Driving down the road today and noticed my RR wheel smoking and realized the brake is what was smoking. Pulled into a parking lot and let it sit for awhile (hour or so). Got back on the road and it was fine. No more smell or smoke. Any one thing that may have caused this? I was thinking it was the slide pins maybe builing up rust or something. The brake was off while I was driving, so I know it wasn't driver error. Should I be worried about this? What would be the best thing to check out first? The rotor doesn't look all burned up yet and I have a good amount of pad left...

maybe the e-brake had hung up and was dragging.

I had the exact same thing happen to mine last summer. I popped the wheel off and found that one of the retaining clips holding those pins in the caliper, the ones that go through the pads, well that clip had gone AWOL.

At this point I also rebuilt the calipers because it was leaking fluid out the adjuster.

So I'm actually not sure which was causing the hang-up really... can't remember if the pin had backed out at all to allow the pad to shift... bad memory.

Kinda scary with the clip though, give it a look-see...

-Todd

I had the same exact problem...

I took the back brakes apart............

And found Sklines underwear hung up in brake pads....

Can someone explain that to me???????????

Twystd1

Here is a short list of possible causes for dragging rear brakes.
1) Parking brake lever not fully released. Does your indicator light work?
2) Sticky or frozen parking brake cable (in your case right rear)
3) Sticky or frozen brake caliper. Needs rebuild
4) Rusty or frozen brake pad that won't retract. Lots of rust can do this, usually happens in those places that use lots of salt or mag chloride on the roads.
5) Broken return spring in the brake caliper (for the parking brake lever )
6) Gravel or small rock wedging a brake pad up against the rotor.
This one happened to me.
7) High residual brake pressure in the master cylinder. This could cause either the pair of rear calipers or pair of front calipers or all four calipers to drag. This doesn't seem to match your statement that only the right rear was smoking.
8) Rear brake clearence gap set too tight.

If it happens again, try to determine if it is the inside or outside pad is causing the dragging.
Lyle

This could also be a defective brake hose. It is possible that a part of the inside of the hose is seperating. This can behave like a check valve preventing the brale caliper from releasing.

After you get a rotor that hot, don't you have to check runout? I was taught that the rotor may warp. It's been a long time though so I might be mistaken.

Dave

I would be checking for brake hose failure first. If you have never changed them, or bled them or flushed the system, get to it. Hoses will collapse internally over time. Figure 5 years under seasonal use like here in the northeast.
Check the hoses first!

Don

I agree that a brake hose failure is most likely. Just replace with an OEM line, don't get fancy. Second most likely is a sticking piston.

IIRC it was the outside pad that was smoking. I couldn't see the inside pad though. I guess I should have also mentioned that the lines have been replaced with SS units and the standard fluid has been replaced with the blue stuff that I think is a racing type of fluid? I have never had ANY type of issue with the brakes on this car, not even any dragging from improper vent clearance. Tha cables look fairly new as well. I will get a good look at it today though. Nice and sunny here in the PNW.

There's a bunch of great replies here. I like:

Hose - They can blister internally allowing fluid to pass but restrict it upon return. However, that probably would have happened again once you got back on the road.

Rotor Warp - We had a european member that had a warped rotor that cause the rear to heat up and swell. Again, this probably would have reoccured once you got back on the road.

Lyle has a lot of great options on where to look. The handbrake could have stuck. Check for any binding, then remove the cable. With a heavy pair of gloves you should be able to move that arm and check for binding. They 'usually' don't bind because there's a couple of springs in there (under the caliper and on the arm) that are acting against that. If there's binding there you'll probably need a rebuild.

Pads - (this is my favorite) Check the pad slot. If you had them smoking there should be some evidence left behind. All sorts of things can build up in this slot where the pads reside. Rust, stones, grundge, Scott Klines underwear, spider webs (also know to be found in Scott Kline's underwear) etc. Check the pins as well. They can rust and get all nasty. A member here had a a great idea (Doug - CaptnTripps I believe) to put the pin in a drill like you would a bit and scrub it with a ScotchBrite pad. Cleans them up nicely. Check the pad springs as well. The pads will probably have to be replaced because the smoking session probably glazed them.

Pistons - While the pads are out, check the dust covers for splitting or cracks. Are the pistons further out in the bore (are the pads worn?) What can happen is rust gets in and effects the upper area of the piston (above the internal seal). It builds up with general dust, grundge and old fluid and it may be causing your piston to stick.

How old is the fluid?

This is a great time to remind everyone to change their fluid often. I've torn apart hundreds of these things and YOU WON'T BELIEVE THE DIFFERENCE THAT NEW FLUID MAKES. Some look virtually new after 30-some years. Some look like they've been filled with salt water...

Change your fluid.

Report back

I didn't get to TOUCH my car today. Brother-in-law had me fix his Ranger instead. I will never by a Ford. Still no further problems with my car though. Took it on some "fun" part runs to show him why he needs to get a 914.

Hopefully I will have better results tomorrow. Thank you all very much for all the helpful replies. I just hope I dont find any of Scott Klines underwear in my caliper. That means that it would have been there since at least the last WCC!