Aye guys. Sorry I never came back to tell you what was up with the thread. I got caught up with life.

The car had the crappiest pads the shop could put on. I got better NEW rotors and pads, and life went back to normal. Thanks for all the love.

The problem now, is that the car is getting about 100miles to the tank under the same everyday conditions it's been used for. Where do I start first????? In the morning I'm going to check the plugs. I'm hoping that they black and and dirty because it's been 3 years since they've been replaced. Anything else to check on this vehicle? Thanks again. to all that in advance.

 

I was gonna say... the calipers are either pressure on, or pressure off... they don't exaclty move or have any sort of contact...

your pads and rotors are the only surfaces that will be in contact with eachother... its gotta be one of those two.

 

Hey Guys! I'm hoping to find an answer to my problem by jumping in on this thread. I am in the middle of replacing front brakes on my 97 Escort. The new pads wont fit over the rotor. I pushed the piston all the way in, but I can't put the caliper back on. Is this a common problem? Are they making the pads thicker these days? Is there a solution I'm missing? Any help would be greatly appreciated! (Now I remember why I didn't want to be a mechanic...)

 

For what it's worth, any 97 car that has never had the calipers replaced is due.
The recommended way to replace pads is to open the bleeder screw on the caliper when compressing the piston back into the caliper. A "C" clamp and one of the old pads works fine for this. Unfortunately when trying to open the bleeder screw it can be twisted right off, and the caliper has to be replaced anyway. You just hang the old caliper on a piece of coat hanger so there is no strain on the brake hose.Get the replacement parts assembled on the hub and lastly remove the brake hose from the old cliper and install it on the replacement caliper. Always use the new copper gaskets supplied when installing the brake hose. Open the caliper bleeder screw and allow the caliper to fill by gravity , making sure the master cylinder is kept filled. Unless you are replacing the master cyl too, only press the brake pedal down 1/4 way each time or you can score the cups in the master cyl going past the normal travel . Sediment accumulates in the master cyl over time and if you score the rubber cups you will now have a master cyl problem too.