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Rear Brakes Dragging

6K views 32 replies 12 participants last post by  Grog6 
#1 ·
I realize that this is a fairly n00b question but I know you've all been bored.

I swapped over to SN95 hubs and put the relocation brackets in place and swapped over to the bigger rotors in the rear. Now I've got a problem with the rear pads dragging (really bad). The calipers are new, the pads are new, the rotors are new. From what I've read the suggestion is that I need to lubricate the slide pins. I guess I wouldn't have thought that I needed to do that.

Any thoughts?
 
#2 ·
Lubricate the slide pins; lubricate the calipers where the pads drag; and check the brake hoses.

RwP
 
#4 ·
Is the e-brake cable pulling it slightly? I did a rear conversion on my Sonic and I had to loosen it at the e-brake a few turns.. Different setup all together, but just curious.....
 
#9 ·
I got one of these from Advance Auto... big time saver on those rear screws..
I have the exact same one and it doesn't work worth a damn on our calipers. It's slightly better than a flat screwdriver.

I bought this because I'm tired of this challenge and having tools is better than not: Cartman 21 piece brake service kit
 
#22 ·
One more note On Floating Calipers



While proper lubrication is important to the proper operation of the brakes, i would lean towards the e-brake being possibly too tight. If you were able to slide the calipers with the new pads over the rotors, you pushed the piston back enough for the brakes to function without drag. The llack of lubrication is more likely to lead to uneven pad wear than cause dragging also.

Ido recommend however rechecking everything before driving. Some additional notes are below.

No one mentioned it, but any area that requires grease also requires at least a quick attempt at cleaning. A wire brush is best for this and gets of the dust, rust, old grease etc.

After spending a few years running a 7 bay repair shop, i can tell you that poorly prepped brakes are more of a reason for uneven pad wear than bad calipers, though most mechanics will blame the caliper to make more money. At least many calipers come wih brackets and pins and that does solve the issue, and hydraulic parts should be replaced or rebuilt every 2nd or 3rd brake job.

Floating calipers (any caliper with pistons ONLYon one side of the caliper/rotor) are all junk, created and used to save money and ease assembly. All early disc brakes were fixed calipers like the Kelsey Hayes 4 piston type found on 65-67 Mustangs and other Fords. By 1968 the lousy single piston floating caliper was introduced and it is largely unnchanged today.

I also never use brake grease on the back of the pad. Ionly use disc brake quiet. As far as applying grease to the lubrication points, i think its better to grease the inside surface of the caliper where the brake pad mounting tabs ride, rather than directly on the pad tabs. Just brush some into the channel before instanng the pads.
 
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#24 ·
Something to remember with our emergency brakes:

The cable moving around in the breeze can tighten up the calipers, that's what there's a Big-Ass Wire Tie around it and the Cable mount on the Caliper from the factory, holding it together so it won't move sideways.

You have to put that back, or you can easily get dragging calipers. :)

Our cars have been thru several owners in some cases, and these might be gone; it's worth checking to see if they're there.


If you're not pulling the clip on the Ebrake Adjustment (in the rear middle of the cable), and removing the cables from the caliper, BEFORE you start ******* with the caliper removal, you are really ******* up; and making this a miserable job. :)

Every time you wiggle the caliper with respect to the cable, the piston will tighten back up; and that's the hardest part or doing these brakes, making the Freaking piston go in.

:smile2:
 
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#25 ·
Pictures of the setup?
 
#27 ·
Problem solved. Matt made the call. The driver's side piston wasn't aligned with the nubs on the back of the pad. The driver's side showed obvious dragging and was the one that was heating up really bad. I fixed that problem.

I also lubed the slide pins. They weren't dry but they weren't very lubricated.

The brake caliper tool set worked like a champ. The piece they list for Ford didn't fit but there was one that worked perfectly (K2 IIRC) and it's hard to imagine ever doing the rear brakes without the kit to screw down the caliper piston.

This was a pretty lively thread for such a dumbass mistake on my part.
 
#31 ·
Brakes are pretty important, people get interested; and, it's only a DA mistake if you do it again, lol. Like every time you do this, like some guys I know. :)

Remembering to turn the caliper piston extra to match the nubs is easily missed; and you can't see the inside when it's assembled. :zdunno:

I'm just way too cheap to buy the brake tool kit. :)



I bolt the caliper to the hub after I yank the disk, and use my cordless drill and the cube tool to push it back in.

If you don't remove the cables, when you turn the caliper out of the way to put the disk back on, the piston will come back out. :)

There's really only one place you can put the wiretie that holds the end of the cable to the caliper; around the junction.

I have new brakes and calipers on both cars that are moving; I'll try to remember to take pix next time.
 
#28 ·
I've always done brake jobs like the above illustration, it has worked flawlessly every time. Quiet, normal operation with no problems. If there is a contact point (other than pad to rotor) I'm lubricating it.
 
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#30 ·
Reading this gave me a little motivation to get my butt into gear and fix the [front] brakes on my two rides... :eek:
 
#33 ·
I had a subaru in the 80's that had an integrated caliper, a lot like these.

They were in the front, no lie. And had the same problem with moving the dang cable. :)

To do a donut, you could grab the ebrake, Hard Turn, and sling the ass end around for the donut, lol.

What some kids will do on a bet. 0:)


Heck, recently I won $50 off a guy with a mustang with factory traction control, by doing a donut with Lazarus, which he could not do. >:)


A car with a locking rear can easily do a donut around the engine/COG, making one front tire roll forward, one backward.

A car with an open diff can do a couple of passes, but there's too much forward motion for it to last long. :)

A car that is afraid of itself (TC) goes "erp-erp-erp-erp-erp-erp-erp-erp-erp-erp-erp-erp" around in a big circle. :rofl:​
He could not turn it completely off; so if he turned from a straight line burnout, it would go into TC. >:)

I'd heard him brag about burning a set of tires off, so I was pretty sure it was one of 'those' cars.

I saw a video on youtube about the whole TC thing awhile before he started bragging about his car; I might have seen a link here. :zdunno:

I don't usually bet with people with $60k mustangs, but damn; lol.

It can be cured in tuning, apparently; he wants a rematch. :)
 
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