I know it can be a few different things...but I figured I'd ask first...

My front brakes are definitely rubbing. I lifted her up on Saturday and spun the wheels, definitely hear a rubbing noise when the wheel rotates.
Took the wheel off, spun it again...heard and saw pad rubbing against the rotor.

Any ideas out there what the most likely culprit is and how I should go about checking?
If I drive it for any distance, you can definitely smell that burnt brake-pad smell.

HELP!

Also, It's an 85 F150 flareside, inline 6. The brake pads are different than anything I've seen before.
Any tips or tricks to get the caliper off? I see a single bolt with a rod that I assume I need to tap out.
Pics to follow

 

Could be the caliper piston is rusted and stuck.

Could be the caliper housing is rusted and stuck. That "rod" and the other side that holds the caliper must be lubed with never seize or a high temp grease. If this has been the problem for awhile, you will find one pad worn more than the other.

Could be your compensation port in the master cylinder is blocked with dirt or the rod between the booster and the master is too long.

Most common problems are a combination of the first two. A rebuilt caliper and cleaning the "rod" and the other slides and lubing them are the fix.

 

Thanks! If it is that "rod" that's holding the caliper, do you recommend pulling it out, cleaning it up, lubing it up and re-installing it?
This problem, as far as I can tell, just started in the last few weeks.
I've never noticed it before, never smelled that burnt brake pad smell.

 

 

I have never seen the "rod" (caliper slide) cause the brakes to stink. Just rub a little bit and cause one of the pads to be thinner than the other. Did you recently replace the pads? That is usually what starts the caliper to stick, the piston is shoved over a bunch of rust in the piston bore with a c-clamp to make room for the new thicker pads.

 

Just how much are they rubbing? If you can turn the rotor by hand with the wheel off, it's likely not that much. So if there is anything wrong, it sounds like you caught it early.
Is the scuffing sound consistent all the way around, or are there areas where it releases and you hear nothing?

A really tiny amount of scuffing can be normal, but in a perfect world the caliper piston does pull back just enough that you don't hear the rubbing.
All of those maintenance things mentioned above are good to do now and then, but special attention to those details during a brake job can really extend the life of this stuff. Dressing and lubricating the slider portions to keep rust at bay is a big deal.

Good luck.

Paul

 

No, no new pads. It has been sitting for about 2+ years and I'm starting to use it a LOT more lately. So, maybe they just need a little grease and attention?

 

I can turn the rotor by hand with the wheel off, but it's difficult. You can definitely hear it. Yep, it's consistent all the way around the rotor.
I'm going to give all the maintenance mentioned above a shot on Friday AM and I'll let you all know how it goes.
This is all super helpful, thanks in advance everyone!
JT

 

Sitting for two years is not good, I suspect internally rusted calipers.

 

Yep, very possible. Even hardening piston o-rings can probably cause caliper sticking I bet.

Paul

 

This was a saga...but it turned out to be frozen calipers (for now).

I took Friday off and decided to take a shot at this myself.

I have a narrow driveway and a fence on one side, so it was going to be a bit of a challenge, but totally do-able.
I started at like 9:15, figured I'd be done by lunch.

Jacked it up, popped the driver-side front tire off...looked around...just as suspected, rusty coating everywhere.
Hit it with PB Blaster, pulled the big bolt out...hammered that pain in the butt pin out and got to cleaning.

With a wire brush and a wire wheel on my drill, I made sure there wasn't any remaining rusty crappy areas. I then lubed it all up with brake grease from Advance Auto and decided that since I was in there already, I'd throw new pads on there.
New pads, obviously thicker...getting the piston to collapse back in was a HUGE pain because I didn't have a big C-Clamp...but, it eventually went in. Working that pin back in place sucks, but it eventually went...I made sure there was lots of lube anywhere metal was on metal...then put it all back together and dropped it back down.

Passenger side was up against that fence, so I decided to back it out, turn it around and back it back in so I had a little space to work with...

Big mistake...

It backed out fine, as soon as I put it in first gear...released the clutch, gave it gas...I began to power-brake...the passenger side caliper had somehow totally frozen. I'm hanging half-into the street blocking traffic...dragging the locked wheel. Then I stalled out...

The little black F150 was mad at me and refused to start. She was REALLY mad apparently...because she refused to start for a while.

So, I had to unlock the caliper and get her started...so I took more PB Blaster and douched the whole caliper...I then took a hammer and bashed the caliper a few times, hoping to break it loose. I tried everything I knew to try to get her started (Starting fluid, rain-dance, gentle whispers) and she was not responding. I had 1/4 tank of gas...but went and grabbed a gas-can and poured in about 4 gallons...for some reason, she started...and I was able to move her.

SO, I pulled into the driveway in the same direction I pulled out...as fast as I could.

Then, same deal...jacked her up, tire off, removed old pads, cleaned everything thoroughly, lubed it all up thoroughly, re-assembled, dropped her down...seems to have worked perfectly...

I did hear some light rubbing but attributed it to brand new thick pads, assumed it would go away after driving for a few minutes...
Other than that, I'm presently good to go.

I really do appreciate the advice, thanks everyone.

 

also, it was 4pm by the time I was done...thought I'd be done around lunch time...

 

It will be faster the next time you do it.