Caliper sticking problem.

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Meliodas

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Oct 27, 2023
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Ky
Vehicle Details
1994 Ford Thunderbird 3.8L v6
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I ordered a caliper, and received one that did not fit. So I ordered the correct one and continued to use old one until arrival. I drove about 35 minutes away and had zero issues. Let the car sit an hour then drove home. You could hear the caliper sticking and making a grinding noise, and after that followed with the car not wanting to shift correctly. Is it possible that the wheel, moving slower somehow stressed my transmission out? This happened a couple months back as well and just went away after a day or two. Just concerned. The car did not want to shift unless I floored it , or hesitated to do so under normal conditions. Idk. Just worried. My first car. I fix the caliper Tuesday. I can also hear a squeaking on that wheel with failing caliper, like a brake pad wear squeal, happens with every tire rotation and stops when brakes are pressed. But the pads are brand new.

Sorry for the word vomit.
 
Well the transmission in these cars are pretty durable. Have you changed the transmission fluid yet in your car?
 
Have not, only have six quarts at the moment and need six more. Money is tight. However I usually never have any problems. But when I hear that grinding with the caliper it always happens , refuses to shift properly. Last time it went away and all was fine.
 
That is interesting. Does your car have ABS?
 
The chirping with each rotation is typical of a warped rotor - not uncommon on these cars, unfortunately. If you can hear the chirping sound though it does mean that particular caliper did retract after the last braking action and isn't stuck. Do you have 4 wheel disc or rear drums?

The transmission that doesn't want to shift sounds like a separate issue that is coincidentally rearing its head after your caliper installation. If you can, check the TPS voltage; it (excluding RPM and vehicle speed) is the most influential component that controls when the transmission shifts. It should be under 1V at idle and over 4.5V at WOT; as you open the throttle it should scale smoothly and linearly with no spikes.
 
Hey guys, thanks for reply, Rotor is fresh install, not even 24 hours prior. Caliper was not replaced, I had to order one without special equipment package. Yes, I have rear drum brakes. I’m basically wondering if the wheel, when sticking HARD. Can affect transmission. The issue has once again stopped after one day.

Part of me thinks maybe transmission is overheating, however it was fine the entire duration of my 28 mile drive. I parked car, attended a funeral, BARELY bumped a curb at 1mph on back wheel, and my problems started afterward. Shifting weird all the way home. With the noise from caliper.

I know transmission delivers power to wheels, so maybe a sensor like the one mentioned above is at fault, which I’m likely to think isn’t damaged since after 24 hours the car is operating smoothly, without heat mentioned above. It could be the wheel was not rotating quick enough which caused some kind of discrepancy, which would explain why the problem always stops. I have no idea though, just process of elimination. I will mention it to our family friend who is our mechinac of 30 years . Just worried . I love this car and don’t want to lose it prematurely as I need it for my new job. It’s a fine car, and kept in a garage so it’s in excellent condition with hardly any rust. 110,000 Miles.
 
Rear drums can be troublesome with the auto-adjuster mechanism, have you had a look to be sure everything in the back is clean, lubricated, and functional? If you know someone with an infrared thermometer you can shoot the drums and rotors after a drive to see if any are abnormally hot compared to the others.

I've seen on my cars where rust buildup between the rotor and wheel hub can cause the rotor to not be perfectly parallel to the axis of rotation, causing an imbalance in the wheel and a braking pulse/squeak. Also something to consider...
 
I've seen that too, Brandon. I had a cheap rotor rust so badly, it would rub after I replaced the pads. I had to pull the disk off and scrub the hub with a wire brush.
 
I'm not seeing a connection either. Other than maybe they both heat up. The brakes heat up then there's interference and noise, and the transmission fluid heats up and loses viscosity.

Probably blasphemy but I never drain the converter when changing the transmission fluid. But I do change it more frequently than spec. If it was me I'd change the fluid and filter now rather than waiting for six more quarts of fluid. Mercon V of course. It'd suck worse to wind up with a broken transmission and still have six quarts on the shelf.
 
You will only need 6 quarts most likely. There's about 2 quarts in the pan, maybe 3 in the tc. You'll likely to only need 6 unless you drop the valvebody. after you get everything out you can, clean the magnet. It should be covered in black slime. It's magnetic slime, so you have to wipe it off with a rag, and it ain't coming out of your jeans, lol. Mercon V burns my hands, so I wear nitrile gloves.
Putting the fluid back in, put in 4 quarts and start the engine. Add another quart, while checking the fluid. Remember to run the shifter thru the gears, letting each one engage. This refills the VB circuits and clutches, and refills the tc. Usually, as I'm 5.5 quarts in, it's at the bottom of the stick. Add half of what's left, and take it for a drive. After a couple of miles, check the level, and bring it up to the full hot mark. You're done. If the 'secret toy' is still in the pan, then the filter has probably not ever been changed.

