# Rear Brake = VERY HOT



## krassi007 (Aug 21, 2009)

I installed shims on my rear wheel and had to take apart the whole brake unit.
I put everything back (old pads, old rotor) and noticed that now the brakes are getting very hot!
The other 3 brakes are at normal temperature. 

possible problem?
the place where the caliper connects to the carrier with the 13mm bolt, the top part of the carrier i can push in and push out.... the bottom part is stuck, cant move it... could this be the problem?

Note: the brakes get hot not from braking, but from driving.. so there is rubbing happening from somewhere.. could it be a fluid problem? (when i pushed the piston back in with a compression tool i undid the cap under the hood that hold the break fluid)

EDIT: i shimmed the carrier too, so the carrier is not rubbing on the rotor


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## IJM (Jul 30, 2001)

Did you turn the piston while compressing it like you're supposed to so you don't mess up the parking brake mechanism?


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## krassi007 (Aug 21, 2009)

yes i used the compression tool and turned it, however not all the way.. was i supposed to do it all the way?


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## IJM (Jul 30, 2001)

That shouldn't be an issue. If the piston wasn't compressed enough, you'd never be able to get it back over the pads anyway. Is the parking brake releasing all the way? Are the guide pins properly greased?


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## krassi007 (Aug 21, 2009)

The parking brake shouldn't be an issue because the other rear brake is normally hot after driving.... The pins are greased, its feels like there is an issue with the pads retracting...idk


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## krassi007 (Aug 21, 2009)

one of pins on the carrier is stuck, could this be the problem?


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## bpfoley (Nov 30, 2000)

yep, both pins need to move freely, you try to get it unstuck and re-grease, but if it were my car I would just buy a new carrier with new pins/boots etc. While you are down there, you might as well buy new boots for the pins on the other side to prevent this from happening over there, then again I am a preventative maintenance OCD kind of guy.


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## krassi007 (Aug 21, 2009)

thanks, but the thing is, i noticed the pin was seized already when taking off the caliper, and before this i had no problem with hot brakes... and i highly doubt the pin siezed right before i took off the calipers


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## IJM (Jul 30, 2001)

Seems like a coincidence, but I bet that by taking it apart, resetting the piston, and putting in new pads, things got aligned differently than they were before, which might explain why it's just now acting up. It could have been doing it before to a lesser extent that you never noticed. I figure you've got to replace/fix the stuck pin anyway, so take care of that and see if it fixes the brake dragging issue.


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## Little Golf Mklll (Nov 27, 2007)

What procedure did you use to tighten your wheel bearings?


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## spitpilot (Feb 14, 2000)

This same thing happened to me when I upgraded to GTI brakes....one rear brake got smokin hot compared to the other....Since I was reusing the pads (only 5K miles on em) I didn't fully retract the pistons..just did it a little so as to make calipers EZ to install over the new rotors....I took the side that was overheating back apart and retracted the piston fully to let the adjuster mechanism "do it's thing"..and the brake cooled right down...Seems as if you just partially retract the piston..just enuff to slide caliper onto rotor...you may not allow adjuster to properly set up pad against rotor, and risk overheating. NOT GOOD!...if you let this go, you'll cook all the grease outa your wheel bearings....and then have an expensive wheel bearing replacement in your near future!


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## EuroSportChicago (Jun 9, 2010)

krassi007 said:


> one of pins on the carrier is stuck, could this be the problem?


:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


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## krassi007 (Aug 21, 2009)

thanks for all the replys everyone,
how can i get the slider pin unstuck??


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## EuroSportChicago (Jun 9, 2010)

krassi007 said:


> thanks for all the replys everyone,
> how can i get the slider pin unstuck??


Try to hit it with the torch


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## hoomzi (Feb 13, 2010)

it was the pin in my case, but i also got the sqeel since you opened the "valve" when you pushed piston back in, it might aswell be air in the system, and because air expands more when warmed up, it pushes pads against the rotor. is your brake pedal softer than usual?


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