Dragging front brakes

FL335i · January 23, 2019

Another usual day home from work. 1hr commute in traffic. Stopped at Home Depot on the way home and when I parked and got out I smelled what I thought was a burning clutch of a parked car near me. Got home in my driveway and smelled it again. Jacked up the front end and spun both front wheels. the small was 100% coming from the front left wheel. The wheel spun free, but had a "slight" amount more drag than the right wheel. The moment I pulled in the drive I got my IR temp gun out. The LF rotor was around 228F and the RF rotor was around 107F. And you could smell it. So the LF rotor was the source. After dinner and a few hours I cleaned the brakes out with wheel cleaner thinking it might be mud from the job site (no mud lately).... and took it out for a spin. Seems ok now. I put rotors and pads on it about 3 months ago. I went with the Akebono performance ceramic pads. I lubed everything up including the pins with ceramic grease. I've had no issues with the brakes until tonight. I've put maybe 7,500 miles on them since install. But something is going on now. I am wondering if it's a bad hose or if the caliper is going bad. TBD... I'm driving it to work tomorrow.

mookdoc6 · January 23, 2019

1 hour ago, FL335i said:

Another usual day home from work. 1hr commute in traffic. Stopped at Home Depot on the way home and when I parked and got out I smelled what I thought was a burning clutch of a parked car near me. Got home in my driveway and smelled it again. Jacked up the front end and spun both front wheels. the small was 100% coming from the front left wheel. The wheel spun free, but had a "slight" amount more drag than the right wheel. The moment I pulled in the drive I got my IR temp gun out. The LF rotor was around 228F and the RF rotor was around 107F. And you could smell it. So the LF rotor was the source. After dinner and a few hours I cleaned the brakes out with wheel cleaner thinking it might be mud from the job site (no mud lately).... and took it out for a spin. Seems ok now. I put rotors and pads on it about 3 months ago. I went with the Akebono performance ceramic pads. I lubed everything up including the pins with ceramic grease. I've had no issues with the brakes until tonight. I've put maybe 7,500 miles on them since install. But something is going on now. I am wondering if it's a bad hose or if the caliper is going bad. TBD... I'm driving it to work tomorrow.

Let us know? I was initially sold on ceramic pads long time ago and had issues every time with glazing,warping etc. I have stayed far away from that combo. Also, I would be using AC Delco Silicone Brake lube on pins.

I recently slapped on EBC rotors and pads front and back...and I will say they are dirtier but very impressed with the combo.....I don't fade away or Vibrate on the hills in 110f anymore. Hope your Rotor is not warped and situation ultimately happens again 3-5 months later all because of swelled bushings and crappy slide lube.

FL335i · January 23, 2019

I used the below lube for the pins and on the pad contact points. I've used it on much higher performance vehicles and never had issues. I drove to work this morning and the minute I parked i got my IR gun out and shot both rotors and calipers. Everything is normal. 108F +/- on both. Actually the RF was a few degrees hotter than the left. The rotor appears to have no visible damage or discoloring. I really am liking the ACDelco and Raybestos Police rotors. I'm leaning toward it's a rubber hose or caliper that is going bad. I may do both front hoses this weekend to rule them out... I'm at 92k. And take everything apart and check the lubricant on the pins and verify the pads are not "tight" in their fitment. I don't want this happening again in 3 days while i'm 5hrs from home.

https://www.permatex.com/products/lubricants/specialty-lubricants-brakes/permatex-ceramic-extreme-brake-parts-lubricant-2/

HondaHawkGT · January 24, 2019

I had just enough dirt and surface rust collect under the clips that caused the caliper to drag and hang up. The pad would stick and drag on the rotor enough to make a light squeal when I allowed the truck to coast or when backing out of the driveway. I bought a set of the higher end Powerstop pads and made made a point to apply copper antiseize between the caliph and the clips, as well as where the pad ends fit into the clips. I didn't notice the rotor getting hot enough to smell so it might not be the issue you had.

FL335i · January 24, 2019

Hondahawkgt- That sounds like exactly the issue I had. I'm on day 2 with no issues. I'm starting to think the Akebono pads I put on fit tighter than the OEM pads and hence do not like the sand and dirt from my work site.

FL335i · February 17, 2019

Update on this. the LR brake started dragging again this week. Got it apart this weekend. Here is what I found and learned.

1- The purple ceramic brake grease turned to hard powder inside the slide boots. Not sure why? Threw this stuff in the garbage and will never use again. I picked up some Pure Silicone CRC Brand grease at Autozone ($15/tube!!) and it appears to be much better grease. up to 3,000 degrees F. More in line with what the factory grease looked like.

2- I should have replaced the rubber slide pin boots when I did the brake job a few months ago. They were not torn, but while cleaning and re-greasing I ripped one. Went to Napa and picked up a hardware kit with anti rattle pad clips and boots. $9 for both side. Best kit ever!!!!!

3- As included with the above hardware kit, I used the Napa pad clips. They have a rubbery type coating to them!!!! The Akebono clips were just plain metal. These clips should help combat squeaks and not attract dirt by using grease. SO happy with these Napa clips!!

4-The Akebono extreme pads I have are going to be replaced at my next oil change. I noticed that the squeak shim that snap on the back of the pad rubs and make contact with the caliper bracket. It's the shim arms in a few spots that go over the pad edge that are making the contact. I can't recall, but I think the factory pads had a shim but it did not have little arms at the top/bottom of the pad. It was glued/attached directly to the pad, which would not make any contact with the caliper bracket. Going with Raybestos Ceramics like I did on the rear or a GM/ACDelco Factory pad. I'll verify the pads get do not have shims that "clip over" the pad.

5- I replaced the brake hose with an ACDelco unit. $15 on Amazon. I was right there, cheap insurance to help correct the dragging brake issue.

All in all, I think we had a few things that contributed to this issue. I DO NOT RECOMMEND the Akebono Extreme pads for our trucks.

FL335i · February 18, 2019

Took it out for a spin this afternoon... back to dragging. Replaced the Caliper with a NAPA unit. Drove it for 45 minutes, fixed. Worked my way to the more expensive part I guess... At my next oil change I'll swap the pads out to GM OEM and update the slide pin boots and rattle clips on the passenger side so my OCD is satisfied.

300 Blackout · February 18, 2019

I bought the raybestos police rotors and their hybrid pads after reading your thread about the axles. When I did the brakes, I had to replace 3 of 4 calipers due to rust inside the pistons. Hopefully the NAPA part serves you well. Unfortunately I chose remanufactured calipers and I’m less than impressed so I’ll be upgrading them sometime in the future.

FL335i · February 19, 2019

Drove it back and forth to work tonight. Hit it with the IR Temp gun when I got home. the LF was slightly cooler than the RF. All good so far. I've got about 60 miles on the new caliper....