Rebuilt Caliper Install Question

[Larry T.]

I just installed my rebuilt calipers and gravity bled them. All seems good. I have a nice steady seep coming from all bleeders and allowed a minimum of 1-2 oz. of brake fluid to seep from each one individually. I did this twice, just to cover my bases. I have not done any bleeding using the pedal.

This is a novice question, but how much pressure should I expect the pads to be applying to the rotors at this point? All four wheels have a fair amount of pressure applied. To give an idea how much, the front rotors can not be spun (freewheel) a complete revolution by hand before stopping. It seems that if this is normal I will hear the scraping of the pads all of the time. Should the pistons in the caliper be retracting more on their own? The pads are not too thick, there is plenty of room for the pads to be pushed back against the calipers. My hope is that the calipers just need a little more bleeding. Thanks.

[Joe L.]

Re: Rebuilt Caliper Install Question

I just installed my rebuilt calipers and gravity bled them. All seems good. I have a nice steady seep coming from all bleeders and allowed a minimum of 1-2 oz. of brake fluid to seep from each one individually. I did this twice, just to cover my bases. I have not done any bleeding using the pedal.

This is a novice question, but how much pressure should I expect the pads to be applying to the rotors at this point? All four wheels have a fair amount of pressure applied. To give an idea how much, the front rotors can not be spun (freewheel) a complete revolution by hand before stopping. It seems that if this is normal I will hear the scraping of the pads all of the time. Should the pistons in the caliper be retracting more on their own? The pads are not too thick, there is plenty of room for the pads to be pushed back against the calipers. My hope is that the calipers just need a little more bleeding. Thanks.

Larry------


1965-82 Corvette brake calipers are "constant contact" type. In this type, the pads are constantly in contact with the rotors. The amount of pressure is very slight, amounting to the force applied by the caliper piston springs. With your foot off the pedal, there should be zero hydraulic pressure in the system and, consequently, no force at all applied by the hydraulic system. So, bleeding the brake system will have no effect whatsoever on the "at rest" relationship between the rotors and the brake pads.

[Bob H.]

Re: Rebuilt Caliper Install Question

Larry:

Joe is right on. There will be pressure applied to the rotor so don't expect it to spin freely.

Sounds like you have a working system!

[Larry T.]

Re: Rebuilt Caliper Install Question

Thanks to you both. I am going back together with it now.