I just installed Rotorpros drilled and slotted rotors with their ceramic brake pads (Centric). My first drive was noisy and I had the tug boat sound coming to a complete stop. Too bad I did some harsh breaking at full stop attempts which probably didn't help break-in procedure.

I decided to do several 60 - 5 runs and most of the noise is now gone and it seems that coming to a complete stop, the tug boat sound is gone also. I am noticing pulsing (steering wheel vibrates) while breaking at times, maybe at moderate braking levels but not at severe or light braking level. Also, sometimes I can hear a click click at the speed of rotation when driving slowly after a stop. I tap the brakes and it goes away. That one is strange. Almost sounds metal to metal, but could be many things, but obviously brake related and new.

I jacked up the front of the car to spin the wheels and noticed the left wheel has more drag than the right. I am wondering if I have a caliper problem. The drag is not major, but very noticeable.

Now...here is why I replaced the brakes in the first place. I bought the car with 5,000 miles on it over a year ago and noticed the car pulling to the left sometimes. A month or so ago, I jacked the car up and when spinning the left wheel to check for problems, the rotor acted "warped" or there was some un-even contact to the pads anyway. I reseated the pistons in that caliper when rotating the wheels, but that didn't fix it. Still drag and uneven rubbing on the left rotor to the pads. I decided I would just replace the rotors and pads and this is where I am at now.

I have over 15,000 miles on the car now. The original rotors and pads still looked new. I figured maybe there was a harsh stop with the car before I owned it that caused the issue. Now I am thinking maybe a faulty caliper.

Suggestions anyone???

I have done dozens of brake jobs in my time without issues and took my time, made sure I cleaned everything up, lubed the proper contact spots with high-temp brake grease, and evenly torqued my wheels. This car is so clean, everything came apart very easily and went together the same.

 

with the caliper off, did the frame slide in/out fairly easily? I think ford still uses those teflon sleeves, my mark VII they tended to wear out about the same time as pads...havent pulled the calipers off the mustang yet

 

Everything seemed to move freely. I guess it would not take much of a defect in any area to cause a slight problem though. After over a week of driving, everything seems to be working like it was stock now. Brakes are no better but I believe, no worse. I'll check for drag again next weekend. I'll try to pay close attention to where it might be "sticking" and report back if I find anything.