Rear brakes giving me a headache

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11-26-2007, 03:42 PM

Justang00

Thread Starter

Join Date: Nov 2007

Posts: 4

Rear brakes giving me a headache

I have a question regarding my rear brakes on my 00' gt. A while back my right rear brake was dragging and it was so minor I wasn't aware of it until I got back from a 750 mile round trip drive where my rotor was all notched out from the empty brake pad scraping on it. So I had a new loaded caliper put on and rotor and since then its had a slight squeeky chirp to it from time to time. Well now the left side did the same thing. I just installed a new caliper and rotor etc on the rear left and for some reason my actual caliper is dragging on the rotor now. Everything seems to line up on the right holes and such, but the caliper doesnt fit evenly over the rotor. its off center by a good amount. kind of hard to explain but if anyone has any suggestions as to what could cause something like this to happen it would be greatly appreciated. I'll be heading up to les schwab and then the ford dealership to have it inspected at 2 different places. the brake pedal feels normal, everything works and functions normally but the caliper dragging on the rotor. when i go for a drive and stop somewhere the back left rotor is extremely hot. the caliper i just replaced was discolored from heat. it was kind of reddish, i mean inside the wheel is like an oven. yet the front rotors i can grab with my entire hand and not notice a thing. the rear right rotor was warm but nothing significant.

thanks for your time
-Justin

11-26-2007, 04:08 PM

oxfordgt

6th Gear Member

Join Date: May 2006

Location: Ohio

Posts: 6,448

RE: Rear brakes giving me a headache

Did you install them yourself? Can you post a pic?

11-26-2007, 04:20 PM

Derf00

Gentleman's Relish

Join Date: Feb 2005

Location: AZ

Posts: 13,090

RE: Rear brakes giving me a headache

Quote:

ORIGINAL: Justang00

I have a question regarding my rear brakes on my 00' gt. A while back my right rear brake was dragging and it was so minor I wasn't aware of it until I got back from a 750 mile round trip drive where my rotor was all notched out from the empty brake pad scraping on it. So I had a new loaded caliper put on and rotor and since then its had a slight squeeky chirp to it from time to time. Well now the left side did the same thing. I just installed a new caliper and rotor etc on the rear left and for some reason my actual caliper is dragging on the rotor now. Everything seems to line up on the right holes and such, but the caliper doesnt fit evenly over the rotor. its off center by a good amount. kind of hard to explain but if anyone has any suggestions as to what could cause something like this to happen it would be greatly appreciated. I'll be heading up to les schwab and then the ford dealership to have it inspected at 2 different places. the brake pedal feels normal, everything works and functions normally but the caliper dragging on the rotor. when i go for a drive and stop somewhere the back left rotor is extremely hot. the caliper i just replaced was discolored from heat. it was kind of reddish, i mean inside the wheel is like an oven. yet the front rotors i can grab with my entire hand and not notice a thing. the rear right rotor was warm but nothing significant.

thanks for your time
-Justin

When you say the caliper drags on the rotor, do you mean the caliper itself or the pad? If it's the pad, did you compress the caliper a little before putting the whole assembly on the car? They dont' just push in, they need to twist as you push (requires a caliper tool and a rachet)

If you're talking about the actual caliper, Take the wheel off on the side you're having issues with. Remove the caliper. Take the pads off. Put the caliper back on the without the pads. Does the caliper still hit the rotor?

If it doesn't then either the piston is not compressing correctly (or is stuck) or the pads are wrong.

If it the caliper still hits with the pads removedthen you have a bigger problem like a bent mounting ear (not likely since the mount the caliper goes on is cast and more likely to break than bend. But I've seen it)

11-26-2007, 06:59 PM

Justang00

Thread Starter

Join Date: Nov 2007

Posts: 4

RE: Rear brakes giving me a headache

next time i get it up in the air i will take the pads off and put the caliper on, but i know for sure the caliper itself is dragging on the rotor. the space between the inside and outside pads and caliper on the right side is completely even, the rotor goes in between both pads with even amount of space on both sides. on the left rear wheel the outside pad has like a milimeter of play at best, and the inside has like 5x that space. so its as if the caliper in its entierty(sp) is pushed in. I just got back from having les schwab look at them since im clueless now. He referred me to the dealership lol. When he was putting it back together he was thinking I may have an axle problem. I am going to go to krazy koncepts, a local mustang/moder muscle tuner shop and have them look at it. when he had it in the air the caliper wasnt touching the rotor, but when he got the car back on the ground and pulled it out it immediatly started dragging and scraping. once the car was parked even with the e-brake off the caliper was resting on the rotor. all the parts i have purchased were oem and new not rebuilt. 2 new rotors, with 2 new loaded calipers. I will try and get a picture up too once i have a chance.

11-26-2007, 07:20 PM

Brute03

5th Gear Member

Join Date: Jan 2006

Posts: 2,504

RE: Rear brakes giving me a headache

so the caliper itself is touching the rotor?

11-26-2007, 09:06 PM

RichS

Join Date: Feb 2007

Location: Indiana

Posts: 10

RE: Rear brakes giving me a headache

Make sure you check that the caliper is sliding freely on the anchor pins. I haven't had this problem on my '96 GT, but a buddy of mine with a Cougar had one of the pins on his left side rear caliper freeze up about 6 years back which burned up the inboard pad and destroyed the rotor. We replace the pins and rotor and it's been fine since. Had to do the right side this year, new roter and this time I pounded out the pin, cleaned and lubricated it and it seems to be working fine so far. He was talking about trading it in, so I may not find out how my clean/lube job will hold up in the long run.

Rich

02-28-2008, 05:51 PM

leejo2005

Join Date: Jan 2007

Location:

Posts: 6

RE: Rear brakes giving me a headache

I had the same thing happen. Try taking the caliperand rotor off of the axle shaft and see if the axle pulls out. All that was holding my axle in was the rear brakes.