Rear brakes "dragging" rotor

netsatwork · Jun 4th, 2003, 08:15 AM

I finally got my Goodridge SS lines on. I also installed Powerslot rotors on all four sides, hawk pads in the front, and remsa gold pads in the back. I test drove the car last night and the pedal feel was much softer than I expected, but the main problem was the grinding noise coming from both back brakes. I looks like the pads are rubbing the rotors when the brake is not pressed. There is a grinding noise, but the noise stops when the brake is pressed. It appears that the pads are not making contact with the rotors on the outer edge.

Also, the emergency brake is very loose and does not stop the car well.

Any ideas?

Jun 4th, 2003, 09:40 AM

Well, as for rubbing... since disc brakes don't really retract (like drum brakes) they are always rubbing and in contact with the rotor surface. It's all a matter of degree... they should just be touching the rotor surface with little or no pressure... a "zero clearance" situation. As for your noise... it may be the result of this light contact between the new pads, which may not be the exact size of the old pads and contacting some previously unused portion of the rotor. Can you spin the wheels freely? They should. Your emergency brake may have some type of of adjustment (not sure??) that you can make.

netsatwork · Jun 4th, 2003, 10:39 AM

I definitely think there's a rubbing, but since the pads and rotors are new, I wouldn't think there would be a problem with the pads dragging. I have some info on adjusting the emergency brake, I was just surprised that it changed that much. After I changed the rear brakes last time the E brake got tighter. Thanks for the info.

netsatwork · Jun 9th, 2003, 09:39 AM

Things seem to have fixed themselves. I took the rear calipers off and turned the inside of the caliper to make sure it mated up with the knob on the brake pad. After reinstalling the caliper the rubbing could still be heard. I called Powerslot and they said it was normal and to run it for a few days to see if the noise went away. It did, and although the brakes still feel a little soft, they are biting better everyday. Hopefully in a few more days I'll notice a big improvement over stock. Thanks for the replys.