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clearance issues after changing rotors

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Posted by: DragonDesign

So i spent the afternoon replacing my rotors, cleaning up my wheel wells and replacing front brake pads. I also painted up the calipers while i was in there - red for the caliper with black for the surround bracket in case you're interested.

So here's my problem, I put everything back together and it all seemed to come together properly. Looked really good with the paint and everything, so last step was to put the wheels back on. Everything seemed to be ok until the wheel started turning as i was tightening the lugs... and i noticed that the rim was touching the caliper, just enough to peel the nice new paint off the front of the caliper. I pushed on the pedal a couple of times to seat the pads, but it still touches.

Here's my theory - i had a decent amount of clearance before doing the pads, but the pads were extremely worn out, so the bracket holding the caliper on would have been pulled in to keep the pads tight to the rotor. The new pads are thicker, pushing the caliper out ever so slightly, and getting rid of the little bit of gap I had left. So I tried the stock rims thinking that the aftermarket were off just slightly, but they do the same thing. So the question is this: with brand new pads, should the calipers be grazing up against the rim as it turns? The caliper is tight against the mounting bracket, so i don't see what i can do. Is it supposed to be like this? What would be a good solution? I guess it should improve as the pads wear down, but i dont want to keep repainting the caliper all the time. I thought about grinding down the front of the caliper, but that will cause a mess and should be unnecessary. The only other thing i can think of is taking it all apart and pulling the thin metal clips off the backs of the pads and re-inserting them, but if I do that will the pads seat properly? Any help would be appreciated, I need to get this finished up by tomorrow evening...

Posted by: 1bad4.6l

they should not rub if their the right pads. if the old pads are unusable take the new ones and rub them on flat rough concrete till they fit. that is if pad thickness is the issue. i have ran into pad thickness being an issue once in 10 years it was on a jaguar, but with the jag the caliper wouldn't go back on. i really think that you should return them to the parts store to check the application is correct. but if you cant good luck

also if you replaced the rotor check to make sure that that the surface that touches the hub is the same thickness

Posted by: 01lssport

I would personally check the old pads against the new pads to see any other difference besides thickness is apparent. I would also take the new rotor and the old one, lay them on a flat surface and measure the thickness of the rotor. The caliper is on a bracket that does't change so that is not the problem.

Are all the calipers doing this?

Posted by: DragonDesign

Well the pads fit over the rotor once everything is assembled, and the rotors are the same thickness. Correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't it the caliper bracket that doesn't move? The caliper slides back and forth along the bracket so that it can stay tight to the rotor. As the pads wear down the caliper will pull further towards the centre of the car as the pistons squeeze it together from the other side. If it didn't do this then it would lose force on the outboard pad. I'm just curious about how much clearance there should be on factory spec pads between the caliper and wheel spokes. The pads seem to be the same shape, although maybe these ones are thicker. The application guide says they are correct...

Posted by: scjmc

I have the chrome flat factory wheels 7 spoke I think. I installed new rotors and pads and I have virtually no clearance between the caliper and the rim. Seriously only a few pieces of paper will fit between them. I always thought they would make contact during hard cornering or something, but they don't.

Posted by: DragonDesign

Yeah, i put the factory (those hideous chrome 5 spoke non-sport ones) rims on and tightened everything down. They don't actually rub as the wheel turns, but they're just close enough to make marks on the caliper paint. I guess i put on too many coats haha. I'll keep an eye on them, but hopefully it should get better as the pads wear, and by the time the snow dissappears in May my summer rims should fit without a problem.

Posted by: eastcoastLS

Quote:

Originally Posted by scjmc

I have the chrome flat factory wheels 7 spoke I think. I installed new rotors and pads and I have virtually no clearance between the caliper and the rim. Seriously only a few pieces of paper will fit between them. I always thought they would make contact during hard cornering or something, but they don't.