so nobody thinks its just the abs system?

 

Highly unlikely given the symptoms. Not just the ABS system. Yes your ABS most likely needs some attention, but it's not causing the your caliper to lock up. The ABS system is designed not to interfere with you having brake functionality. In other words an ABS failure should not leave you stranded as you described, it would simply lose its anti-lock function. You have other issues to fix, caliper leaks and/or a blockages of some type, but bleed the system first (unless you're positive that bleeding won't help - you already exhausted that option). There's also a chance your caliper is simply jammed, so try removing it and compressing it like I said, plus lubricating the tabs on the pad so it can slide properly. Visually inspect for leaks and seepage as well.

Basically you need to repair your primary brake system first, then you can think about ABS if you want it (and if your state has safety inspections).

PS, please expound on the "locked caliper" condition: is your wheel locked in place when you don't touch the brakes, and that's what's immobilizing the vehicle?

 

The front passenger caliber is constantly putting pressure on the rotor. If I drive the car for 5 minutes, the brtakes work fine, but I can feel the lag from the locked brake.

 

And it puts up a heck of a smoke cloud. Can smell the burning brakes, the rotor is very hot. And I'm a little redneck so I went around the whole vehicle and spit on the rotor to see which one was hot. And that's the one that sizzled. Just have to take the time to get back up the and get it back up. Would it be a bad idea to remove my rear brake lines at the abs and the brake calipers and attaching an air hose from a compressor to see if I can get air through the line?

 

alright update-i checked the fluid pressure in and out of the abs system, everything seems to be flowing well. i took the caliper off and found that one of the pistons was stuck, causing the brake pads to hold the rotor. i'm ordering another caliper tomorrow and and working on figuring out the rear brakes on saturday. any more suggestions?

 

Sounds like you are on track. If you have no obstructions and a stuck caliper, all you need is to repair or replace the caliper, and do a full bleed. After that, you can troubleshoot the ABS if you'd like. Took me less than an hour to fix my ABS, but I didn't have to replace any parts.

 

Thanks for all your help! I'm hoping the rear brakes are just blocked somewhere. Is it a good idea to blow pressurized air through the lines?

 

Shouldn't hurt, the lines are rated for a fair amount of pressure. Just don't get brake fluid in your eyes.

 

There is a blink method you can use to isolate the ABS light after you fix the calipers. Its attached in the Discovery tech section on the first page. Its called ABS troubleshooting.

 

Have any luck getting your rear calipers to work right? I have bleed mine and still cant seem to get good pressure at the back. Comes out nicely when you crack the bleeders but still not working