brakes dragging

I have a 2002 ford expedition and just replaced the brakes on it and now they keep rubbing the rotor even when driving. What could be the cause of that? Ive never had that happen before.

THanks

I have a 2002 ford expedition and just replaced the brakes on it and now they keep rubbing the rotor even when driving. What could be the cause of that? Ive never had that happen before.

THanks


Sounds like you may have a bad caliper that is not releasing after the brakes are applied.
Jack up the truck and try to spin the front wheels to see if it is dragging then report back.

ok. Ill try tomorrow to do it. Im 99.9% sure though they do drag because when you drive it makes a lot of noise like something is rubbing and the rotors are already gougued after about 2 weeks of driving.

Thanks,
david

ok. Yes they are dragging when i lift the car up.

Thanks,

david

The calipers should release the pads when your foot is off the brake. If one is sticking, it would continue to apply brake pressure even when the brake pedal isn't pressed. How many miles on your 2002?

When you reinstalled the calipers, were the pistons fully retracted? Did you have trouble getting them on? I've run into situations where there are 2 applications for brakes, and the thicker ones will cause what you are experiencing, while the thinner ones don't.

Dragging lightly is not abnormal. If it takes a bit of force though to spin the wheels though, that is abnormal.

-Rod

ok. Yes they are dragging when i lift the car up.

Thanks,

david

Are you saying that both sides are dragging?

yes they are both dragging up front

yes they are both dragging up front

If that is the case, I would say that you have two front calipers that are not releasing completely.
I am not really familiar with the 02 expedition, they may have something else that may cause this problem, if not, I would say it's time for new front caliper.

You may want to post this in the ford section for more input.

I'd still like to hear that they are dragging so much that they get hot, versus just rubbing the rotors lightly which is normal (reference post #6 above). The caliper pistons won't retract fully when the brake pedal is released, just enough to allow the rotors to rotate relatively freely again.

If the calipers are dragging so much that it is very difficult to rotate the wheels by hand when the brakes are released, you might have a couple of brake hoses that are collapsed internally and acting as a check valve.

-Rod

I would disassemble both calipers and make sure the slide pins are well greased. Then I'd check that the piston cups move easily yet firmly. if they don't, the calipers are sticking.

If that is not it then I would look to the master cylinder and/or a sticking combination valve.

Collapsed brake lines doesn't sound right since it would have to be a coincidence that both sides would collapse at the same time...just my thoughts.

Thanks guys. Ill take it apart soon and check the calipers and see how they are working with it taken apart. They heat up to the point of not being able to touch the rotors after I drive home from work at 8 in the morning and I drive a 55mph road and hit only one stop sign after driving that road for 10 mins.

Thanks again,
David

Before disassembling the calipers, attempt to compress them with the bleeder screws closed. If they don't seem to want to compress, open the bleeder screw and see if that makes a difference. If it does, the problem is not with the calipers but with something upstream from the caliper (brake hose, brake line, master cylinder). If the caliper does not want to compress regardless of if the bleeder is open or not, the problem is with the caliper. And if the caliper compresses quite easily with the bleeder closed or open, the problem is likely with the slide pins of the caliper or the mounting of the brake rotor.

-Rod

I have never seen a parking brake that was connected to a front wheel, it's always been both rears, regardless of if they are rear drum or disc brakes.

-Rod

My friend's Subaru XT uses a front parking brake.

I wouldn't consider the XT "usual." ;)

-Rod

Definitely isn't a normal car. Just throwing out the fact that it has been done.