My first time doing this so I am probably doing something stupid but I am at my wits end. Problem is that after putting new o-ring caliper on right front the brakes are dragging. There is a lot of resistance turning the wheel by hand. On the left side, the wheel is easy to turn, so the problem is limited to the side with the new caliper.

Here's some other observations.

- I went for a short test drive and the rotor got pretty hot
- I opened the bleeder to see if relieving any pressure would help and it did not - wheel still hard to turn.
- I had removed the rotor from the hub briefly. I'm not sure I reinstalled in the same position. Mentioning just in case it is an issue.

I removed the pads again to make sure I did not switch inner/outer and they were correct. Had to open bleeder again to get them out. Had a extremely hard time getting the pistons retracted to get the pads back in, even with the bleeder opened. Even loosened the brake line to relieve pressure on that side to see if that would help and it did not.
- kind of strange but as I tightened the wheel lug nuts the wheel got harder to turn (like it is pressing the rotor harder against the inboard brake pads).

Would appreciate any insights into what is going on. Seems like the caliper pistons just do not want to retract enough to prevent dragging. I am tempted to put the old leaky caliper back on to see if the problem goes away.

Thanks

 

inside outside pad doesn't matter. It's supposed to get hot when you use it. Since its' new maybe it's the only one working now so it's hotter than the other side. just guessing

 

Are any of the pistons stuck? With no pads in the caliper see if they are all in the same position.Maybe in moving things back and forth one of them got cocked. Usually when things get really hot it's because a pad is dragging. Let us know what you find.

 

When I take the pads out, the pistons move in various positions. If I push one piston back in, the other moves out. If I push both pistons on one side back in, the ones on the other side move out. That is why it was so hard to get the pads back in - the pistons do not stay put. I tried using screwdrivers and a wooden block to keep the pistons retracted, but it was not easy. I had to use a rubber mallet to tap the pads in the rest of the way after I got them started.

So I don't think the pistons are stuck.

 

There should be very little resistance turning the rotor.

I'm going to guess that the rotor is NOT seated correctly-or the brake caliper mount is bent.


Pull out the pads and see if the rotor is centered AND parallel in the caliper. If not- that's were to start looking for your problem.

Let us know what you find-




Richard

 

I have done so many of these I forgot what the answer was on a similar problem. As I recall someone had ground the mounting tab some and it was not picked up by the rebuilder. I eventually sent the caliper back and they confirmed it was a bad caliper.

Now remove the pads and measure with a caliper from the housing to the rotor in at least the 4 corners. I do various locations. They should all be similar. If not you have the caliper "cocked" or the mounting bracket is bent or the caliper has been ground or screwed up. You have to make sure the caliper is "square" to the rotor.

Richard beat me to it

 

Might be a good idea putting the old one back in. If you didn't have the problem before, then it would be the new caliper. Or, you might find something that you overlooked putting the new caliper in by repeating the process ( like the rotor isn't on straight). Sometimes you can't see the simple obvious things.

 

Stop using the screwdrivers & wooden block.
Get yourself a 6" wide flat putty/drywall joint knife.
Better if the blade depth over 5" - 6" optimal.
Use this to install the pads.

Simply put the pad against the putty knife near the handle.
Then insert the knife blade against the two pistons and pull/push them into the caliper. When the pistons are retracted enough simply push the knife+pad between the pistons and rotor. Pull out the knife and do the other side the same way. WAY easier.

Go here - about half way down this thread he shows how this looks/works.

 

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ies/iagree.gif
Do what Hammerhead said and maybe open up the bleeder to let the pressure out as you are pushing the pistons back in.

 

Check your rubber brake line. Although the line may look OK, they can get clogged from the inside and trap fluid in the caliper which can keep pressure on the pads. This a common problem with old lines. Jerry

 

Bad caliper. Take it apart to see what's wrong or return it.

 

If you have a original design lip seal caliper on one side and an O Ring seal type caliper on the other side your problem may occur.

The O Ring caliper's pistons do not move back and forth as easily as the lip seals did, they are in there pretty snug and don't retract easily. (Especially when they are just installed) They put more pressure initially on the rotor.

The pistons with the lip seals ride loosely in the caliper bores. The O Ring ones don't.

In my experience you have to drive for a awhile for everything to break in and settle.

IMO, put a O Ring seal caliper on the other side (Left) and drive the car for a while. It won't pull with O Ring Calipers on both sides. The are designed to run in pairs, not separately. Give it a shot......

Additional thought - Since you say you removed the rotor, If your rotor rivets were already removed from the hub and all you did is simply pull the rotor off the hub then all you do is make sure the rotor is sitting back flush on the hub and then put the wheel back on and tighten the lug nuts.

I rebuilt my existing calipers and replaced all of my caliper Lip seals with O Ring Seals years ago and remember that the wheels were actually a bit harder to turn after I replaced them before driving the car. Additionally I had to replace the pistons as well (included with the O ring caliper rebuild kits). And yes the rotors did get very hot initially until everything "Settled" in. To date they are working perfectly; no leaks, no pulling and the car stops on a dime!.......

 

Thanks to all of you for chiming in with your suggestions. Earlier today I reinstalled the old lip seal caliper. It was much easier to install than the new o-ring caliper (easier to retract). When done it took normal effort to turn the rotor, as compared to the new caliper with which the rotor would barely budge unless I put the wheel back on to get more leverage.

So I think babbah may be on to something as I have lip seal on one side and o-ring on the other. Perhaps the thing to do is put the new caliper back on and drive it for a while to see if it settles in / loosens up. Other than the possibility of pulling do you see any harm driving with one of each type caliper for a while?

Thanks again!https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...s/thumbsup.gif

 

The car will pull for sure as the ORing caliper will apply more pressure on the rotor than the lip seal caliper. I personally would not install different type seal calipers on my car and attempt to drive it. Could be dangerous.

IMO, I would do one of the following to fix your problem:

1. Rebuild the original caliper that was leaking with a lip seal caliper repair kit. Or just purchase another lip seal caliper.
2. Keep the ORing caliper installed and replace the other side with a ORing seal caliper.

Bottom line IMO use the same type calipers in pairs. My 2 cents worth. :-)

 

i don't understand this. i believe that braking power is dependant upon pedal pressure, m/c and caliper piston effective areas, and pad material. the "o" or "lip" seals retract the piston but wouldn't affect braking power, unless the pistons are different diameters?

i am definiterly missing something this sunday morning.
bob p

 

I'll try and drive it and let you guys know what happens. When I did my short test drive it seemed it might be pulling ever so slightly to the o-ring side - perhaps the added heat on that side created some brake fade.

 

No, I don't think you are.

 

Having the two different designed caliper piston seals in the front is a problem. NOT worth waiting for them to 'free-up'.

Make a choice and get the front caliper seals to be the same design from one side to the other.

I prefer to use the lip sealed design.,.,.and it takes a bit more effort to make sure the bearings/rotor run-out are well within specs.

DUB

 

For those that may be interested I am posting how things turned out. I reinstalled the new o-ring caliper (it is getting easier now that I've done this three times). Not sure what I did differently, but the wheel was much easier to turn this time. I've driven the car several times now, and the rotor does not get any hotter than the other wheels. Also, there is no pull when applying the brakes despite having one lip seal and one o-ring in the front (I will replace the other so they match). Many thanks for all your suggestions. The tip about using a putty knife to retract the pistons was particularly helpful.

 

Only time I have had a problem with a brake caliper not releasing was because of the rubber hose connecting to the brake caliper. The right front brake was smoking and got me attention, easy fix. The brake hose had collapsed on the inside preventing the bake fluid pressure from releasing from the caliper.