New Front Calipers Binding/Too Tight in Mounts

[Ol'Blue]

Installed new calipers in D44 and mounting pins went in really tight. Had to hammer them in. The brake pads are dragging on the rotors and getting hot. I'm thinking I'll have to file down the pin, or the mating surfaces of the rotor or mount so the caliper can move back and forth freely, also some lube couldn't hurt either.

Any thoughts on what is best to file down or other solutions?

Thanks,

 

[DirtDonk]

If the pistons are pushed all the way back in, wouldn’t that possibly say that the pads are too thick?
We’ve had several discussions about this recently and my Takeaway was that the pads were too thick in most cases. But another aspect came up (I think it was member James Roney that mentioned it) about something else misaligned. Maybe an offset between brackets and rotors?
In your case though, it worked fine before and all you changed was calipers, maybe they are the wrong calipers. Did you also replace pads?

Basically You should never have to use a hammer to get the pins in. Period…

 

[DirtDonk]

Regarding the calipers themselves, what did you use as the donor vehicle to buy the new ones? And where did you get them?
GM made a design change in 76 and the later ones aren’t compatible. But I don’t know if the changes were to the calipers or something else.

 

[Ol'Blue]

Hey Paul, the D44 is out of a '77 Bronco with all the brake parts being stock as far as I know and the new calipers and pads are WH parts:

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www.wildhorses4x4.com

Driver Front Disc Brake Caliper w/Pads, 76-79 Ford Bronco

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The pistons didn't appear to be pushed all the way back in and fit nice around the rotors without having to compress the piston.

 

[DirtDonk]

When you said pins I immediately thought of GM calipers.
The lower sliders? I think they’re called anchors? Or maybe they’re called anchor pins and I didn’t remember.

Either way the answer is the same that they should never have to be hammered hard.
I have run into that though, and that’s how I found out something I never knew. And that is that Ford did use different anchor hardware on different applications even with the same basic design caliper.

And lubrication is an absolute necessity. Not an option…
That should not have changed your result, but for future reference you always use brake lube or similar on those surfaces. It’s not only to help them slide but to keep them from rusting overtime.
Especially if the truck sits for long periods.

Have you got some close-up pics of how they are fitting on the caliper brackets?

 

[DirtDonk]

Their proper fit is probably best described as a little too tight to push in easily by hand, but should only take some light to medium taps with a hammer to get them to fully slide in.

 

[Ol'Blue]

Here a some pics.

Yes the lower sliders/anchor pins are tough to get in requiring much more then medium taps with a hammer. I have all the old parts so I may try and measure everything. Maybe the new pins are thicker.

 

[DirtDonk]

Since the old ones don’t really wear out, I would put them back in and see if they act the same. If so then the calipers have changed.
Which is no longer surprising to me anymore, given the crappy quality of imported replacement parts.

Old ones can get rusty and pitted of course, but it’s rare to see them broken or worn. I’ve never seen any that were not reusable.
Clean them up and reuse them.

Clean up the sliding surfaces too if needed. Yours looked to be in great shape so maybe you’ve already taken a file or sandpaper to the sliding surfaces.

 

[DirtDonk]

Thanks for the pictures by the way. Always helps to see what’s going on.
Definitely try the old hardware.

And just in case, remember not to over torque that bolt. Too many horror stories of them snapping off in the hole.
One just in the last few weeks too!

 

[Ol'Blue]

Thanks for the help Paul.
Drivers side, filed the matting surfaces down quite a bit then lubed them up real good. The new pins and retainers worked well. I was able to tap them in with the hammer. The caliper can be moved with a good hit with the palm of my hand. Passenger side would not take the new pins and retainer clip after filing. I had to put the old ones back in and it seems to be free to move as well. Will test drive later but think Im good. Thanks again.

 

[DirtDonk]

Good news. Let us know how it works out.

 

[sprdv1]

Basically You should never have to use a hammer to get the pins in. Period…

Period.

 

[sprdv1]

Thanks for the help Paul.
Drivers side, filed the matting surfaces down quite a bit then lubed them up real good. The new pins and retainers worked well. I was able to tap them in with the hammer. The caliper can be moved with a good hit with the palm of my hand. Passenger side would not take the new pins and retainer clip after filing. I had to put the old ones back in and it seems to be free to move as well. Will test drive later but think Im good. Thanks again.

awesome..

 

[sprdv1]

And just in case, remember not to over torque that bolt. Too many horror stories of them snapping off in the hole.
One just in the last few weeks too!

oh and yeah don't be that story