Front 280ZX Brake Problem
Posted: 13 Apr 2016 18:38
Beyond frustrated at this point so any help would be greatly appreciated. Pulled into Dean Sherman's garage this morning to start working on some long overdue projects. One of the first things we started to take care of was upgrading my front brake pads from some cheap Centric pads to Porterfield RS4 pads along with installing speedbleeders all the way around. Back story is about 8 months ago I rebuilt my rear drums, installed a new 7/8 master and put 280zx front struts and brakes on the car. The 280zx brake setup was used but had fairly new slotted and cross drilled rotors (0.75 inches thick). I remember at that time having to struggle to put the caliper with pads onto the rotor. It was like the thickness of the pads made it very challenging to get the assembly onto the rotor. Dean and I struggled back then and finally got them on and everything worked fine for the past 8 months.
This time, we had the exact same problem! PITA to get the caliber assembly with pads (yes we pushed the piston back all the way) onto the rotor. Finally resorted to grinding down part of the bump on the back side of the pad that goes against the piston. That and a soft mallet got them on and once on they turned freely. So we go to bleed the brakes and once that happens the front brakes lock up and the rotors are very hard to turn by hand. Here is what we have tried and the results:
1. Removed speedbleeders and put stock ones on back on and no change.
2. By slightly unbolting the caliper and using the screwdriver to move it around the rotor frees up and stays that way until I push on the brakes and then they bind up again.
3. Back brakes are fine and not binding.
My main questions are why, in the first place, has it been so hard for us to even get the new pads onto the rotor in the first place?! Every other car you push the piston back, swap the pads in and the caliper easily slides back into place. Wondering if this has to do with the master cylinder? It was cheap through Rock Auto but still.....it was working fine when I pulled in the garage this morning. What are we missing? Anything else to try?
Thank so much in advance!
This time, we had the exact same problem! PITA to get the caliber assembly with pads (yes we pushed the piston back all the way) onto the rotor. Finally resorted to grinding down part of the bump on the back side of the pad that goes against the piston. That and a soft mallet got them on and once on they turned freely. So we go to bleed the brakes and once that happens the front brakes lock up and the rotors are very hard to turn by hand. Here is what we have tried and the results:
1. Removed speedbleeders and put stock ones on back on and no change.
2. By slightly unbolting the caliper and using the screwdriver to move it around the rotor frees up and stays that way until I push on the brakes and then they bind up again.
3. Back brakes are fine and not binding.
My main questions are why, in the first place, has it been so hard for us to even get the new pads onto the rotor in the first place?! Every other car you push the piston back, swap the pads in and the caliper easily slides back into place. Wondering if this has to do with the master cylinder? It was cheap through Rock Auto but still.....it was working fine when I pulled in the garage this morning. What are we missing? Anything else to try?
Thank so much in advance!