Need help with brakes - problem

[guitarfish]

I am at a loss.

I have an '02 GP GT with 175K. I replaced my rear brakes and rotors at 88K, and I replaced them again today (87K since last change). After today's change, both rear wheels are very difficult to turn by hand, the brakes are binding, and when I test drove it, there was obvious drag from the rear brakes.

There were no issues during the brake job. Used a c-clamp to retract the pistons which was effortless. Old rotors came off easily, new ones went on fine. I used used brake cleaner on the surfaces and bolts, and used new brake grease on the contact points of the new pads, and also on the bolts the caliper slides on.

I don't know why I'm having this problem.

I checked the E-brake. If the E-brake were binding, the rotors would've been difficult to install, because they slide overtop of the E-brake shoes. I tested the E-brake, when it's engaged, the wheels won't turn at all. When it's disengaged, the cable seems loose, and isn't applying tension to the E-brake shoes.

Both back wheels are equally difficult to turn. I've done dozens of brake jobs through the years and don't recall ever seeing this behavior.

The old pads were worn evenly on both sides of the car, and there wasn't any evidence that the calipers were binding up. I'm really not sure what to do next.

Help is appreciated!

-Dave

[guitarfish]

Some follow up...

Pulled of a rear wheel. The rotor can be moved 1/8" or so either way, since the holes in the rotor for the lug studs are larger than the studs. This shows the E-brake isn't binding.

Using the c-clamp I was not able to retract the piston at all - the rotor itself is still VERY difficult to turn by hand. The new pads are quite tight against the new rotor, which I don't understand, since everything slipped on so easily during reassembly.

I drove it 1 mile, thinking maybe it just needs a little break-in. When I got back, the rear brakes smell real bad from the friction, and are still binding.

What should I do at this point?

[guitarfish]

OK, I'm making progress, check this out...

The top bolt on each caliper has a small rubber grommet on the end. Not sure why only the top bolts have this. In asny case, as soon as I loosened the top bolt on each caliper, the rotor began to move freely. Removing the rubber grommet from each bolt "solved" the problem. The car is back together and everything is fine.

I have to look into what these grommets do, if they're necessary, and if I should replace them. For some reason, their presence caused a big problem.

If anyone has any thoughts, please share.