masterofthepuppets99

so yesterday i put new brake pads on my 2001 gt. they all went on easy easy except the driver side rear. i had to buy a caliper tool to crank that caliper down to fit my pads and it was very tough too. but i went for a drive last night for about 15 miles at speeds of 60-65mph with good corners and nice areas for braking. i take this drive all the time and my old crappy brake pads never had a problem with this. but my new ones did! when i stopped i smelled burning brakes and i noticed that my driver side rear brake rotor/disc was RED HOT. i let i cool down and then i drove the car a bit just to see if the car would still drive, it does but it howls very loud. so luckily i called AAA and they towed me home for 26 bucks. im not sure what would cause this. is it a bad caliper? im sure that my rotor is completely warped along with my brake pads fried. so im gonna go check that right now then ill be back here

4.698GT

Sounds like the caliper is hanging up and causing constant friction on the rotor. The howling may be the wheel bearing. If it got extremely hot it maybe have affected it.

masterofthepuppets99

well i just pulled my rotor off. it APPEARS to not be warped but my brake pads are hard core melted lol. my rotor does have grooves in it now though. so i need tog et that turned i think. so my plan is to get my rotor turned and buy new brake pads, but what is causing this problem in the first place. i dont wanna put it back together just to have the same thing happen again. has anyone ever experienced this before? am i doing something wrong here?

4.698GT

Highlighted the area. Go to a parts store and ask for another one. Shouldnt be too expensive. Need to bleed the lines after you install it though

reznap

I had a boot tear (for the piston) on a rear brake and the caliper was sticking rubbing the brake as I drove. I caught it early... the pad was glazed a little. Rubbed the pad on sandpaper and freed up the piston. New calipers are about 70 bucks at your auto parts store, I couldn't find a rebuild kit or just the boot. Sounds like the same thing is happening to you.

I hate the smell of burning brakes... ugh

masterofthepuppets99

so new caliper. got it. but why did my caliper decide to eat **** right after i replaced my brake pads?

reznap

Who knows... maybe the new pads put more pressure on the piston. To test if it's freezing up you can jack up the rear end and get the wheel to spin freely. If you push on the brake, and then try to spin it again you won't be able to move it (maybe a little it'll be obvious though) if the caliper is sticking.

masterofthepuppets99

i jacked up the back of my car and wiggled and jiggled my axle. there appears to be not much slack at all. so that shows to me that my wheel bearing may not be trashed after all. im gonna get a new rotor, brake pads, and caliper. im going to put it all together and then see if it still howls

WhiteFoxGT

You did twist and push the caliper in the right direction when you installed the new pads right? But like everyone already said, get a new caliper (make sure you specify which side) and you should be set

masterofthepuppets99

yeah the chiltons manual says to rotate the piston clockwise, which i did.