Front disk brakes

[infinity5]

I have the shimmy, so i did a little digging through the archives and came across some interesting suggestions. someone mentioned to check and make sure your front wheels spin freely when off the ground.. so i jacked my car up and tried it and one seems to take about twice as much effort to spin than the other.. and they both make metal sliding brake disk sounds like the the pads are touching. how would i adjust the callipers?

[Karl]

Calipers are not adjustable. When you step on the brakes they get pressed against the disk from wherever they ride, and when you release the brakes the natural springiness of the rubber o-ring around the piston pulls the piston back to release pressure on the pads. But the pads remain in contact with the disks and that's what you hear when you turn the wheel.
Now if one wheel is dragging more, it's likely that crud in the caliper mount bolts or piston is keeping pressure on the pads when hydraulic pressure is released. Pull the wheel that drags and see if the pad on the inside, next to the piston, can be pushed back--I use a big screwdriver as a lever. There will be some resistance--you're pushing hydraulic fluid back into the system--but it should move smoothly. Once that is pushed back, see if the caliper slides smoothly on the mounting bolts. Crud there is the more likely suspect. Pull the mount bolts, clean them and apply high-temp grease made for brakes**not regular chassis grease**
good luck with it

[infinity5]

thanks :) will do!


Calipers are not adjustable. When you step on the brakes they get pressed against the disk from wherever they ride, and when you release the brakes the natural springiness of the rubber o-ring around the piston pulls the piston back to release pressure on the pads. But the pads remain in contact with the disks and that's what you hear when you turn the wheel.
Now if one wheel is dragging more, it's likely that crud in the caliper mount bolts or piston is keeping pressure on the pads when hydraulic pressure is released. Pull the wheel that drags and see if the pad on the inside, next to the piston, can be pushed back--I use a big screwdriver as a lever. There will be some resistance--you're pushing hydraulic fluid back into the system--but it should move smoothly. Once that is pushed back, see if the caliper slides smoothly on the mounting bolts. Crud there is the more likely suspect. Pull the mount bolts, clean them and apply high-temp grease made for brakes**not regular chassis grease**
good luck with it