01 focus front brake issue

[barteldt]

i did a brake job on my daughers 01 focus a couple months ago. did the usual new pads and replaced the rotor on driver side.. the first problem i ran intowas the caliper bolts loosening up causing the wheel to rub on caliper.. I fixed this and about a month later im getting a grinding noise on drivers side. I took it apart and repositioned everything thinking a pad had moved and it was fine for about a week and its doing it again. feels like the caliper isnt tightening up because the rotor doesnt feel very tight either. anyone else had this issue ive read a few post that mention replacing bushings and caliper bolts. I was thinking of changing the caliper too but thought maybe someone else has had this same problem

[Davescort97]

Why did you change the rotor on the driver's side? Did you change the passenger side, also? Was the caliper loose? Did you torque it to 50 ft./lbs? Was the caliper rubbing on the wheel because it was loose? I don't doubt that you have problems with it, I just wondered why the caliper loosened up. Yes, new bushings and caliper bolts would be a good thing. It almost sounds like the pads aren't seated fully in the caliper. Sometimes the caliper needs to be filed down to enable the pads to seat properly.

[barteldt]

rotor was waarped so i changed it.. im not sure why it loosened either it is possible i didnt tighten it enuf? it now seems like the longer we drive it the more it scrapes? like i said plenty of badand rotor noo fresh metal scraping marks etc ill probably try the bushings other wise calipers arnt to expensive it might not be tightening up on the rotor completely anymore.

[Davescort97]

Can you tear it down and double check everything? It's possible the rotor isn't sitting right on the hub. It could have some rust or dirt behind it making it off center which could cause the problems you are having. Sometimes if you just tear it down again and go step by step you can eliminate a problem. Give it your best shot.

[barteldt]

i did tear it down once but didnt really check for that i plan on doing it again though anyways should I jiust wirebrush the hub surface?

[Davescort97]

That would work.

[rhandwor]

If its not overheating did you use the pack of brake disk brake quiet. Did you install the anti squeak hardware.

[barteldt]

ok i figured it out the outside pad wasnt allthe way up into the caliper so the caliper wasnt going all the way onto the caliper the scraping was the rim touching the caliper when id slow down.. it was also the reason the rotor seemed to be loose and wobbly i suppose it wasnt getting pressure equally ..

[barteldt]

ok it seems that the problem the whole time was a bad rotor.. ive had noisy brakes since i changed the rotor so i put the old one back and the rubbing stops. it looks like either the rotoe is to thick or just out of spec causing it to rub against the caliper bracket. has anyone seen this before ? i read that these rotors are not suppose to be machined. I was thinking if i had the inside turned it would not rub anymore..

[rhandwor]

I would try to get a free exchange as its supposed to fit.

[94&92Astro]

Originally Posted by barteldt

ok it seems that the problem the whole time was a bad rotor.. ive had noisy brakes since i changed the rotor so i put the old one back and the rubbing stops. it looks like either the rotoe is to thick or just out of spec causing it to rub against the caliper bracket. has anyone seen this before ? i read that these rotors are not suppose to be machined. I was thinking if i had the inside turned it would not rub anymore..

I just got finished dealing with many of the same issues as yourself on my daughters 00. I actually did a double take to make sure I didn't write it. To make a very long story very short - My problem turned out to be an excessivly worn hub bearing. The bearing was nearly destroyed whn I finally got it changed and caused all kinda issues with the brakes and rotor. I thought I had it fixed a couple times such as yourself, but until I corrected the root problem, my brake issues returned with a vengence. Food for thought-- I hope it isn't your problem but might be worth checking out.