Hello,
I completed my new rear brake rebuild his week and put them on. However they seem tight. Now mind you i am not driving it yet, but they went on very snug. i can spin the rotor with some slight force (not freely) but they just feel tight to me compared to other brakes i have done.
Is this normal?
i have checked that the piston is screwed all the way down an in, i don't hear any metal on metal scrapping. i wondering if they will "loosen up" after its been driven a few miles. if i can move them by hand, I'm sure under its own power it will be no problem.
New Rear brakes
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BigMacDave
- Posts: 50
- Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2016 2:41 pm
- Your car is a: 1978 124 Spider
- Location: San Antonio, Texas
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Nanonevol
- Patron 2018
- Posts: 828
- Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2014 9:17 am
- Your car is a: 1977 Fiat 124 Spider
- Location: Medway, Massachusetts
Re: New Rear brakes
Are the rotors new? Could they be warped?
1977 Fiat Spider
1985 Jaguar XJ6
1967 Triumph Bonneville (hard-tail chopper)
1966 BSA Lightning
1985 Jaguar XJ6
1967 Triumph Bonneville (hard-tail chopper)
1966 BSA Lightning
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BigMacDave
- Posts: 50
- Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2016 2:41 pm
- Your car is a: 1978 124 Spider
- Location: San Antonio, Texas
Re: New Rear brakes
yes, rotors, pads and seals are new.
Im going to loosen the E brake cable all the way out and see if that could be pulling "just enough" to put pressure on. i don't think its that, because it was fairly easy to get the cable back in. beyond that, the next thing would be to take the cable off the caliper all together and see if maybe the cable is frozen in the sleeve.
The snugness i feel is a moderate drag. I can not turn the rotors freely, but a can turn them with a bit of pressure.
i don't know if thats normal or if they should spend free when the brake off. I suspect if the tire was on, i could spin it even easier. I'm just not sure about the resistance.
Im going to loosen the E brake cable all the way out and see if that could be pulling "just enough" to put pressure on. i don't think its that, because it was fairly easy to get the cable back in. beyond that, the next thing would be to take the cable off the caliper all together and see if maybe the cable is frozen in the sleeve.
The snugness i feel is a moderate drag. I can not turn the rotors freely, but a can turn them with a bit of pressure.
i don't know if thats normal or if they should spend free when the brake off. I suspect if the tire was on, i could spin it even easier. I'm just not sure about the resistance.
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Nanonevol
- Patron 2018
- Posts: 828
- Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2014 9:17 am
- Your car is a: 1977 Fiat 124 Spider
- Location: Medway, Massachusetts
Re: New Rear brakes
It would be worthwhile to check that the e brake cable is not rusted in the sleeve. Mine was on one side and was so bad I needed to source another one.
1977 Fiat Spider
1985 Jaguar XJ6
1967 Triumph Bonneville (hard-tail chopper)
1966 BSA Lightning
1985 Jaguar XJ6
1967 Triumph Bonneville (hard-tail chopper)
1966 BSA Lightning
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So Cal Mark
Re: New Rear brakes
some aftermarket pads come with shims already glued to the back, to help control squealing. If your pads have those shims, remove them.
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131
- Posts: 672
- Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2010 1:13 am
- Your car is a: 1982 131 Superbrava warmed 2.0 litre.
- Location: Tasmania, Australia
Re: New Rear brakes
I recently had to do this to fit pads to my X1/9.So Cal Mark wrote:some aftermarket pads come with shims already glued to the back, to help control squealing. If your pads have those shims, remove them.
Mick.
'82 2litre 131, rally cams, IDFs & headers.
'82 2litre 131, rally cams, IDFs & headers.
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BigMacDave
- Posts: 50
- Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2016 2:41 pm
- Your car is a: 1978 124 Spider
- Location: San Antonio, Texas
Re: New Rear brakes
Ok, so i took these shims off, and the calipers FOR SURE went on way easier than with them on. there is still a little drag, but i suspect that is just because the pads are all the way in at the moment and not fully adjusted.