Getting the $20 dorman pan with the drain plug is a good investment; even if you want to change the filter, draining the pan cuts the mess. :)
Getting the pan loose while full of fluid is where the term "Mercon shower" comes from. Do NOT get a drop of that shit in your eye; it burns like a motherfucker. I now wear safety glasses to do anything under the car. :)
If the toy is in the transmission, and it's working ok, you'll want to get the parts, and do the jmod. That will make your transmission last the longest.
If it's NOT working well, start saving and looking for a 2002 Gran Marquis transmission, Non-Police. It will still need to be rebuilt, but it gets you all the good parts, and rebuilt properly, will last forever. I would personally not spend money on a stock transmission; they're missing too many parts. The only things worth keeping are the valvebody, output shaft, and manual lever.
 
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Thanks guys, will try your suggestions. It happened a couple months back and I was terrified of a transmission problem. I drove it recently 35 miles and the entire drive was smooth. On the way home I could hear a whir/grind followed by the car not going into next gear, squeaking right wheel. The engine rpm’s would not shoot up however, it just remained where it was and then eventually would shoot up as it hit 4th gear I presume. I had to floor it to go 60 to maintain flow of traffic.

The noise does not occur when I use 2nd gear instead of having car in drive. Usually in drive the issues occur around 35-40mph or on hills. Is it possible it’s stuck so badly that the wheel isn’t rotating quick enough and thus not allowing the vehicle to shift properly? I will go ahead and throw the six quarts in but I do not know what fluid is already in it. Am I able to mix it? I have a bit of money to throw at it. I have never had this issue. On that trip, we parked at a funeral home for an hour. Started the car and went. Issue started to occur with that noise. Sounds like a semi wheel coming off a ramp. Trans dipstick shows full. My mechanic said you risk damaging hands by draining it. Stumped kind of hoping the issue goes away when replacing caliper but everyone insists that the caliper has nothing to do with the performance issue. I have sank around $1500 into the car so it’s just disheartening. Was supposed to start a much better job this Friday.
 
Grog6 said:
You will only need 6 quarts most likely. There's about 2 quarts in the pan, maybe 3 in the tc. You'll likely to only need 6 unless you drop the valvebody. after you get everything out you can, clean the magnet. It should be covered in black slime. It's magnetic slime, so you have to wipe it off with a rag, and it ain't coming out of your jeans, lol. Mercon V burns my hands, so I wear nitrile gloves.
Putting the fluid back in, put in 4 quarts and start the engine. Add another quart, while checking the fluid. Remember to run the shifter thru the gears, letting each one engage. This refills the VB circuits and clutches, and refills the tc. Usually, as I'm 5.5 quarts in, it's at the bottom of the stick. Add half of what's left, and take it for a drive. After a couple of miles, check the level, and bring it up to the full hot mark. You're done. If the 'secret toy' is still in the pan, then the filter has probably not ever been changed.

Getting the $20 dorman pan with the drain plug is a good investment; even if you want to change the filter, draining the pan cuts the mess. :)
Getting the pan loose while full of fluid is where the term "Mercon shower" comes from. Do NOT get a drop of that shit in your eye; it burns like a motherfucker. I now wear safety glasses to do anything under the car. :)
If the toy is in the transmission, and it's working ok, you'll want to get the parts, and do the jmod. That will make your transmission last the longest.
If it's NOT working well, start saving and looking for a 2002 Gran Marquis transmission, Non-Police. It will still need to be rebuilt, but it gets you all the good parts, and rebuilt properly, will last forever. I would personally not spend money on a stock transmission; they're missing too many parts. The only things worth keeping are the valvebody, output shaft, and manual lever.
Click to expand...
What do you mean “secret toy” haha
 
Meliodas said:
What do you mean “secret toy” haha
Click to expand...
The "toy" Is a plug Ford installed at the Factory to plug the hole for the dipstick tube. As the dipstick was installed the worker would just push the tube into the trans and the toy would stay in the pan. It sized just right so it doesn't bother anything in the trans. So if you remove the pan and find a tan plastic thing with an o ring on it that kind of looks like a spinning top a kid would play with. Then most likely the pan has never been off the trans.
 
supergordo said:
The "toy" Is a plug Ford installed at the Factory to plug the hole for the dipstick tube. As the dipstick was installed the worker would just push the tube into the trans and the toy would stay in the pan. It sized just right so it doesn't bother anything in the trans. So if you remove the pan and find a tan plastic thing with an o ring on it that kind of looks like a spinning top a kid would play with. Then most likely the pan has never been off the trans.
Click to expand...
Oh okay haha. Went on highway and floored it to 4th gear and noise and issue has temporarily gone away. Just gonna pray caliper replacement fixes it and see what my mechanic says
 
I keep those; the will fit from the top too. The keep fluid in the tranny, coming home from the JY. :)
 
If you hoon your car, you will want one of those. :) And a pile of other parts. :)
 
I just remembered; it's been forever since I had drum brakes: If the rear axle bearing wears out, it can rub the drum against stuff. You'll have to look.
If you suspect something of rubbing, there's spray-on blue penetrating dye for machinists; you spray it on, then look for the blue to go away. The stuff I bought to look for cracks in metal, and it glows in the dark. You put it on, wash it off, then look at it under a uv light, and a microscope.
 
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