Yes, the left rear brake caliper on my GTV has a mind of its own. When it is cold, it acts in unison with the other calipers when I press&release the brake pedal. But in about 10 minutes, it maintains a slight grip on the rotor which is very apparent with gliding to a stop or accelerating slightly in heavy traffic. The grip appears to increase but in about 20 minutes, the caliper is again playing by the rules.
I experienced this condition early last month after the car had been sitting for a few months (waiting for a driver's event to attend). I 'exercised' the two pistons in the driveway by pushing each piston into the caliper and then extending it more than normal (used a thin piece of wood to make sure it did not come all the way out). I noticed that the dust shield was very brittle as if subjected to high temps; I couldn't see any corrosion on the piston but my view was limited. I'd suspect the rear flexible brake hose of becoming clogged but I replaced it with some SS hose about 10 years back; and the right rear caliper doesn't misbehave at all. And usually if the caliper is grabby when warm, then it stays that way. The left one seems to get grabby within a certain temp range and then is normal at 'full operating temp'. Anyone ever experienced this ?? I'll be rebuilding the caliper this winter. Bruce '73 GTV -- to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected]