I can spin the rotor much more freely now. i can do it with two fingers as opposed to one hand before. it still doesn't just "spin freely" but i think its waaaayyy better than earlier.
I was checking and a new E cable is less than 20 bucks, might as well finish it off with one of those. I agree, it could be totally rusted up, and i could be getting that last bit of drag from it.
thank you for the help
I can spin the rotor much more freely now. i can do it with two fingers as opposed to one hand before. it still doesn't just "spin freely" but i think its waaaayyy better than earlier.
I was checking and a new E cable is less than 20 bucks, might as well finish it off with one of those. I agree, it could be totally rusted up, and i could be getting that last bit of drag from it.
thank you for the help
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Dawgme85
- Posts: 148
- Joined: Fri Aug 07, 2009 8:15 pm
- Your car is a: 1977 124 Spider - Shelob
- Location: Sammamish, WA
Re: New Rear brakes
One other thing to check is that the pistons are free in the calipers. It's not uncommon for corrosion to limit the piston travel, which affects brake performance. On mine, the brakes felt OK, but with very little pedal travel. After rebuilding the calipers I had noticeably more pedal, and much better brakes. Rear calipers seem to be more prone to this issue.
LeRoy
LeRoy
1977 Spider 1800 (SHELOB - driver)
1970 124 Sport Spider (99% complete barn find, now in my garage, awaiting restoration)
1970 124 Sport Spider (99% complete barn find, now in my garage, awaiting restoration)
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BigMacDave
- Posts: 50
- Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2016 2:41 pm
- Your car is a: 1978 124 Spider
- Location: San Antonio, Texas
Re: New Rear brakes
hello,
Everyone has been so nice i wanted to give the final outcome of this.
I wasn't happy with the way the pads still dragged even after taking the shims off. Still needs to push with a bit (not a lot) of force to get the hub to move. So i took a long hard look and it occurred to me, all things being equal, maybe the rotor was too thick. I have the cross drilled and slotted ones that have a zinc coating on them. SO, i went to O'Reillys and grabed one plain rotor (they have them in stock oddly enough) put it on, and BAM, no drag. Took out digital caliper ruler and sure enough, the new rotors are 1/16 wider. that 1/32nd on each side makes just enough difference to cause the drag i was feeling.
I know, after driving a bit, the pads will wear down, but this isn't daily driver. And like i said, the drag isn't horrible, but its noticeable to me with the tire off in the sense that i've never had to "push" on a hub for it to turn before bleeding. they have always moved pretty freely.
So, what i did was, broke out my mill, and milled off a tick more than 1/32 on all four pads. put everything back, and butter. everything turns freely and i think its 100% better. have the new parking brake cable coming tomorrow, so i should be able to wrap this project up this weekend.
Everyone has been so nice i wanted to give the final outcome of this.
I wasn't happy with the way the pads still dragged even after taking the shims off. Still needs to push with a bit (not a lot) of force to get the hub to move. So i took a long hard look and it occurred to me, all things being equal, maybe the rotor was too thick. I have the cross drilled and slotted ones that have a zinc coating on them. SO, i went to O'Reillys and grabed one plain rotor (they have them in stock oddly enough) put it on, and BAM, no drag. Took out digital caliper ruler and sure enough, the new rotors are 1/16 wider. that 1/32nd on each side makes just enough difference to cause the drag i was feeling.
I know, after driving a bit, the pads will wear down, but this isn't daily driver. And like i said, the drag isn't horrible, but its noticeable to me with the tire off in the sense that i've never had to "push" on a hub for it to turn before bleeding. they have always moved pretty freely.
So, what i did was, broke out my mill, and milled off a tick more than 1/32 on all four pads. put everything back, and butter. everything turns freely and i think its 100% better. have the new parking brake cable coming tomorrow, so i should be able to wrap this project up this weekend.