Hopefully some of you guys can point me in the right direction with this one! So, I noticed yesterday that I was feeling some vibration at low speeds that got less severe at higher speeds. I didn't know what it was until I smelled burning brakes and my rotor was very hot. Today I went and bought new rotors, pads because they needed to be replaced anyway. I also bought one caliper for my left rear side (the one I assumed must have had a caliper stuck causing my rotors to overheat). I finished putting everything on, bled the line, and figured I would be good to go. The vibrations were gone but when I stopped at a light on the way home, i noticed smoke coming from my the new caliper side. When I got home, I saw my actual pad had caught fire from getting so hot. Is it possible there is something wrong with one of my lines running from the master cylinder?? Has anyone ever heard of this?? I saw there is a thread that someone posted a while back but there isn't much about the specifics. Help!

 

I know most pads/rotors will smoke for a bit after they're installed, its part of the break in process for most brands.

Do you have any pics of the pad that caught fire? I'd be interested in knowing what brands you used and whether the pad/rotor was maybe coated in something that may have burned from the heat?!

 

Well.. I just got done doing my brakes last weekend. I had some issues (long story) but I did have brake fluid leaking since when I reconnected the lines I was missing a washer or two initially and did not tighten the lines tight enough. Anyway, last weekend put a new left rear caliper on as well (funny you said that) and rotors, pads.. bleed the brakes, everything was perfect. I had to hammer it down the road to make a haircut apt after. Man did the car reek. I could smell something burning. It was a terrible burning smell. I am not sure sure if it was the brake fluid, if any got on rotors/ pads or if it was the pads or rotors breaking in. After about 20 miles the smell went away.

 

Did you check and relube the caliper slide pins on each caliper? These are commonly overlooked and seize in place. When you put the new pads in, one side may be excessively tight due to the caliper not being able to self-center and you overheat the pads.

Anytime you do a brake job you should check the slide pins. The rear calipers are especially prone to the lower pin seizing in the pad guide bracket.