I have a fully restored 67 Firebird 400, four speed with factory front disc brakes, The brake system is all new with the.stationary, four piston calipers. The four piston calipers are spring loaded which causes the brake pads to have constant pressure on the rotor causing them to get very hot. Any body know how I can fix this issue, will I have to replace calipers with two piston calipers from a 68 FB. and what about the spindles? Thanks' for your help,
Never heard of a "spring loaded" caliper. Where are these said springs located? Who did this "new" brake system? One thing that will cause brakes to hang up is a collapsed rubber hose. Apply the brakes several times when the car is just sitting at idle. Then with the pedal released, crack the bleeder screw. If fluid comes out under pressure, there is a restriction in the system.
Yes the 4 piston calipers do have springs in the piston's, at least on the Corvette's. I don't know if the Firebirds and Camaro's did, I would guess they would be the same. You would have to go to the 69 setup to get the single caliper setup. Not sure if the spindles are the same or not, You might check out some Corvette groups and see what they say.
Thanks. Wade and Jeff. for your response to my issue with the brakes, I was hoping to be able to replace the calipers and not the spindles, I will wait for more info before taking it apart again,
I have spun the wheels with it jacked up, they do have a fair amount of friction, When driving the car within a mile or two the front brakes are getting hot enough to create enough drag on the car that it feels like you are riding the brakes; and if you keep driving it wants to lock up the front brakes, I am thinking about removing the internal springs behind the caliper piston, or cutting them in half, Thanks' for your input,
I have spun the wheels with it jacked up, they do have a fair amount of friction, When driving the car within a mile or two the front brakes are getting hot enough to create enough drag on the car that it feels like you are riding the brakes; and if you keep driving it wants to lock up the front brakes, I am thinking about removing the internal springs behind the caliper piston, or cutting them in half, Thanks' for your input,
I would not remove the springs, they are there to hold the pads close to the rotor as the pads wear. I would check the to make sure there is no residual pressure like what was stated before.
I had a similar issue a while ago, little different application, but I wasn't getting full extension from the brake resetting to the out position. I pulled the pin on the clevis, popped the master cylinder cover to release pressure, and started adjusting it out to make sure their was no residual pressure on the master cylinder push rod. Once I thought I had it adjusted correctly, I jacked up one wheel an inch off the ground, started the car and pressed the brakes about 50 times. Went and spun the wheel and it was releasing correctly. I always try the simple solution first.
1957 Thunderbird 289 1967 Firebird Base 461 1968 C-20 327