How to solve the problems of wheel drag?

[z_johnq]

Hi,

As I jack up the car (1991 LS400) and leave one of the front wheel above the ground, the wheel can turn but not very freely with some drag felt. As I take off the wheel and turn the rotor, it's easier than turning the wheel before it was off. I took another test by loosing the lug nuts slightly and then turned the wheel, then I got less drag. It seemed that the tighter the lug nuts, the more drag. Did any of you come across the situation like this?

Thanks in advance!

[Negative]

Do you happen to have a model equipped with the air suspension?

[Exhaustgases]

The tightness of the nuts should not affect a thing. Unless the hub is cracked for some reason.  Most of the time any turning resistance is cause by the brake pad's dragging on the rotor. In the old days with drum brakes you would adjust them to have a slight drag.  And why ask about air suspension? The only difference from the normal suspension and the air suspension is the shock strut, and the height sensor. There is nothing special on the air suspension that affects the spindle and hub stuff, its the same parts as on the non air suspension.

Just thought of something else the flange could be out of center (axial centering, meaning right and left when sitting in car seat)  with the brake caliper, and pushing the rotor into the caliper more when tightening. So was there any work done on the brake caliper like changing it? Or any work done of wheel bearings?

 

[VBdenny]

The brake pads slide on caliper pins which need to be greased once in awhile. If you don't, they can hang up and put extra compression on the rotor. Not a huge deal unless they hang up hard engaged in which case you can quickly overheat your brakes. My Nissan is known for this however never had it with any of my Toyota vehicles. Being proactive, always a good idea to grease the slide pins. Many mechanics, both regular and shade tree, skip this important step.  

[z_johnq]

No. It's not of air suspension. I'm sure about it.

No. I did not replace the caliper(s). But one of the pistons stuck in the caliper before. So the brake was very tight and caused shaking of the car as doing 40 to 50. I took a "C" clamp and pushed the piston in and out a dozen times and now it's much better. But it's not perfect and I believe that still has something to do with the drag. 

No. No work done with the bearings. The bearings should be fine since there is no noises heard as the wheel spinning.

I doubt I have a cracked hub since there was no accident on the car before.

VBdenny was right about it. I did check the pins and they had quite some grease on them so I did not add more. But I should. Besides, I don't think the "V" shape springs are strong enough to keep the pads from touching the rotors without brake applied.

Thank you all.

[VBdenny]

Jerzey John,  if the pistons stuck it's pretty likely that the caliper is about shot. See if there is a Bap-Geon store near you and get an AISAN caliper. They are the exact same as factory and I paid around $100 for one. Piece of cake to change.

[z_johnq]

I don't mind replace the caliper but I'm worried about the bleeding. I'm alone now. I do have a set of bleeding device with a 30 gal compressor but I don't like it. I prefer the way of 2 people. 

[Exhaustgases]

I use a vacuum pump deal to self bleed brakes, I do not like the helper method, never have.

If you do change the calipers also change the hoses if they are the original ones they don't have much life left.

[sha4000]

If the caliper was previously stuck then that's  most likely the problem plus greasing the pins for piece of mind would be good. The caliper probably froze due to not flushing the brake fluid every 2 years or so depending on your driving habits. This is something most ppl don't even think about. How does the fluid look in your reservoir? 

[VBdenny]

Great point with the hoses. They are on the front so the wheel can turn and get old and crusty. I've seen many a car fail state inspection because of cracks in these hoses. On the back there isn't any, just a straight connection. I always used the helper method because when I first started bleeding brakes, there wasn't vacuum bleeders. I suppose I should get the system now.  And yeah, most original brake fluid goes to the boneyard with the car.

[z_johnq]

Yeah, I know what you meant. What would you think of the color of the fluid? It's like charcoal. Yes. I replaced it. The hoses look fine and there is no cracks. I guess the previous owner had replaced them but not sure. As I worked on the brakes, I sat the calipers on the tie-rod end and lower control arms but it slipped and dropped on to the ground. The calipers are of solid steel and heavy and hung by a single brake hose. But the hose still fine.

[sha4000]

Never let the calipers hang by the brake line. You are just asking for trouble. Iv'e had them slip off the rotor or tie rod before with no problems but I don't want to make it a habit so I just use wire,zip ties or metal hangers to hold them up. The brake fluid should not be a charcoal color, it should be about the same color it was when you replaced it. Did you flush the fluid or just change the fluid in the reservoir?

[z_johnq]

Yes. I agreed. But it was like charcoal before I replaced the fluid. Now it's like light brown and half transparent. It's true not to form a habit hang the caliper by brake hoses. It happened to me by accident as the caliper dropped on to the ground.

Thanks again.

[Exhaustgases]

When doing the calipers take something like a plastic bucket and turn it upside down and shove it on the ground into the wheel well and use it like a small table

to set the caliper on, use a few blocks of wood on top it to get the right height if needed. Using this you won't accidently drop or hang them from the hoses.

[z_johnq]

Hi folks,

I still have a question.

I jacked up the front wheel. The right hand side wheel still has much more drag than the left one, after quite some work on it. But I'm not sure when the car is driven on highwy, the drag might be less because after an hour of freeway driving, I touched the aluminum rim of both wheels. They were slightly warm. I was expecting the right wheel would be pretty hot considering the bad drag. But it's not. Why?

Thanks again.

[Exhaustgases]

Did you try turning the hub when the caliper was off?  It could be wheel bearings on the way out too.

[z_johnq]

Yes, I did. The hub turns smoothly and no abnormal noise either. The bearings should be fine.

Thanks.

[mikaelse]

On mine pads in rear was sticking in caliper. The wheel did not turn well and the brake felt a bit soft.
The caliper was fine . Could press in piston easy. Put in new pads. Had to adjust them sligtly to fit well. Problem solved. 

 

[z_johnq]

No. I'm not that lucky! One of the caliper pistons got stuck. I'd have to press very hard to push it in, and then let it out, then push it in and let it out. After a few times of pushing in and out, the drag is getting better but won't last long. A few miles, it will go back to where it was. I'm replacing the caliper now. I'll let you know what happens. Btw, I've replace one of the brake hoses and it doesn't help at all.

Thanks.