Is a little bit of brake drag up front normal?

[PSU///M3]

Was mounting front tires today and both of my front brakes are dragging a bit. The driver's side is worse than the passenger side. The resistance to spinning isn't terribly strong, but the rubbing is audible. I can spin the rotor by hand with the tire off, but it is noisy.

Would rebuilding my calipers all but eliminate any rubbing? How hard is this to do?

Thanks,

Jeff

[Walter]

As long as there is not too much drag this is normal. Taking your foot off the brake pedal does not actually pull the pads back, it just releases the pressure on them. Excessive dragging is a sign of a stuck rotor but it doesn't sound as if this is your problem.

[BAADDOG]

BMW Brake dragging is not!

Check your pistons to determine if they are retracting all the way, also check your boots.

Calipers should last about 100K miles. How many miles on your calipers?

Any pitting on your pistions is a no-no for rebuilding.

[PSU///M3]

I have about 43k. My car is a 97M3.

Could some of the noise be bearing noise? I'm not able to really "feel" the rubbing in the form of vibration, but I can hear the rubbing.

Jeff

[Walter]

Once again, slight dragging is normal. Your brake pads will always be in contact with your rotors. Like I said before, calipers don't really retract, you are just releasing the pressure that applies the brakes. A good indication of a stuck caliper is excessive wear on one rotor, or if your car pulls to one side when you brake. If you don't have either of these signs then I doubt you have a problem.

[Ryan325i]

Ok guys what is the verdict here? I have "slight" dragging between the pads and rotors as well. Is this normal or not?

[Walter]

Yes for God's sake!:dent:

[Shockwave]

"slight" is a relative word here.....if you have stock BMW brake pads you can do an easy test.....go one week without washing your wheels and check to see if one side of the front wheels has more brake dust than the other side.

My car had a frozen brake caliper on the driver's side front and my car pulled and shook on the highway, and I also had EXCESSIVE brake dust on the front driver's side wheel. I just replaced that caliper and had two new front rotors put on with Ate Super Blue and the problem is cured.

To test how much rubbing you're having jack up the front of your car and test each side. If a regular effort manual spin of the wheels doesn't allow the wheel to rotate at least 2-3 times, you have too much rubbing. Personally, if you have rubbing, I'd replace/rebuild the affected caliper(s).

[jb325]

I agree with Walter - even on a BMW you willl hear a little drag from the pads hitting the rotor. It's okay. BUT, you need to make sure that the drag is not enough to stop the wheel - by that I mean, you should be able to spin the wheel and let the wheel come to a natural stop - not a stop because of excessive drag. If you think you have too much drag, it can also be the pads binding on the caliper mounting bracket. Get a wire brush (cover your mouth and don't breath the dust in) and clean the bracket where the pads glide. Then get some caliper/brake grease (Autozone has a tube of the red stuff for $1.99) and apply a light coat on the bracket to let the pads slide easier. It will keep them from binding. I'm confident your calipers are fine, and the rest is ok. But, if you are really concerned, then clean the bracket like I mentioned....good luck!

[michaelp]

I have a 2003 325i. Complete brakes were done recently. Shortly after, I had a rubbing noise when I backed up after driving a while. Yesterday I felt like the brakes were dragging. I felt the rotors and three were relatively cool- the front driver side was very hot. Caliper frozen?

[bmwdirtracer]

Maybe; or, at least as likely, the brake hose is internally collapsed. This allows high pressure in, but won't allow the pressure to back off, when you release the brakes. {Often caused by jerks who crimp the rubber line to prevent leakage}

Jack up that corner; I'll assume the tire/wheel is hard to turn. Remove wheel, crack the bleed screw. If rotor is now easy to turn, a frozen caliper isn't the problem, but a brake hose likely is; I recommend replacing all 6 (yes, 6) brake hoses with steel braided lines from Turner, Bimmerworld, or almost any quality BMW supplier. If caliper IS frozen, buy a pair, for that axle.

[1998323idriver]

Maybe time for a caliper rebuild...what actually retracts the pads are the square seals in the calipers. Some drag is normal and if the slides are not greased properly one side can hang more than the other.

[1998323idriver]

Maybe; or, at least as likely, the brake hose is internally collapsed. This allows high pressure in, but won't allow the pressure to back off, when you release the brakes. {Often caused by jerks who crimp the rubber line to prevent leakage}

Jack up that corner; I'll assume the tire/wheel is hard to turn. Remove wheel, crack the bleed screw. If rotor is now easy to turn, a frozen caliper isn't the problem, but a brake hose likely is; I recommend replacing all 6 (yes, 6) brake hoses with steel braided lines from Turner, Bimmerworld, or almost any quality BMW supplier. If caliper IS frozen, buy a pair, for that axle.

Steel brake lines would be an overkill for a daily driver in my opinion.

[bmwdirtracer]

Have you priced a set of 6 factory lines against 6 stainless braided high quality brake hoses? Check that out, and get back to me.