I've noticed that my left front wheel has been very dirty the last several drives....lots of brake dust. I touched the rim after my last drive and it was hot...almost too hot to touch. I figured I might have a dragging caliper; however, the car doesn't pull when driving or when braking. So, I thought it was one of those things I would address when I felt like messing with it.

Out for my weekend drive today and the car is running perfectly...the targa is off and all is right with the world. As I'm driving home one of the local mouth breathers decides to pull out in front of me at 60mph. I put my foot on the brake pedal and it went straight to the floor.

A quick downshift and judicious use of the handbrake prevented me from making the local news. I pulled off to the side of the road and opened the trunk expecting to see an empty reservoir. Nope, reservoir full. That's when I noticed the hot brake smell.

I let the brakes cool down a few minutes and drove on home. The brakes were very spongy; but, worked enough to get home. Now that they have cooled down they are fine.

My next step is to get some rebuilt calipers from Eric. I'll also use this "jack stand time" to install my 5-lug conversion kit.

Lesson learned....sticky brakes can be hazardous to your health!

My advice....

Fix the brake in an hour or two.
Drive the car till November
Then use the jack stands to do the 5 lug conversion....

You know what happens when a 914 assumes the position.

Change out your hoses too. An internally collapsed hose or restricted hose can also be a cause of a dragging caliper.