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Old May 21, 2015 | 01:54 PM
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Default New brake grinding

I just completed a full brake install on my 07 z51(stoptech rotors, hawk brake pads). The install went smooth except my front left (driver side) brake is grinding. I ripped it apart several times to re check my install and still getting the same issue. It grinds loudly during driving and braking. When I have the tire off and spin the rotor it seems like the pads aren't moving away from the rotor. Is it possible that they are hinged too tightly in the bracket clips? its really the only thing I can think of that I haven't tried yet. I'm open to suggestions.
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Old May 21, 2015 | 02:23 PM
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Originally Posted by greek81
I just completed a full brake install on my 07 z51(stoptech rotors, hawk brake pads). The install went smooth except my front left (driver side) brake is grinding. I ripped it apart several times to re check my install and still getting the same issue. It grinds loudly during driving and braking. When I have the tire off and spin the rotor it seems like the pads aren't moving away from the rotor. Is it possible that they are hinged too tightly in the bracket clips? its really the only thing I can think of that I haven't tried yet. I'm open to suggestions.
I doubt it.

Are there any unusual marks on the rotor or anything like that? How many miles on them?
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Old May 21, 2015 | 02:27 PM
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Originally Posted by schpenxel
I doubt it.

Are there any unusual marks on the rotor or anything like that? How many miles on them?
No miles at all.. Just installed them.. There are no markings anywhere on the pads or the rotors and its just the one that is grinding. No burrs on the drill holes or anything either. I spun the rotor with just the caliper bracket installed to see if they could possibly be warped and it spun without issues or "wobbles"
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Old May 21, 2015 | 02:39 PM
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Caliper pins or wheel bearing is my guess.
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Old May 21, 2015 | 02:44 PM
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Originally Posted by timd38
Caliper pins or wheel bearing is my guess.
It didn't have any issues before the change so I'm assuming the wheel bearing is fine. I'm not sure I follow you on the caliper pins. Its the standard z51 brake calipers
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Old May 21, 2015 | 02:45 PM
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STupid question ,but its been done.
Brake pads installed correctly? Friction material against the rotor?
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Old May 21, 2015 | 02:54 PM
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Originally Posted by greek81
I'm not sure I follow you on the caliper pins. Its the standard z51 brake calipers
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/w...erm=brake+pins
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Old May 21, 2015 | 03:02 PM
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Originally Posted by AzMotorhead
STupid question ,but its been done.
Brake pads installed correctly? Friction material against the rotor?
No such thing as a stupid question.. Yes, everything is installed properly. I ripped it down twice already
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Old May 21, 2015 | 03:03 PM
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Yeah sorry.. the guide pins seem to be just fine.. took them apart. No corrosion, plenty of lube on them and they move freely inside the caliper
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Old May 21, 2015 | 03:11 PM
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Since you state it seems that the pads are contacting the rotor when you manually turn the wheel, remove your wheel and loosen your caliper so that you can use a C clamp to push the pistons back into the caliper. Re-install the caliper and rotate the hub to see if you hear/feel the rubbing of pad to rotor. If everything is OK, press the brake pedal and then try rotating the hub again. If the pads aren't releasing, one or both of your pistons are stuck. You might need to rebuild your caliper.

Just a thought.
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Old May 21, 2015 | 03:21 PM
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Any pictures/video/something to go on? If it's truly grinding it should become obvious pretty quick what's wrong..
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Old May 21, 2015 | 03:25 PM
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Originally Posted by Patdown
Since you state it seems that the pads are contacting the rotor when you manually turn the wheel, remove your wheel and loosen your caliper so that you can use a C clamp to push the pistons back into the caliper. Re-install the caliper and rotate the hub to see if you hear/feel the rubbing of pad to rotor. If everything is OK, press the brake pedal and then try rotating the hub again. If the pads aren't releasing, one or both of your pistons are stuck. You might need to rebuild your caliper.

