Are my front brakes constantly braking while I'm driving?

[Rushfan1]

When I take off my front tire and rotate the front wheel brake assembly with my hand, I get about 2/3 of one revolution on one spin. There sounds like there is some resistance there but is that excessive based on how much I can spin it ? I get the same results on both left and right side. Of course if I jack up one side of the car and spin the wheel with the tire still on I can get more revolutions (around 3.5, it's easier to spin a large rubber tire than grabbing the front wheel unit) but my test was done as indicated above.

[e21mad]

well, that is kind of hard to answer without being there but I'll try.

the brakes should just touch the discs when at rest..and I mean only just maybe even a papers thickness between pad and disc. you may feel some resistance with the wheel off due to imperfections in the discs surface caused by wear or rust if they have been unused for a couple of days especialy after a rain. May I ask why you are worried about them? Do they stick or slip? Any vibration when braking or pulling to one side?

[louisE21]

they should free spin really. i got a sticky caliper at the minute and possibly a warped disc. when i break my steering wheel shakes and if i let go it pulls harshly to the left.

[e21mad]

[quote="louisE21"]they should free spin really. i got a sticky caliper at the minute and possibly a warped disc. when i break my steering wheel shakes and if i let go it pulls harshly to the left.[/quote
yeah that sounds like a warped disc and a sticky caliper

[Rushfan1]

The good news is that I don't have any noticeable driveability issues. Having said that , the responses I have read do indicate that things are sticking more than they should be so I will need to further keep an eye on this.

[e21mad]

can you post a pic so we can see the brake?

[Rushfan1]

can you post a pic so we can see the brake?

Well I haven't mastered the photo in post thing yet (I know there is a stickie on this topic) so for now we will skip the photo (haven't said I will eventually post pictures of my lovely E21). As previously indicated, I think things are tighter than they should be but because both sides are equal, no major difference in driveability. The only thing I noticed is steering wheel vibration at 65 - 70 kph but that is probably something else.

[murran]

most likely is a sticking caliper. by a seal kit and strip it down. clean it up etc.

[louisE21]

try balancing wheels aswell to get rid of vibration. if they need balancing the steering wheel normally vibrates about 30mph then 60mph then it should stop after 70ish as you power through it. if your back wheels need balancing you will feel vibration through you seats and pedals

[rob0r]

Recently my 323i had a problem of the brakes starting to bind when going along, after 10mins the brakes and the car would be locked up solid. I replaced the master cylinder, greased the linkages and made sure everything was ok and it solved the problem.

If you can spin the wheels 3.5 times I can't see there being much of a problem though.