the fluid. We're looking down in one of two holes and we see a small silver thing plugged into one of the holes and the other one is open is that the pin that you're talkin about? Should that appear to be pushed down so that it looks empty? We aren't sure of what the check valve and pin looks like. Also are you saying to press the brake down and then remove the master cylinder to extend the booster plunger or are you saying to press the brake while the master cylinder is already previously removed?

 

I can't remember how the look of everything was inside the master cylinder; under the bowl.
However I meant to say after you unbolt the master cylinder from the booster you can then press the brake to extend the booster plunger and adjust to make the plunger go more into the booster and less into the master cylinder. This adjustment may just get you going without other actions to the master cylinder.

After adjusting I test drove about five minutes to make sure they didn't overheat.
At first I also left just a touch of air in the line for a week or so and then later removed it after I felt everything was working ok.