So I replaced the front brake pads and I just noticed that my front wheel no longer spins freely and it seems the brake on engaged partly. I thought that it was just the new pad having a ton more pad than the old ones but Im doing a front dive trying to move the bike. Not good. any ideas? brakes seemed ok before.

 

Ooh any both calipers were very very tight on the rotors when I try'd to take them off. I had to use a hammer and rod to get them off. Pad are brand new.. nothing pricey just something I picked up from amazon cheap.

 

Make sure the calipers are sliding freely on the brackets. Also you should make sure you clean the pistons before you push them back into the calipers. Otherwise they may stick and could cause brake drag. Finally make sure the clutch side fork is adjusted correct or the rotor can drag on the brake bracket.

 

thx for the reply I will check that out tonight...

 

Well found out that one of the pistons is stuck.I took it out and it did not move but a few cm. dead caliper? The caliper moves on the bracket semi ok but it seem when I took the caliper off the pads were just too meaty. I pushed the piston(1) back as far as it wil go and IT still was very very tight fit to get back on. Had to use a hammer and lightly slap it in. This is my first bike but this does not seem normal.

 

OK took both off now and one of the piston on each will not move. the one on the left moves when I hold down the other piston. the one on the right did not move much at all. I took some vice grips and grab the tip and rotated it a bit and held the good piston down and pumped the brakes and it started to move a little bit.

I pushed all the pistons back down flat and put them back on the bike. I could rotate the wheel better but there was some grab so it would not just roll. like the back wheel. I pumped the brake with everything hooked back up and it did the same thing. brakes do not release wheel hard to turn by hand... Does this sound like the calipers are shot? I can tell that this is why I did not get them bleed very good as now my lever for the brake goes all the way down. anyone have any good used front calipers for sale?

 

Calipers themselves are probly fine but you need new seal kits. Also need to pull the pistons out of the calipers for inspection, little rust can be brushed away with some Scotchbrite but further corrosion or if you have to sand through the protective coating (get shiny metal to show) you got yourself a nice set of schnaps-glasses and are looking for replacement pistons.

 

ordering seal kit today thx
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I doubt your calipers are bad. The worked fine before the pad change. Be very careful grabbing the pistons with anything. if you mark them, they are done. I also doubt your seals are bad unless they are leaking.

Here's how I change pads. Remove old pads on one side. Put a block between the pads on the opposite caliper. Pump the brakes slowly and lightly to push the pistons out. You want to make sure there isn't any grit next to the seals. Be careful not to go too far and cause the pistons to pop out. Then clean all the grit and grim off the pistons. Finally push the pistons all the way back into the caliper. Next repeat for the other caliper.

You probably just need to push the pistons out, clean them and push them back in.

One more thing. Cheap pads can cause all sorts of problems. You didn't say exactly what you got. They may just be too thick. I've seen that before. I've always used honda or quality name brand pads and never had a dragging problem.

 

Cheap pads are prone to squealing. Also usually make more black dust that smudges your rims. New seals are never a bad idea but as said the problem most propably is grit/rust on pistons that slightly add to their diameter, when pushed in they stick there. Seen it happen many times on cars, mostly Vw products...