[caspergotaz28]

Replaced all four pads. I did not turn or replace the rotor. I lightly sanded front and back with 220 grit in a swirling motion. They had some tiny "gouges" on the surface, but I didn't think they were too bad. For the most part they were flat across.

The rotors are original with 96K miles on them. I know this because they have those funky washers on the studs that hold the rotor on for the trip down the assembly line.

I did a 10 mile test run and they seem to be "grabbing" the rotor lightly. The car will slow to a stop faster while in neutral and the engine is running at a slightly higher rpm to maintain speed. I did very light braking throughout the test drive. Mainly 45-20 slowdowns.

When I stopped, there was some thin smoke coming from one of the wheels, the other didn't seem to have this smoke. I could also obviously detect a burning smell.

I didn't replace/turn the rotors in the interest of saving money. I will if it is needed though.

-Should I drive another few dozen "break-in" miles and see if the condition improves?
-Should I replace the rotors or turn them? They are original and never been removed from the car.
-Should I replace the wheel bearings if I'm gonna pull the rotor?
-If I turn/replace the rotor, should I start over with new pads or try to use these ones with a few dozen miles?


I have done one other brake job on a mustang and I turned one of the rotors and replaced the other. I had no problem like this happen.

[JeepCrazyKid]

Originally Posted by caspergotaz28

I did a 10 mile test run and they seem to be "grabbing" the rotor lightly. The car will slow to a stop faster while in neutral and the engine is running at a slightly higher rpm to maintain speed.

sounds like your caliper isn't fully releasing from the rotor, like your brakes are always engaged.

Could be your pads are too thick or your piston is screwed.

[xhavier_5478]

yeah you might want to take a look when ever there is smoke coming off your brake, I had a caliper just lock on me, i swapped it out and bled the breaks and its fine now. BTW you might also think about replacing any pads that were rubbing if its glazed.

[caspergotaz28]

ya the pads they gave me seemed really thick, but I pushed the piston back in with a block of wood and the pads/caliper slid on just fine, didn't have to beat them on or anything.

[caspergotaz28]

How do you swap out a caliper? There is a '95 parts car at a local yard I can pull it from.

[NYCXJ90]

i would pull the wheels again, pull the rotors and wash them in household dish detergent (NOT BRAKE CLEANER) as that will remove any oils and grease that they might have on them. (brake cleaner is better for cleaning out drums/wheel cylinders and other small parts)

while your at it you can lightly sand the pads you used (you shouldnt need new one unless for some reason you see they got chewed up by something)

i would pull the caliper pins from the caliper and ensure they have been cleaned and then regreased with brake lubricant.

check your fuid, if its all dark and nasty, siphon it from the master cylinder and replace it with clean stuff.

after that, ensuring that the rotor and pads are handled lightly with clean hands or gloves, put everything back together and torque the wheels to 75 ft/lbs and then give it a try.

thats pretty much as thorough as you can get, make sure the pads are seated and those pins move with little resistance inside those rubber boots.

if that doesnt solve the issue, maybe someone else can be more help.

[NYCXJ90]

unbolt the brake line and the caliper will come right off.

you can get brand new ones for about 20 bucks each.. they will help alot when it comes time to bleed the system

[caspergotaz28]

Originally Posted by NYCXJ90

i would pull the caliper pins from the caliper and ensure they have been cleaned and then regreased with brake lubricant..

By "caliper pins" you mean the two bolts with a 1/2" head that you remove to slide the caliper off the rotor? I put a little of that brake grease on them. If they are too tight would that cause it?

[NYCXJ90]

absolutely, you can get the pins seperate if the ones you have are beyond cleaning, (check to see that they are clean and not warped or bent) but we are definately talking about the same part.

they should move in and out with just a light resistance, if they are stiff or near frozen, then that would cause the pad to press against the rotor the whole time

[caspergotaz28]

They might be overtorqued. I used a plain wratchet to tighten them. Me and my novice thinking told me to tighten the piss outta them cuz they are brake related. Brakes=important. I'll loosen them a 1/4 turn in the morning and see if it helps.

[NYCXJ90]

Second brake job i ever did was my girlfriends acura integra... overtighend them bigtime... i thought they were tight, but i didnt realize that i stripped one of the pins (i was very new at workin on cars) about a week later i was driving and heard a strange noise from the wheel and then a real bad grinding... pin fell out and the caliper rolled on one pin and rubbed on the inside of the rim.. luckily they use a caliper mounting bracket which i was able to replace...

[caspergotaz28]

I loosened the slidebolts and it didn't seem to help. I made sure to retighten them, just not with a kung-fu grip this time.

Someone on another board suggested bleading off a little bit of fluid, could that be the problem?

[Kuasimodem]

Just ran into the same problem on my dad's '93 Caravan when I replaced the rotors with new along with "loaded" calipers (complete caliper assembly with pads and everything) and everything seemed to be OK when tested up the street and back.

Took it into town and back (about 6 miles round trip) and when I parked in the driveway the right front was smoking hot I immediately started tearing it down again since after jacking it up I couldn't turn that wheel by hand. When I loosened the bolt for the banjo fitting on the brake line a pretty good spray of brake fluid came out, under pressure and I could now turn the rotor.

The problem was that the flexible rubber line had collapsed inside and would hold break pressure in the caliper when the brake pedal was released. New rubber line and the problem is now gone

[JVracer04]

sounds to me like your calipers are locked up.... only way to fix it is to buy new ones which are cheap and a very good investment or to buy a caliper rebuild kit which is just pointless

go buy 2 brand new calipers.... should cost u about 30bux but be sure to take back the core... thats about $60 worth of the price right there


i replaced rotors calipers and pads a month or so back... only spent about $100 and i think it was the best $100 i ever spent

[FloridaZ]

Rotors are only about $22 brand new. I just bought new rotors, calipers, drums, shoes, pads and brake fluid for $200. That's before returning the cores..