Pads rubbing rotor after brake job...

[Just Me]

my guess is in the last 5 months he got his answer

[wibs]

Originally Posted by audi777tom

Dragging rotors would lead me to suspect a bad caliper or a sticking caliper. If there is a nick in the cylinder bore it can cause the piston to drag or not release. This would be bad, as you would need a new piston/caliper assembly. The more likely culprit is that the carrier is not adjusting correctly on the guide bolts. There are two bolts that have a long smooth length that the caliper will self adjust on. I would suggest getting two new bolts and replacing the old ones. These can get grooved over time an not allow the proper amount of float, causing a dragging rotor. Also, get some high temperature grease and lube them up during installation. If one side is bad, you might want to consider replacing the ones on the other side as well.

So after many months since I posted the last response, I have learned some new things.

A) The item you mentioned above is probably the reason why I am having some issues. My guide bolts were the old ones (they weren't grooved that I could see) but I didn't add ADDITIONAL high temp grease after I cleaned them when I took them out originally (they had some on still). I suspect this may be the cause of some of my problems and perhaps why my car has been dragging on the right all along... or maybe I messed up my alignment banging on the wheel to get the factory rotor off--I was hitting it pretty hard for a long time to break all the rust up.

B) The stopping power issue subsided over the next few days. I never did get the VAG-COM to cycle my abs pump but I did a poor-man's (well, non-equipment) version of it, I just ran the car up to 60-70 and slammed on the brakes after the bedding-in period was over about 10 times. After that and some additional time, my brake feel returned to normal. I've done some high speed driving/repeated braking and it seems to work well. I'm sure there's a little air in the brake lines still, I'll maybe try to bleed them again soon or in the spring (not planning on going to the track before then).

C) That power bleeder was worth it's weight in gold. I will never ever try to bleed my brakes again without one.

D) I still think that maybe I didn't evenly tighten my bolts/caliper carrier bolts on the car. It's my suspicion that there may be some minor alignment issues due to uneven tightness of the bolts. I'm not sure how much difference 5-10 lbs of torque will make on alignment of the system but nonetheless, I'm skeptical. The next time I do this, I'll rent or buy a torque wrench so I am applying the correct amount of torque to the bolts (I'm a spirited driver, I'd prefer everything to be factory spec, or as close as possible).

I have a ton of pics from the process, I'll make a how-to for dummies sometime when I'm not buried with work and new baby stuff (my first).

Thanks for your feedback guys, I hope others find these threads helpful.