Brake help needed

[Terry L.]

I have a 66 that I am restoring. I am now reinstalling the rebuilt brakes, the right front brake will not go togather. There is not room to install the brake pad on the inside of the caliper. I replaced the wheel bearing thinking the rotor may have been going in to far due to a worn bearing, but it still didn't help. Thanks for your help.

[Terry D.]

Re: Brake help needed

Terry
Who rebuilt the brakes and what was done? Are you sure the piston is pushed all the way in? Can you post a picture of problem?
Terry

[Terry L.]

Re: Brake help needed

Lonestar rebuilt the calipers with o rings, I had the rotors turned and the caliper brackets replated, I try to get a picture when I get home from work, Thanks Terry

[Terry M.]

Re: Brake help needed

Left pads install OK, but not the right? That seems strange, but then you knew that.

[Wayne W.]

Re: Brake help needed

Rotors switched Front to rear.

[Michael W.]

Re: Brake help needed

Rotors switched Front to rear.

Yup. Terry, you may have also induced a new problem by having the rotors turned separately from the hubs/spindles. Best measure the run out on the rotor surface using a dial indicator before going any further. Anything over .005" is reason for concern.

[Terry L.]

Re: Brake help needed

The rotors are still rivited to the hub so they were turned all togather, so front and rear rotors could not be switched. From the drivers seat it is the right rotor but it is the left pad that will not go in. Thanks again for all of the help, I know someone knows what I have done wrong.

[Russ S.]

Re: Brake help needed

Are the pads new? If so , did you compare the one that won't go in to one that will? It is possable that a wrong style pad got boxed with the rest of the new pads.

[Ronald L.]

Re: Brake help needed

Terry are the pistons all the way in (out of the way) - post a picture, find ht epaper clip above this note box, you'll have to down size the picture...

[Michael W.]

Re: Brake help needed

Bent caliper bracket?

[Terry L.]

Re: Brake help needed

I have done some more checking on the brakes. I have 1/2" on one side and 3/4" on the other side. The brake pads are 1/2" thick, the 1/2" pad will not go into the 1/2 space, it is just to tight. So I got the old pads out and found one that was .470 and it fit in the space, so I cleaned up the old pads and reinstalled them. I am going to try to insert a picture, I don't know if it will work or not. Thanks to all who helped me . Terry

[Joe L.]

Re: Brake help needed

I have done some more checking on the brakes. I have 1/2" on one side and 3/4" on the other side. The brake pads are 1/2" thick, the 1/2" pad will not go into the 1/2 space, it is just to tight. So I got the old pads out and found one that was .470 and it fit in the space, so I cleaned up the old pads and reinstalled them. I am going to try to insert a picture, I don't know if it will work or not. Thanks to all who helped me . Terry

Terry------


I agree with Mike. I'd say the root of your problem involves a bent caliper bracket. Even if you could get the brake pads in, the bent caliper bracket will cause other brake performance problems. I'd replace it.

[Mike R.]

Re: Brake help needed

You can put a washer between the mounting bracket and the caliper to space it inward. once the pads wear a little you can remove the washers. It is not likely that the mounting bracket is bent outwards. I have had a similar problem, it may be that the current pads are a little thicker than those in the past.

I have done some more checking on the brakes. I have 1/2" on one side and 3/4" on the other side. The brake pads are 1/2" thick, the 1/2" pad will not go into the 1/2 space, it is just to tight. So I got the old pads out and found one that was .470 and it fit in the space, so I cleaned up the old pads and reinstalled them. I am going to try to insert a picture, I don't know if it will work or not. Thanks to all who helped me . Terry

[Joe L.]

Re: Brake help needed

You can put a washer between the mounting bracket and the caliper to space it inward. once the pads wear a little you can remove the washers. It is not likely that the mounting bracket is bent outwards. I have had a similar problem, it may be that the current pads are a little thicker than those in the past.

Mike-----


The front caliper brackets often bend in such a way that the caliper pad slot is "crooked" relative to the rotor. This causes the space between the caliper and rotor at one end of the slot to be different than at the other end of the slot. That, in turn, cause the pad to not fit into the slot at the narrower end. Even if one is able to get the pad in the slot by whatever means, the pad will subsequently wear unevenly. Can the bracket-to-caliper interface be shimmed to correct this? Yes, it can, but it's not the way to do it right.

[Joe L.]

Re: Brake help needed

All------


Here are some NOS original GM brake pads (the old asbestos type). These pads are 0.490" thick from the back of the backing plate to the face of the lining. I am 100% sure that these will fit into 65-82 Corvette brake calipers as long as the caliper brackets are not bent.

By the way, while the rear caliper brackets are cast iron, these can also distort and cause the same sort of problem as the front steel caliper brackets. The rear brackets are cast from malleable iron, not gray iron, and will distort before they break.