Brakes smoke after being changed. Ok or not?

[pleasehelp]

Not on a Mustang but on my gfs sisters 01+ sunfire. Just changed her front brakes (pads & rotors) and took it out for a test drive and about 10 mins into it there was smoke coming out from her wheelwells. I did wipe the rotors with a paper towel before install. This was my first full brake job you could say, but I think I did it right. is the smoke part of the break in? It wasn't smoking that bad but enough to notice it.

 

[fgtmustang95]

I dont think so.

 

[mo_dingo]

If you overwork the brakes from the get go, they will smoke.

You have to bedd them properly to get the surface prepped. Do a search. I just drive to 35, apply brakes at 1/4 of full pressure, then drive around in 1st gear to cool the brakes off, not touching the brake pedal. Then after a minute of 2, I do another 35-0 and cooldown and repeat.
Scott

 

[HISSIN50]

Did the rotors spin freely (or is that thing FWD?) after the install?

If you have an IR thermometer, you can take a reading of each caliper to see how they compare. A bad slide pin or caliper can cause binding/hanging, which creates heat and eventually smoke.


Good luck.

 

[94-302-vert]

actual smoke or just stench?

stench is OK while they are breaking in, smoke is not.

 

[gcomfx.com]

Do they smoke if you don't use the brakes? Can you downshift and then use the emergency brake (rear brakes) to stop, then see if the fronts still smoke?

I painted mine and clear coated them. No smoke, just a funk smell and they grabbed like a ****** the first couple of times I used the brakes at 10mph. LOL

 

[1TallMF]

Did you clean the rotors and pads with brake cleaner when you installed them? They would have to be quite nasty to actually smoke from this, but grease on a brake rotor can cause other problems. If it was getting hot enough to smoke, you would be able to tell by putting your hand on or near the wheel, you would feel alot of heat coming off of the brakes. If thats the case, check the slider pins on the caliper, as they are probably not releasing the caliper properly. I had this happen, but unfortunately the brake fluid boiled-over before I noticed what was happening

If it isn't really getting that hot, but just smoking and stinking, just watch it for a few days and see if it gets better or worse.

 

[The Green GT]

When I changed the barakes on my truck, the calipers locked up and I had to replace them. It smoked and smelled really bad. Did you have to turn the caliper piston down or was it a regular one where you could just use a c-clamp?

 

[pleasehelp]

All I did was wipe the rotors with a paper towel. Didn't use brake cleaner. On her car, I had to unscrew two bolts out in order to take the whole caliper off completely. It would not slide open up with unbolting just one. Then the pads just clipped on with their built in clips. I did grease behind the pads so they wouldn't make noise. This grease did not get on the rotors. Oh, and I used a couple of C-clamps and an old pad to force the piston back into the caliper.

When I was out test driving it, I didn't notice any slowing down from the brakes clamping down. I did put my hand close to the wheels and didn't feel any major heat coming off of them. I'm hoping maybe it was just the factory lube they put on the rotors. Maybe I didn't clean them as good as I should've.

I tried text messaging her to see how it went today but she didn't respond....that's good news, right?

 

[The Green GT]

If you cant FEEL them actually breaking then they are prolly fine. When brakes lock up you can deffinately feel it.

 

[HISSIN50]

For future reference, a C clamp is not a wise idea. If forced to use one, put a chunk of wood behind the rear of the caliper.

The piston retracting tools use the claw in the caliper housing (where the outer pad rests) as the means of leverage, which is better for the caliper if the piston is starting to seize (and hard to retract). I've had my share of seized calipers and rebuilt a few that were otherwise not easily found in the aftermarket (motorcycles, old Euro cars, etc).
I dont think any of that mattered - it was just info.

How did your slide pins look? If they are chewed up or resistive, it very much CAN make a caliper drag and cause issues. If they're cheap, it's often best to get new ones with each brake pad change. I used to clean them with #00 steel wool and grease them until I learned that many have a sacrificial coating to make them slippery. Once that's gone, it's like cookin with a teflon coated pot that has the teflon worn off (exact same principle).


If you're worried, I'd get ahold of her. I'd want to know the brakes didnt overheat and fail for peace of mind. Or drive by her place and make sure the car is there [if it's late]. Just a couple ideas there if it's buggin you.

Good luck.

 

[drakesdad]

For future reference, a C clamp is not a wise idea. If forced to use one, put a chunk of wood behind the rear of the caliper.

The piston retracting tools use the claw in the caliper housing (where the outer pad rests) as the means of leverage, which is better for the caliper if the piston is starting to seize (and hard to retract). I've had my share of seized calipers and rebuilt a few that were otherwise not easily found in the aftermarket (motorcycles, old Euro cars, etc).
I dont think any of that mattered - it was just info.

How did your slide pins look? If they are chewed up or resistive, it very much CAN make a caliper drag and cause issues. If they're cheap, it's often best to get new ones with each brake pad change. I used to clean them with #00 steel wool and grease them until I learned that many have a sacrificial coating to make them slippery. Once that's gone, it's like cookin with a teflon coated pot that has the teflon worn off (exact same principle).


If you're worried, I'd get ahold of her. I'd want to know the brakes didnt overheat and fail for peace of mind. Or drive by her place and make sure the car is there [if it's late]. Just a couple ideas there if it's buggin you.

Good luck.

View attachment 453255
JT's first two "brake jobs"......replaced the 2x4 to pull against..........
Joke JT.....I love ya man..........couldn't resist.....

 

[HISSIN50]

JT's first two "brake jobs"......replaced the 2x4 to pull against..........
Joke JT.....I love ya man..........couldn't resist.....

Will, is one of those guys really named Chat?

That's funny stuff!

Actually, my first two brake jobs were on stone wheels. What a pain to balance the wheels afterwards.