Brakes Dragging

07GtS197 · Aug 10, 2016

Well fellas I just replaced my front brakes a few days ago and took it for a spin afterwards to break in the new pads. Even after 3 30 to 0 brakes the pads are still dragging pretty bad. In florida our houses are built on hills and I parked on the incline and the car would not roll at all. I made sure the slide pins were greased and I made sure they moved freely with the calipers back on. the fluid looks good and is a tad bit high.

A little background, when I first got the car it had sat for a few months and the calipers needed to be worked back and forth to get them moving on the slide pins again. After a few months I noticed that the drivers side front caliper was dragging and a few weeks ago I took my sister to school and it sounded like metal on metal. It had not done that before and when I took the pads off the outer pad was gone, metal on metal. There used to be a bit of pedal travel then the brakes were good, not like my 07 gt but its a 14 year old car so I figured thats why theyre not as good. Now that I changed the pads there isnt much travel before the brakes engage but the brakes seem less effective now and I can put the pedal to the floor with less effort than before. It has less pedal travel now but less effort, and before it had more travel and more effort/effectiveness towards the end of the travel.

What do you guys think?

On a side note, is this a common problem? I had the same caliper do the same thing on my 00 gt but it was worse after the pad change and I remember the lines were hard to bleed.

lwarrior1016 · Aug 12, 2016

The lines do get pretty hard to bleed. It took me a couple hours on my car when I installed new calipers. That being said, when you collapsed the piston in the calipers did it move in easily with little effort?

Also, when you took the caliper off to change the pads, how did you hang the caliper? Dont let them hang by the rubber hose.

If your pistons have been moving freely and the caliper brackets were cleaned out where the slide pins go (I use a drill bit a little smaller than the hole and make sure they are clean), I would suspect the rubber lines going to the calipers to be the culprit.

mcglsr2 · Aug 12, 2016

Slide pins are the issue. The calipers are fixed at the back, and "float" on the front side. If the slide pins do not move easily, you will not "float" and the brakes will stay clamped. They will not release. The fact that your outer pad (meaning the one on the outboard side of the car) was worn proves this.

Despite you saying the slide pins seeming to move easily, I bet that when the brakes heat up the pins stop moving.

You can try to rebuild the calipers if you want. Personally, I'd just drop $140 at LMR and get some new stock replacement calipers and call it a day (or, if you have the budget, consider bigger calipers, though depending on how you drive your car these aren't really necessary).

NOTE: I'm using the word "float" here a little incorrectly as these are not fully floating calipers; rather they are partially floating.

mcglsr2 · Aug 12, 2016

Oh, and for what it's worth - my car sat for about 18 months without being driven while I was working on it, and the brakes worked flawlessly the first time I stepped on the pedal.

My point is this: if yours had to be worked loose after a couple months of sitting, then there might be something wrong them in the first place. I assume the car was sitting outside in the elements? (Mine, for reference, was in the garage the entire time, so didn't get rained on). When my STI sits for a while outside, the pads will stick to the rotor sometimes, but never the calipers being stuck...

Frank.JD.Perez · Aug 12, 2016

lol you seem to be having issue after issue with your brakes buddy. is it too soon to say upgrade to dual piston cobra style?

07GtS197 · Aug 12, 2016

Thanks for the responses. I recall the pistons being easily collapsed then at the very ent it got tough. It was really hard to get the pistons far enough in the bore so I can slide the calipers over the pads. What I did was unbolted the top caliper bolt but only loosen the bottom one and angled it out of the way so I didnt have to worry about it dangling. And as far as cleaning the slide pins I didnt think I had to because they had a lot of grease on them and I could work the calipers free if I grabbed it and pulled it back and forth. The brakes arent dragging as bad anymore but theyre still dragging a little.

I have another set of calipers sitting in the garage with new lines I can rebuild (I have kits already) if need be but I didnt think mine were that bad. As far as sitting, yes it sat outside in the south florida heat. The guy said something like 3 months but it could have been longer for all I know. He had some sort of car business. I dont know if Id call it a dealership, maybe he sells just repos? I dont know but other than a dead batter and some minor paint issues and now the brakes lol the car is in really good shape.

And frank, yea I am having some issues but it comes with the territory, it wouldnt be my car if it didnt have any issues lol. As long as it runs its cool with me, its just a lot of minor stuff that Im trying to get squared away. Theres another member who has offered to give me a deal on a set of cobra calipers. I figure if my stockers are crap then Ill swap them for the cobras and sell my two sets and be done with it.

Thanks for the help fellas.