Just a thought.
That ran through my mind as well that the pistons are stuck.. I forgot to mention that with the tire off and the rotor tightened in place with a few lug nuts it seems to be spinning freely just fine. Its when the tire gets installed thats when its making the grinding noise
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Old May 21, 2015 | 03:39 PM
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Originally Posted by schpenxel
Any pictures/video/something to go on? If it's truly grinding it should become obvious pretty quick what's wrong..
I'll take some pics tonight when I get home.. I'm sure its something obvious that I'm just missing from messing around with it for too long and get all worked up
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Old May 21, 2015 | 03:47 PM
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Originally Posted by greek81
That ran through my mind as well that the pistons are stuck.. I forgot to mention that with the tire off and the rotor tightened in place with a few lug nuts it seems to be spinning freely just fine. Its when the tire gets installed thats when its making the grinding noise
See if your wheel is touching something as it rotates. If you tighten lug nuts with out the wheel on, that should place the rotor/pad alignment in the same position as if the wheel is on, and that scenario spins without a problem. Add the mounted wheel to that and you have your problem. To me, that sounds as if the wheel is touching something. Check for rub marks.
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Old May 21, 2015 | 06:00 PM
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Might this be your case?

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ont-right.html
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Old May 22, 2015 | 09:28 AM
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Originally Posted by AORoads
I wish it was this, but no. I checked the clearance on everything. So after ripping it down again and starting fresh I'm still at square one. everything spins freely once installed until I apply the brakes and pressure is applied from the pistons.. after that it seems like the pistons aren't releasing enough for the pads to not touch the rotor. i was thinking of removing the backing from the pads to give it a little more clearance. thoughts?
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Old May 22, 2015 | 12:23 PM
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Originally Posted by greek81
I wish it was this, but no. I checked the clearance on everything. So after ripping it down again and starting fresh I'm still at square one. everything spins freely once installed until I apply the brakes and pressure is applied from the pistons.. after that it seems like the pistons aren't releasing enough for the pads to not touch the rotor. i was thinking of removing the backing from the pads to give it a little more clearance. thoughts?
I think the first time you push down the brakes it will take up that slack and you'll likely be in the same boat. I don't think clearance is the problem, the problem is the pistons aren't moving back out when you release the brakes. I can say that mine always touch a little bit.. when I was trying to see if I had a wheel bearing problem I pulled the caliper off so I could get rid of that bit of drag/noise to help narrow down to the wheel bearing. Without hearing it or seeing it I (and I doubt anybody) can really say whether it's normal or not. If you're sure it's not normal then I'd try working the pistons some first

Sounds like the pistons aren't releases easily enough to me. I'd try cleaning them very well if you haven't already and maybe move them back and forth a few times to see if they get any better. i.e. pump pedal a time or two to extend them, then C clamp or whatever to push them back in
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Old May 22, 2015 | 03:27 PM
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Originally Posted by schpenxel
I think the first time you push down the brakes it will take up that slack and you'll likely be in the same boat. I don't think clearance is the problem, the problem is the pistons aren't moving back out when you release the brakes. I can say that mine always touch a little bit.. when I was trying to see if I had a wheel bearing problem I pulled the caliper off so I could get rid of that bit of drag/noise to help narrow down to the wheel bearing. Without hearing it or seeing it I (and I doubt anybody) can really say whether it's normal or not. If you're sure it's not normal then I'd try working the pistons some first

Sounds like the pistons aren't releases easily enough to me. I'd try cleaning them very well if you haven't already and maybe move them back and forth a few times to see if they get any better. i.e. pump pedal a time or two to extend them, then C clamp or whatever to push them back in
Yeah its def not normal grinding. Its pretty loud once I get over a few MPH's.. Great advice though. Its the one thing I didn't do yet. I'll rip it down again tonight and go over the pistons once more and see if it frees up. Thanks
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Old May 22, 2015 | 07:49 PM
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Originally Posted by greek81
Yeah its def not normal grinding. Its pretty loud once I get over a few MPH's.. Great advice though. Its the one thing I didn't do yet. I'll rip it down again tonight and go over the pistons once more and see if it frees up. Thanks
If you have a thermo temp gun, you can check the rotor temp and if the grinding side is allot higher than the quiet side, you most likely have a piston hanging up.

This is just one of several out there.

http://www.zoro.com/milwaukee-ir-the...w&gclsrc=aw.ds
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Old May 22, 2015 | 08:18 PM
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OP, if you can slide the pads onto the rotor during install, it has to be a runout problem, where the rotor has some warp relative to the brake pads. This should wear in fairly quick.
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