just did brake pads... rear pad/caliper problem

[DavidV-SoGA]

Okay...

front pads no problem... followed directions from some "northstarriders" out of MN from a post of mine a few weeks ago in anticipating changing the pads...

Now the rear... Houston we may have a problem...

Didn't really have directions but took a similar process... only didn't pull the caliper completely off... first just could not get it to clear the rotor..

but was able to compress the piston and get new pads on fine...

Pumped both front and rear up at the same time... no problem... pumped the foot pedal for rear a number of times and got it really tight...

took it for a test spin... and when rolling it out of the garage, the pads were snug against the rotors and felt like the brakes were on..

A trip up/down the road about 65-70 mph about 5-8 miles total...brakes work fine... fronts okay... rear caliper and disc ...got might hot... took 5-10 minutes to cool off so that I could actually leave my hand on them for a bit...

So... that said the rear pads were thicker, rotor thicker... is this normal ?

seems everything is lined up as it should be, pads in place ...

should this go away as the pads wear down ? Can this harm the rotor, caliper housing ?

have the Caliper bolt at about 20 ft/lb... not sure on pad pins... snug to tight...

Any suggestions ? Thanks...

[Fordcrazy68]

I just did mine as well , and I didnt notice a problem like that at all . Only thing i got is , are you sure you got the piston all the way retracted into the caliper ? I might start over and double check that , but thats all I got .

[BrianVTX1800]

HOT is not good. I had similiar problem, my bolt wasn't threading all the way in, had to retap the caliper. This not seating right caused celiper not to center on rotor, pads rubbed rotor, friction = heat...so hot after 3 mile run you could not touch.

Not saying this is your problem, but if your caliper gets hot, recheck your work. May want to tear down and redo..Pay attention too cleaning the pins and proper lubing. A little drag after first installing is fine, first run and the pistons will adjust, drag continuing after this means something is wrong.

[anyride]

Often with wear the piston travel is moving out the bore due to pad wear. You instal the new pads with the piston in,but,as you use the brakes,the piston encounters the area in the bore that isnt as smooth and tends to "hang" up rather than return and thereby allowing the pads to "drag" causing heat.Also,the old pads were worn down not only at the surface ,but,also at the edges and with the rotor and the old pads being "buddies" for so long,the new pads may just be "hung" in that edge area.I always take my grinder and "dress" the pad edge in an bevel just to prevent this.Good luck !

[Chicago-Spike]

You need to take that caliper off, clean it up good and grease the pad pin. Seems that caliper is pretty dirty and is not retracting after the brakes are let off

[BrianVTX1800]

http://www.vtxoa.com/forums/showthre...ads+rear+brake

Author: Chicago-Spike

[DavidV-SoGA]

thanks all ... will re-do...tomorrow

I could not get the rear caliper completely off... will have to find some step x step as I found with fronts...

In Spikes pic step by step... the 1800 C 2003 doesn't have but one flange bolt... upper towards front of caliper and the one pin... or at least that's what I saw...

someone above did state their bolt binding while trying to line up... seems I had a similar case... I did get it to thread...

So maybe it's just in a bind due to that and not greasing etc...

I had it on a lift jack when I removed it and I was wondering if this might have had something to do with everything lining up properly ???

Oh well...I'll find some step by step and try again...

Greatly appreciate everyone's comments/suggestions...

[Fordcrazy68]

Your best bet is listening to Spike , his advice has never let me down yet .

[BrianVTX1800]

thanks all ... will re-do...tomorrow

I could not get the rear caliper completely off... will have to find some step x step as I found with fronts...

In Spikes pic step by step... the 1800 C 2003 doesn't have but one flange bolt... upper towards front of caliper and the one pin... or at least that's what I saw...

someone above did state their bolt binding while trying to line up... seems I had a similar case... I did get it to thread...

So maybe it's just in a bind due to that and not greasing etc...

I had it on a lift jack when I removed it and I was wondering if this might have had something to do with everything lining up properly ???

Oh well...I'll find some step by step and try again...

Greatly appreciate everyone's comments/suggestions...

That be me..The threads were crossthreaded in the caliper. This was first brake job since factory, assume it happened on the line. When I took it apart, noticed it took a ratchet to unthread completely, just assume dirty ath the time. I also was able to get it to "thread" when reinstalling, but really tight to thread..Borrowed tap and die from local autozone, retapped threads, went back together much easier.

[dogmanX]

Your caliper piston is cocked sideways and binding.

[DrReid]

In case you haven't done this already, use high quality synthetic brake grease to re-lube the caliper pins, as I think some of the posts above hint.

I had severe and uneven brake pad wear combined with unusual heat. In my case, pins#12 below was corroded and frozen into the brake bracket (not numbered, but it's the large bracket within combo part #6 below). Normally, this pin and it's companion pin #11 pin fit into well-greased holes as indicated that are protected by rubber boots #14 and #13, respectively, thereby allowing very smooth sliding action. My frozen pins meant that the caliper was unable to shift side-to-side while the brake rotor rotated, regardless of whether the brake was applied. Hence, the brake pads, especially new ones with full thickness, absolutely rubbed against the rotor hard 100% of the time.

If you're in the same situation, the fix is easy although, perhaps, time-consuming. I just ordered new pins, new rubber boots, and I thoroughly cleaned out the hole in caliper bracket #6 to remove brake dust and corrosion.

Also, in my case, pin #12 was stripped. This was because the corrosion allowed it to turn slightly, but not release it, resulting in my turning thread against thread with no longitudinal movement, i.e., along the pin direction. I used a thread restorer -- not a thread tap -- to fix the caliper threads. With a new pin and blue lock-tite, I'm as good as new.

Hope this helps (if you don't have my problem, good for you!).

[0081XTV]

Another thing to check maybe is that there's not too much brake fluid in the resevoir meaning that you can't retract the piston all the way.

If the resevoir was topped up while the pads were nearly worn out, this could be the case.

Brian

[DavidV-SoGA]

Just wanted to say "thanks" to all the folks who offered their help on my rear pads...

think the ultimate culprit was I tried to put the caliper on when it was still on the jack lift and the rear tire off the ground... I kinda forced the large bolt (#12) and it wasn't all square with the rotor... created the friction/bind...

Got the parts breakdown from HDL and below and saw that I could remove the little #11 pin...this allowed me to remove the caliper from rotor and clean and grease, put it back together, test drive today... same as yesterday, caliper housing barely warm... if that... all good...

Of course after pumping the brakes up ... and rolling it out of the garage I knew it was right... no bind, no "brakes on" feel...

Thanks again y'all ... ride safe !

[BrianVTX1800]

Glad it worked out..