Hi all,

Ok, new day, new problem. This is kinda long, so please bear with me. My '67 Barracuda has the '73-76 A-body front disc brake setup. I had a very experienced mechanic (he owns his own suspension shop) install them for me (in June, 2011) - I don't have a press or any special tools required to remove or install ball joints, and I just didn't want to mess with it. This same guy has done several other brake and suspension jobs for me over the years, on various cars, and I've always been very happy with his work. But I'm wondering if he didn't drop the ball on this one. I didn't notice any odd noises after they were first installed, nor for the first several hundred miles. Because of various other issues with the car, I've only driven it about 700 miles total since the brakes were installed. I don't drive this car very aggressively, and I've always been pretty easy on brakes on all my cars. Recently, the right front has started making a "clicking" noise. I'm only getting a very slight amount of pulsing at the brake pedal, and that's only when the car is nearly stopped. On removing the wheel, I found that the rotor was pushing against the outboard brake pad at a certain point on each revolution, lifting the little tab on the pad up off of the caliper (see below):



then dropping it back down after the "high point" passed, thus making the clicking noise that is quite noticeable outside the car.



I put a dial indicator on both sides of the rotor, and it appears that it's about .010 off from being perfectly true. I don't know if the rotors were checked for trueness before they were installed. My mechanic says he can't remember, but I'm guessing they weren't - I would think it should be standard practice to do this before installing new rotors(?). So, I don't know if this rotor was not right from the beginning, or if it got warped after I drove it. Btw, I tried to buy decent rotors - these are Raybestos 7032R, but I'm pretty sure they're Chinese.

Unfortunately, I only have a '67 Factory Service Manual, which doesn't cover these disc brakes. My questions are:

1.) Should the rotor be perfectly true, or should a deviance of .010 be acceptable?

2.) My calipers are the "slider" type. Should they be able to accommodate .010 of warpage? Should there be any lubricant where the caliper slides on the bracket and, if so, what type? I don't know if my mechanic put anything on it.

3.) Can I remove the calipers and rotors without having to re-bleed the brakes? I'm thinking I may just be able to remove the two bolts holding the caliper bracket on, start sliding the caliper off, wedge an appropriate sized piece of wood between the pads to keep them in place, then remove the rotor.

4.) What is the torque spec for the two bolts holding the caliper brackets onto the steering knuckle?

5.) If I need to have the rotor(s) turned, can I remove the bearing(s) and/or seal(s) without damaging them? Or will I have to buy any new parts?

I would appreciate any info or advice on a correct course of action. Thanks!!

Roger

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The pad should not have that much play in the caliper. Take the pad out of the caliper and use a hammer to bend the tab downward - check both sides. It should be tight enough just to get it in the caliper. Once it's back in and assembled make sure the bottom of the pad doesn't hit the rotor hat - otherwise you'll get a scraping type noise too. If it still does hit - like mine did - I ground that lip of the pad down with a dremel.

Make sure the spindle nut is properly tightend, that'll affect runout.

Also there is a rubber band that comes in the rebuild kits that sits between the retainer and the pad, that helps with the clicking noise. Of the three cars that I converted they all clicked in certain situations. Usually when you just touch the brakes at low speed.

Thanks, guys. I will check the spindle nut, then try bending the tabs on the pad. I appreciate the help.

Roger

I am even firmer than Pierre on his matter; I usually bend the tabs so much that I have to use a clamp to press them in place. It is probably not correct, but you cannot break anything, and that clicking noise can make you go nuts!

Olaf

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Aspenized

Ok, I finally got a chance to do this today, and it was nowhere near as difficult as I'd imagined it would be. In fact, I really learned a lot. I discovered I didn't have to remove the caliper bracket at all, just the one bolt which holds the rectangular piece in place at each end of the caliper. I also thought the piston would tend to pop out if I didn't wedge something in there, but it stayed in without a problem. I bent the tabs down on the brake pad (I only did the right side, since I haven't heard any noise from the left), and it pretty much eliminated the noise. It may not be quite as tight as it should be, but it's fairly snug in there.

Thanks for the help, guys!! Now on to the next problem!

Roger