Changed Brake Pads, now feels like fronts are sticking

[Vx-Mad-G]

Hey folks,

I changed all the pads on my Astra J at the weekend and now it feels like the front are sticking a little bit, in fact the wheel was quite hot this morning after driving.

Any ideas what could have caused this? I have bled the brakes...do they need bleeding again?

Thanks.

[rlievens]

Jack your front Wheel in the air . Then put your car in neutral and try to spin the Wheel. The wheel should spin freely. Brake and the Wheel will instantly stop. Release the brake and the Wheel should spin freely again. If you feel too much resistance your pads probably stick.

Did you remove all dirt and rust before installing the new pads? And did you put copper grease in the guides where the pads go?
Some sets also have these replacement metal guides. Change the old ones for new ones and make sure they are installed properly.

Another thing you might want to check is your brake caliper. It is possible that some dirt and rust got in there behind the rubber if it is torn somewhere. This dirt gets in the way of the brake caliper trying to retract. As you just installed new pads the calliper is retracted almost all the way, leaving less room for it to retract some more with possible dirt in the way.
So check for torn rubbers.

[niteram]

Is it only 1 wheel?
or do both brakes stick.

if they're sticking, bleeding won't help.
sounds more like the pads are not seated correctly in the caliper, or maybe the pads are too thick - what make are the new ones?

I have a sticky caliper on my tourer, works fine most of the time (and when I've stripped & checked it)
but when braking hard and often like in heavy motorway traffic it gets hot and smokey
I saw another J drive into our local asda carpark with a smoking front brake - so it looks like its not just mine!

[Vx-Mad-G]

Is it only 1 wheel?
or do both brakes stick.

if they're sticking, bleeding won't help.
sounds more like the pads are not seated correctly in the caliper, or maybe the pads are too thick - what make are the new ones?

I have a sticky caliper on my tourer, works fine most of the time (and when I've stripped & checked it)
but when braking hard and often like in heavy motorway traffic it gets hot and smokey
I saw another J drive into our local asda carpark with a smoking front brake - so it looks like its not just mine!

Pads are genuine Vauxhall GM. 

Your post summed it up, it was actually during heavy breaking on motorway yesterday morning. When I drove it again on the way back, I didnt brake as heavy and they didnt stick. Could they just be bedding in as they are new?

[bannan]

I just recently had the same problem. Turned out to be a sticky caliper piston. It was only happening on longer drives. The heat was making it stick. Removed the pads and cycled the piston back and forth a few times and has done the trick.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[Vx-Mad-G]

Mine seems to have settle itself down. It only did that once when I was heavily braking (deliberately). Hope it stays OK now.