I have a 97 Continental and the front brakes seem to be sticking on both sides, the car has been sitting for about 5 months and before I parked it I replaced the front half-shafts, rotors, calipers, and pads. It had been fine when it was driven before being parked but my wife drove it today and it seems like the brakes are dragging and not releasing after pressure is applied. I jacked up each wheel today and had her step on the brake pedal and the rears both released and spun freely but after stepping on the pedal and letting off I could not get the wheels to move at all with the transmission in neutral, it felt like the brakes were still applied. I moved the car afterward and I could feel them dragging............could the master cyld cause this or should I be looking for something else. I did not try turning off the traction control or unplugging the fuse for the traction control..............could that cause the problem? My wife said the brakes felt great when she had to stop on her way home and the car stops better than her Mustang, and she said there was a bad odor and a little smoke which I ASSUME was caused by the brakes sticking, but I don't know the cause. Anyone have this kind of problem with a Continental before??? Thanks!!
Brake problem 97 Continental
- Thread starter bkm48198
- Start date
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
Repeat the test to get to where you can't turn the front wheels by hand. Crack open slightly one of the front bleeders. If fluid squirts out and the wheel is released, then it's a problem somewhere with the master cylinder, ABS unit, or brake hose(s). On the other hand, if the wheel still can't be turned, then it's bad calipers. I suspect that this will be it. It seems like the rebuilt calipers from the auto stores are getting worse all the time.
The reason I had replaced the half shafts, calipers,rotors, and pads was because I was getting a bad vibration at times and since the car had 178000 miles and it needed brakes I replaced it all at once and this was about a week before parking it, the vibration would come and go so I couldn't track it down to one certain thing, after replacing those parts it seemed OK but it only was driven once or twice for a few miles each time, this was my wife's car and she wanted a Mustang for her B/d and I was going to keep the Lincoln for my winter vehicle, I am thinking the master cyld is going bad and not letting the fluid come back to the reservoir after letting off the brake pedal.
joegr
Dedicated LVC Member
Crack open the bleeder on one or both calipers, and then you will know for sure.
I cracked them both open and no fluid squirted out, checked the slides and they are fine, so I replaced the master and the brakes seem to be working fine again. Thanks for the info but this time it was just the master cyld, but that is good to know for any future problems!!