Front Brakes binding

[orange-Z]

I have rebuilt the front brakes with new pistons, seals, guide pins, rotors and pads.  Now the brakes are binding and overheating.  When brakes are applied they do not release enough.  Drivers side is worse than the passengers side and when hot the car pulls to left when braking due to the excessive temperature or right side brake.  Also get the very hot smell.  Pistons and seals were properly lubricated during install.  Guide pins are lubricated.  Because of the new pads and rotors there is very little clearance in the caliper.  Looking for ideas to fix the problem.  Thinking of removing the shims from behind the pads but worry that the brakes will be noisy.

[C.A.R.]

Unusual. Normally it's the opposite of what you are experiencing after fitting rebuilt calipers...
How did the brakes perform before the rebuild of the calipers?
Have you changed any other parts of the braking system?

Could you have the lines in the wrong ports in the master? The rear circuit has a non-return valve in it to keep the shoes up close to the drums.

 

[orange-Z]

Rebuilt the calipers because they started to leak.  Also rebuilt the rear drum cylinders.  The master cylinder was also replaced some years ago and I think the lines are in the right ports. I just disconnected the lines at the cylinder so it should have been obvious where they connected to.  If I move the brake pads away from the rotor with a screw driver the wheel rotates freely but as soon as i drive the car and use the brakes the brakes stay on and wheels don't rotate freely.

Is the non-return valve in the master cylinder or in the brake line?  Is there a way to test if this is the problem?  I could try swapping the lines from the master cylinder but I don't think the rear one is long enough to connect to the front port.

[gilltech]

So you're saying that both front AND rear brakes are dragging?

For the fronts, check you have fitted the 'right' seals. I had that problem and it turned out to be an aftermarket brand that were very fractionally oversize. Tried a different brand and problem went away.

For the rears, have you got the auto adjusters set up correctly? They are activated by the handbrake mechanism and can be a bit touchy, not easy to get both sides acting evenly in my experience.

[orange-Z]

Just the front brakes dragging.  Could be the seals.  They seemed tight when fitting but having not rebuilt calipers before I just assumed that was how it should be.  Where did you get the correct seals from?  Not looking forward to rebuilding the calipers again.