New entrant from PA with a brake question

[cjb5]

Newbie from outside Philly. Picked up my Roadster kit about 5 weeks ago and trying to dig in, hoping to start a build thread in a few weeks.

Have my front suspension on, working on the brakes. I have an issue with rear brakes I can't quite figure out, hoping someone has seen something similar.

Have the Wilwood brake option, rear driver side brakes seemed to go on pretty easily. Passenger side has me puzzled. C-Bracket went on the axle fine. Caliper bracket is on but for some reason when I put on the rotor, the bracket does not line up exactly with the rotor. Considering putting more shims on one bolt than the other but Wilwood instructions advise against. Also when I slide the caliper on, the outside pad rubs on the rotor. First thought is to remove shims to shift the caliper out from the rotor but the shims move the entire bracket/caliper assembly and caliper bracket gets to a point where it starts contacting the inside face of the rotor. What am I missing? I'm thinking it might be an issue with the axle but need to pick it apart some more. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Included an image of where the caliper bracket and rotor meet.

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[Gmcole92]

i'm running the Wilwoods on the rear of my IRS setup and I"m having lots of problems as well. The Passenger side went on with just a little adjustment....but the driver side has consumed 3 weeks of my life. Rotor alignment is an issue and I have a bolt and the caliper rubbing inside the wheel. I can switch wheels and have the same problem...so it's something with the spindle, caliper, or mount. I have spent hours on the phone with Wilwood and FFR and can't figure it out. I'm getting close to havign to drop some serious $ on a new set of spindles as a last resort. I'll let you know if I figure it out.

[edwardb]

Unless I'm missing something, the picture from the OP appears to be solid axle, not IRS. So there are differences, including the orientation. Having said that, I do have a little trouble understanding what the picture is showing. Can you describe a little more what direction this picture is from? Please also confirm the exact rear axle setup you're using. Finally, this is the Factory Five Wilwood option, right? The single piston rear. If this is a solid axle setup with the FFR Wilwood upgrade, that's what I'm doing on my Mk4. Went together OK.

[Gmcole92]

Yep...I realize he is solid axle...just trying to convey I am having rear brake issues as well :)

[cjb5]

It is possible that this may be one of those cases where I just needed to take a break and walk away for a while. I gave it another quick shot again tonight and it went better. Will attempt to fully assemble tomorrow night and post my progress and post some better pics

[Gmcole92]

That's great. I wish mine was a "walk away and reflect" issue. I'm probably going to have to order a slightly different IRS knuckle which will cost around $300. Ugh.

[cjb5]

ok so driver side is on and looks good. After many attempts at tweaking the fit of the passenger side I came to the conclusion that the passenger caliper is different from the driver caliper. I will try to attach a pic that shows the difference in the cutout of the caliper where the rotor exits the caliper. You can see that there is a cutout on the driver side that does not exist on the passenger side. The fact that the passenger side caliper is not cut out the same way doesn't give me enough clearance to center the rotor between the pads. If I shim to center the rotor between the brake pads, the top right corner of the caliper comes too close to interfering with the rotor. If I shim to center the rotor in the caliper itself (and not the pads) the outer pad rubs the rotor due to the amount I have to bump the caliper out to avoid the upper right corner of the caliper opening. I am assuming this caliper opening should be cut out in the same manner that the driver side one is. Planning on calling FF on Monday to get some advice.

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[CraigS]

I see that there is less clearance on the passenger side caliper but it looks like there is still enough for the rotor to fit IF you can shim the caliper mount and/or bracket to the right in the picture. You said "If I shim to center the rotor between the brake pads,..." That is not how it is done. You shim the mount/bracket (these terms get mixed up. I am referring to the gloss black piece here) to center it on the rotor. The caliper slides on the pins so you should be able to get the caliper and pads to fit w/o a problem. I wonder if the piston is all the way in the caliper. I haven't worked on these calipers specifically so not sure if the piston just pushes in or if it needs to be turned like the Mustang caliper. Are there 2 or 4 notches in the surface of the piston? Look here; http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/Ford-Mustang-Rear-Brake-Pads-Replacement-Guide/Ford-Mustang-Rear-Brake-Pads-Replacement-Guide-014.html