nismo-max500

ok heres the deal...

replaced front pads, rotors and calipers. I still have sticking issues w/ my brakes. They are rubbing up front and I dont know what else to check. Just to clarify, I know it is the front brakes that are rubbing. any thoughts?

Thanks

ImmaSquashYou

iTrader: (7)

change ur fluid?? Could be the master cylinder thats pushing out on the calipers. Don't know why it would do that, but that could be an option..

heynow

iTrader: (1)

did you bleed each caliper? Proper bleed?

Keatz

It might not be your brakes, it could be the dust plate behind the rotor that is scrapping, that happened to me so you might want to check that

andrei3333

Also there are 2 springs on each front caliper that push the pads apart so they are not rubbing the rotor when the breaks are not engaged

Did u reinstall these springs ?

dgeesaman

iTrader: (10)

1) Verify the caliper slider pins move freely. The grease in these often gets dried out and causes excess pad drag.
2) Brake pads ALWAYS rub on the rotors. There should be no pressure between them, but they will always appear to be in contact, and when you spin the wheel you can feel it. This is normal.

andrei3333

My bad yes you are right, but I thought those two pins were there to prevent that. So isn't it bad that the pads are always rubbing the rotor's ? wouldn't the pads die quicker like this ?

i understand thats how nissan designed them but i am not understanding this design.

Also i noticed that before i replaced my front pads the break fluid was a bit down, approximately 1/4 away from FULL level, I assume this is because the caliper is pushing the pads against the rotor and as the pads wear out the caliper pushes just a little more and the fluid goes down. THANK god i never topped it up because when i replaced the pads the fluid was at the exact MAX line. So it is a useful tool to measure when to change your brake pads by looking at the brake fluid level ?

2da mizzax

iTrader: (4)

The fluid level is set like that from the dealer. Unfortunately, a bunhc of people keep telling folks to "top up" their brake fluid like it is motor oil. The pads are not rubbing against the rotors all of the time, they are just very close. There may be some minimal contact but not enough to create significant wear. Those springs you were referring to help to minimize that contact when the brakes arent applied but cant be used with certain aftermarket pads.

As for why it is designed that way, braking needs to be immediate, especially when you are dealing with a hydraulic system. If there is a wide gap between the pads and the rotors, then braking response would be drastically reduced (think about how you had to pump your pedal when you changed your pads).

Did you flush yoru fluid? It is often neglected and most people dont realize it is supposed to be clear and not brownish (or god forbid greenish).

andrei3333

No, i did not flush the fluid, i am afraid to even open the bottle because i dont want to contaminate it.

It is on my to do list though, along with a coolant flush. the thing is that i dont want to flush the coolant because if my thermostat fails i will need to flush the coolant again, so since i just did the brakes i think i rather flush the brake fluid first and then do the coolant.

My coolant looks like crap in the resevoir bottle with weird dirt in it and possibly some other gremlins. The brake fluid through the see through bottle does seem kinda dark its definitely NOT transparent as far as the colour its hard to tell.

What is more important?

2da mizzax

iTrader: (4)

its not a matter of importance. Coolant needs to be changed ASAP if it looks "crappy". If you flush it (or get it flushed) and the thermostat fails, you wont have to flush it again. you simply drain some out, change the thermo and pour the stuff you drained back in.

Brake fluid flush is cheap if you are doing it yourself. all of $5. You will need a helper or you will need to buy a set of speed bleeders.

andrei3333

Alright, im going to get both done next week then after the long weekend, screw this i want my car to be like new.

Just that i have to keep reminding myself that its a 10 year old sedan and things will tend to break down more often then not and that rust is starting to get to it underneath the car not the body yet. So thats what makes me hesitanat to spend more money on this car

sky jumper

so what is the deal with puke green brake fluid? I've seen this on other cars. a friend's 2k blazer had nasty greenish fluid, so I helped him flush it, and 4 months later it was puke green again.

what causes this? I'm assuming contamination, but contaminated with what?

samax89

well the whole break burning thing is more than likely its a sticky caliper, because ive had that problem with about 3 of my cars including my max, basically the caliper is pushing out but not pulling back the piston is getting stuck, so yea i would check which wheel has the least pad left on it and thats your bad caliper, replace it, problem solved

2da mizzax

iTrader: (4)

I have seen the same thing on a few GMC trucks. Copper corrosion (although the wrong shade of green). I thought it was algae from too much water being absorbed. Only other thing I can think of is that GMC may have had a factory brake fluid that was green in nature. I heard of Castrol making a certain brake fluid that was green and that may have been GMC's factory fill. Over time the dye/solutes may have fallen out of solution.