Brakes Dragging?
Brakes Dragging? Are the front wheels on the F-Body intended to spin freely without drag? Mine have always dragged. I don't actually think it's the brakes tho. I seem to remember the hubs not spinning freely last time I did the brakes (5-6 years ago). In that time, the brakes have never given me any trouble. Curious what others have experienced. Short video clip below.
When you bring the car to a stop, the pads clamp down. At this point, there is nothing to separate them from the rotors except air pressure when the car starts moving and getting up to speed.
So, it's normal that when you jack any car like this, you'll feel the pads drag unless you manually spread them from the rotor.
Even once you have the brakes free, the hubs will not spin like a top. They stand up to a lot of force, so they will feel a little tough. You want the hubs to spin consistently/smoothly. You should not feel any inconsistency, grinding, or hear any popcorn sounds. The hubs will also spin more freely when you have a heavy weight on them, like the wheel.
So, it's normal that when you jack any car like this, you'll feel the pads drag unless you manually spread them from the rotor.
Even once you have the brakes free, the hubs will not spin like a top. They stand up to a lot of force, so they will feel a little tough. You want the hubs to spin consistently/smoothly. You should not feel any inconsistency, grinding, or hear any popcorn sounds. The hubs will also spin more freely when you have a heavy weight on them, like the wheel.
When you bring the car to a stop, the pads clamp down. At this point, there is nothing to separate them from the rotors except air pressure when the car starts moving and getting up to speed.
So, it's normal that when you jack any car like this, you'll feel the pads drag unless you manually spread them from the rotor.
Even once you have the brakes free, the hubs will not spin like a top. They stand up to a lot of force, so they will feel a little tough. You want the hubs to spin consistently/smoothly. You should not feel any inconsistency, grinding, or hear any popcorn sounds. The hubs will also spin more freely when you have a heavy weight on them, like the wheel.
So, it's normal that when you jack any car like this, you'll feel the pads drag unless you manually spread them from the rotor.
Even once you have the brakes free, the hubs will not spin like a top. They stand up to a lot of force, so they will feel a little tough. You want the hubs to spin consistently/smoothly. You should not feel any inconsistency, grinding, or hear any popcorn sounds. The hubs will also spin more freely when you have a heavy weight on them, like the wheel.
When you bring the car to a stop, the pads clamp down. At this point, there is nothing to separate them from the rotors except air pressure when the car starts moving and getting up to speed.
So, it's normal that when you jack any car like this, you'll feel the pads drag unless you manually spread them from the rotor.
Even once you have the brakes free, the hubs will not spin like a top. They stand up to a lot of force, so they will feel a little tough. You want the hubs to spin consistently/smoothly. You should not feel any inconsistency, grinding, or hear any popcorn sounds. The hubs will also spin more freely when you have a heavy weight on them, like the wheel.
So, it's normal that when you jack any car like this, you'll feel the pads drag unless you manually spread them from the rotor.
Even once you have the brakes free, the hubs will not spin like a top. They stand up to a lot of force, so they will feel a little tough. You want the hubs to spin consistently/smoothly. You should not feel any inconsistency, grinding, or hear any popcorn sounds. The hubs will also spin more freely when you have a heavy weight on them, like the wheel.
We just had another thread where a member was commenting about the honkin' huge rotors we have on the front of the F-Bodies. With a large weight bias towards the front, we have beefy brakes in the front. I suspect that you'll find the rears a lot easier to turn. (In comparison, those brakes and pads are much smaller.)
Considering that the rears are connected to axles and and diff and a driveshaft, the rears will certainly feel much different to spin than the fronts, even out of gear. Obvi you can't compare them directly.
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If your wheel rotates freely, I would take that as a sign the pins aren't lubricated properly or they are binding. (And the front brakes aren't clamping properly.)
I agree, if wheels spin freely like a bicycle then something is wrong. However both of my front wheels will spin a little with the same amount of force the OP posted. The OPs only spin about foot and stop, I think something is dragging too much.
Last edited by _JB_; Jan 18, 2020 at 09:18 PM.
Staging Lane
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 55
Likes: 4
My 99 Z28 front wheels drag too. I walked into a shop sometime back and there was a modern corvette on a lift, spun the front wheel and it acted like there were no brakes on it at all. I have done everything to free up the brakes on my front end but nothing has worked. It still does it when I disconnected the brake line to the caliper. And it still does it when now I have removed the ABS. Must be a 4th gen Camaro trait.
This won't do anything. You have to physically move the piston. Eliminating hydraulic pressure doesn't do that. (There's no pressure when the car is at rest, anyway.) When we drive the car, friction and air pressure (in the absence of hydraulic pressure) moves the piston back.
If you drive the car, (or any car) put it into neutral, and coast to a stop (not pressing the brake) and then put it up in the air - the wheel will move freely.
These are characteristics of the caliper design. Modern calipers come a part easier and I haven't seen this design on a new car in years. It's pretty wonky and temperamental. Then this effect gets coupled with a seized slider pin, for example - the effects are bad.