dmjames

Ok, so I had the front end of my '83 up on jack stands this past weekend to swap in a new oxygen sensor (well worth the time and money, btw...), and I noticed something a bit odd.

I've noticed that the front rims get a lot dirtier than the rears, enough to make me wonder a bit, but I haven't noticed any other problems that might be related, so I kind of wrote it off as a peculiarity of the car. Turns out, the rims seem to be getting coated with brake dust. 1-2 days after washing them, they're almost black on the rims (Fuchs alloys, so the outer edge is chromed, and has a good sized lip).

So when the car's up on stands, I gave the front wheels each a good spin with my hand. Lo and behold, the wheels have a pretty decent amount of resistance to them, and a bit of a scrubbing noise comes from what sounds like the brakes. It's just the fronts, though, not the rears. Anyone got any suggestions? I haven't felt any evidence of poor braking, but my fuel economy's been crap (which is what motivated the O2 sensor replacement), and I'm starting to think I know why.

What should I be looking at? Are there adjustments I can make to fix this, or will I need to do something more severe to the brakes?

Thanks!

ninefiveone

It's normal. The rims get dirtier because more braking occurs in the front than in the rear. Take a look at most cars. Cars that haven't been washed tend to always have dustier front wheels than rear. You can reduce the dust a lot with aftermarket pads that aren't as dusty (metalmasters, etc).

People are under the misconception that the brakes retract when they're not being used. They don't. To be honest, brake pads really don't move much. They ride on the disc all the time and the only real difference is whether you're applying pressure or not.

Luis de Prat

Is the scrubbing sound constant as the wheels spin, or uneven? In the latter case, you may have warped hubs. No big deal, just not perfect anymore.

I chased this problem on my 83 for months and had it pinned down to warped hubs. However, my car had over 200K miles. Yours?

kdfoust

What you hear could be the dust shields rubbing against something as well. They're only sheet metal and are easily bent so that they contact rotating "stuff." Take a close look around for the exact source of the sound. Brake rotors can also make some noise if the pads are touching them. It's not usually a big deal - not enough to cause a measurable difference in fuel economy anyway.

Later,
Kevin

dmjames

It's a constant, and having read this, I'm thinking that I'm just overanalyzing normal noises. I'm around 125k, so I'm guessing no on the warped hubs possibility, but thanks for mentioning that one!