A friend and I recently changed his front brakes on a 91 firechicken. The driver's side tire had both pads changed and the rotor changed. The passengers side just had the pads changed. Now, here's the problem...


The car pulls to the right when braking, but then after a second it feels like something's released, the brakepedal goes down further, and then the car brakes evenly.

And, the driver's side smokes a little.

The rotor came with some kind of grease on it, and I heard somewhere that we should have cleaned that grease off first, or it might smoke like that until it's gone. It's been over a day now and it still smokes a little.

Any ideas? They're just standard brakepads and rotors, from Advance Auto and Autozone, respectively.

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89 iroc-z 305 tbi
k&n filtercharger, open element air filter. nuffin' else

 

Prolly just the grease, Even stuff like greasy fingerprints can make the brakes feel strange for a while, Untill it burns off.

Will make them Smoke too.


Hit the Rotor with some brakecleaner through the Wheel if you can

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60 Ranchero - Project ( Money Hole )
85 Sport Coupe LG4 - Daily Driver

Just another Hot Rod kid, or thats what they all tell me.
Livin' the Stereotype

 

It's my car that's having this problem, for the record.... if it is stuff on the rotor, how long does it take to burn it off? We changed the brakes yesterday (saturday) and I drove it some and noticed the smoking, so I stopped.. drove it to work and back today (about 30-40 miles total) and it seems to be smoking still.. I've only noticed it from the drivers side, so that's why I'm guessing it's the rotor.. I'm guessing it's air in the brake lines when it's pulling to one side, then almost seems like a small pop (no noise though) then it pulls evenly. this sound right?

also, when we put the new pads on, they sorta grabbed the rotor causing it to slow down a lot faster (without the wheel/tire on it)... is it supposed to grab like that? I sorta figured it's supposed to be completely separate unless the brakes are applied.

I know I need to bleed the brakes anyway, so I'm gonna try that in the morning. hopefully that'll fix the pulling and the grabbing without brakes applied.. any other ideas? thanks..

 

The 'grease' on the rotor is a oil applied to keep the part from rusting until you get it,,, any kind of oil on a rotor is bad (and somewhat dangerous). take the wheels back off and give both sides a liberal cleaning (even the pads) with brake cleaner.

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My Firebird It Lives Again!!
Your Car Here?
Part Diagrams

 

I was gonna do that, but thanks for the confirmation. I'm guessing just use brake parts cleaner from the parts store and a towel? any special way to clean them?

[This message has been edited by 91FireChicken (edited February 26, 2001).]

 

From what you say in the original post, sounds like the piston in the driver's side caliper could also be sticking. This would cause the passenger (right side) to extend first and then the driver's cause the initial pull to the right. Then settling down.

The sticking could be due to air in the driver's side line needing a bleeding, as you said, or the piston might just need greasing.

As far as smoking, thats normal. Sometimes the pads and rotor (especially when new) have actually no space between them, so its wearing it down. But it should pass.

Clayton

 

You should inspect the rubber brake hose out out the caliper. Sometimes the brake haose will get a soft spot and will make the brake pedal feel soft and inconsistent.